Siege of Ape Canyon

A fascinating documentary about the classic Sasquatch story of the attack on miners in their cabin in Ape Canyon, Mount St. Helens, Washington. The story follows dogged research, Marc Myrsell, as he tracks the story to its origins, amazingly and convincingly finding the foundation of the miners' cabin, the apparent mine itself, and artifacts that the miners held in old newspaper photos from the era. It's an impressive research feat and so was finding some of the miners' descendants and getting them involved in the field explorations. This was a sweet, heartwarming touch that I didn't expect and appreciated.

The movie discusses the different ways the original report was received and critical examinations of the miners' claims, and counter-claims. The spiritualist background of the miners and the story was something I didn't know about and added a new dimension to understanding the legend. The movie does a great job filling out this story.

For a bigfoot story about THE bigfoot story, I wished there was more about the mountain devils and visual representations of them in the movie, which includes dramatic recreations of the miners. While I'm sure most people already have their own ideas of how bigfoot looks (at least people who are interested in this movie's subject matter) and many people don't want to see another ape-suited person on screen, I'm personally drawn to the Bigfoot legend because of this physical aspect.

The idea of a large, hairy primate living in the dense woods, its behavioral nature within physical nature, is why I keep coming back to these shows. I wished the recreations in the movie used filmmaking that highlighted the visceral feel of being under siege in the wilderness by mountain devils to greater emotional effect. The staying power of the story itself comes from people imagining themselves in this high impact, high stress situation. Although bigfoot stories lend themselves to sensationalism, I think the filmmaker's missed out by sticking to a relatively dry, straightforward documentary feel.

Overall though the movie adds much to our understanding of the Ape Canyon siege. Seeing the location 100 years later after the incident is incredible, and so is all the background information that Myrsell literally digs up. I can't wait to see if they do a follow up documentary on the Patterson-Gimlin film! If so, I'll be ready and waiting!

This was a documentary that I got the chance to see thanks to Justin Cook. It is another one from the Small Town Monsters production company. What is interesting is that this isn't done by Seth Breedlove. Our director is Eli Watson. That piqued my intrigue to see how similar or different this would be. I wasn't familiar with the incident that is the basis of this, but I have heard of Ape Canyon in the past.

Synopsis: in 1924, gold prospectors led by Fred Beck claimed they were attacked by ape-like creatures in Washington. This documentary features interviews, analysis and footage revealing the truth behind the infamous encounter.

Let's then start with this incident. Like the synopsis said, it was back in 1924. Fred along with a group of miners were staying in a cabin. They were set upon by a group of animals that they believed to be sasquatches. There was a famous book about the ordeal that was written by Fred's son, Ronald. The issue there was the interviews took place quite a bit of time after everything happened. There is speculation that Ronald also took liberties and sensationalized it.

The documentary follows local expert Marc Myrsell, who is interviewed along with others about the incident and evidence of the cryptid. Marc's deep pursuit of the truth is commendable, particularly when the incident was reportedly refuted as a hoax by children who encountered the miners. Marc uses contemporary newspaper accounts from the time the Associated Press wire began. He presents his research objectively without trying to convince the viewer.

That's not all he's done. Marc has sought out the survivors of that incident. Now from the sounds of it, they have all passed away. He has then shifted to looking for their relatives. This added heart, talking to a daughter of one of the miners. She didn't know anything about the story until meeting him. Marc does also seem to find the daughter and grandchildren of Fred. They actually start to help in the search for the mine.

What is also interesting here is that Marc has found the site of the cabin. This was back in 2013. It was thought to have been completely lost to time. It almost became a local myth. He still hasn't been able to discover the location of the mine itself. He hasn't given up, continuing that search.

I will then say that the people interviewed are interesting. It truly falls on Marc's shoulders though. It is commendable that all his hard work has kept this alive. He's also been able to prevent this from becoming just a tall-tale. There is truth here. I will also say that this is slightly a different approach than what I'm used to for documentaries from this team. It is still well-made. The cinematography, framing and being able to show the areas they are talking about is good. Editing in old maps and photographs is a good touch as well.

In conclusion, this offers a compelling and well-produced deep dive into the infamous 1924 incident, distinguishing itself even within the Small Town Monsters catalog thanks to Watson's direction. The documentary hinges on the diligent, objective research of local expert Myrsell, whose efforts to locate the historic cabin site and connect with the miners' descendants lend a significant emotional weight and credibility to the decades-old story. While the film retains the quality cinematography and careful editing expected of the production company, it provides a slightly different, more grounded approach, ultimately succeeding in transforming what could have become mere local folklore back into a serious subject of investigation.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Greetings again from the darkness. According to one of those interviewed, this isn't just a Bigfoot story ... it's THE Bigfoot story! The film is directed by Eli Watson (not his first Bigfoot project) and produced by Seth Breedlove, the founder of Small Town Monsters - a production company with projects in the vein of the old "In Search of ..." series.

It was 1924, in the shadows of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state, when a group of gold prospectors led by a man named Fred Beck claimed to be attacked by a bunch of large, hairy, ape-like creatures. The men were under siege in a cabin near the mine as they fired their guns at the rock-throwing creatures ... creatures henceforth referred to as Mountain Devils. This encounter, or stories of this encounter, created one of the most infamous Bigfoot stories of all time. Director Watson includes a black & white reenactment of this 'siege in Ape Canyon.

We meet Marc Myrsell, an avid researcher who, 50 years after the attack, began looking into the story to determine if any evidence might exist to shift the legend into local history. The search initially focused on proving the existence of the cabin, and then of the gold mine. Mr. Myrsell admits, 'no good research project is ever done", and after 100 years have passed, he remains diligent in his quest to discover any shreds of evidence.

Some relatives of the mining team from 1924 are located, and discussions and revelations occur. Of course, for anyone seeking proof of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or Mountain Devils, the search continues. At a minimum, we meet some interesting and dedicated folks and see some breathtaking views.

Available on VOD (including Prime Video) beginning November 11, 2025.