Return to Boggy Creek

I thought I had seen this movie, twice in fact. Then I read all the other reviews, and they didn't quite match up. A man and three young students, two girls and a boy, go to this town to study alleged bigfoot sightings. I still feel pretty confident that this is the movie I saw, despite the discrepancies in the reviews. Therefore I'm putting my review back: If you like the occasional 'B' movie, as I do, then Return to Boggy Creek is the movie for you! Whether it's setting the sleep timer, and nodding off to your favorite movie-bomb, or just hanging out with friends. Boggy Creek, the mute button, and you've got a fun night of improv. Look out! Is the legend true? I think we just might find out, along with a not-so-stellar cast. Will there be any equipment malfunctions at particularly key moments in the film? Does our blonde, manly, young hero have any chest hair? Will the exceptionally high-tech Technicolor last the entire film? You'll have to watch to find out for yourself.

Three kids, including Diff'rent Strokes' Dana Plato, become lost in the swamp during a hurricane. A Bigfoot-like creature called Big-Bay-Ty comes to their rescue. Had he eaten them, the movie would have been so much better. Dawn Wells plays the kids' terrible mom. Her overwrought acting makes you wish Mary Ann had stayed on Gilligan's Island.

It's pretty insipid even for a G-rated movie. It's also mind-numbingly dull with terrible performances all around. Most of the supporting actors seem to be making the lines up as they go along. There's some of the worst music to ever be put forth by man in this movie. Have earplugs ready. Being a huge fan of The Legend of Boggy Creek, I was of course disappointed by this weak Disney "sequel" that has nothing to do with the original. That film's creator, Charles B. Pierce, had no association with this film. Pierce would go on to do his own Part 2 years later. The only thing to really say in that sequel's defense is that it's still better than this turd.

Return to Boggy Creek (1977)

1/2 (out of 4)

Horrible follow-up to THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK has three children getting stuck in the woods while a hurricane blows through. While out there they run into a Bigfoot like monster known as Big Bay-Ty and unlike the legends, he's actually not harmful at all. Okay, who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to try and turn a drive-in hit into some sort of weird Disney movie? Yes folks, the monster here is actually a good guy with a big heart who helps the poor children when they are in need. I'm really not sure what the producers were thinking but this thing is just a complete disaster from the word go and for the life of me it never makes any sense as to what the filmmakers were trying to do. I mean, did they really think people wanted to see a Bigfoot movie trying to act like Walt Disney? I'm sure this could have worked but not when you handle it as poorly as this film did. For starters, the majority of the running time has the three kids sitting around either talking, fishing or not really doing anything. Two old folks sit around and talk about whether or not the monster is real. Two of the kid's mother (Dawn Wells) constantly calls the children her babies yet she has no problem with the young ones going into the swamp with deadly snakes and alligators. The editing is horrid, the music score awful and there's a really annoying title song running throughout, which will drive you crazy. The monster looks decent but sadly you don't get to see it too much and when you do it's usually at night. The only reason to check this out is if you're interested in seeing Wells outside Gilligan's Island or wanting to see Dana Plato who plays one of the children. RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK actually manages to make the first film look like a classic.

Never saw the original movie in the series...I only hope it was a much better movie than this or the sequel made in the 1980's as if it is not how were these two terrible sequels even justified. This movie had a really good lead in when they were advertising it to be shown on one of those old independent stations that are a thing of the past now. Anyways it looked like it would be a pretty good scary movie. It was, however, a movie that would make some Walt Disney movies look dark. Really, this movie was just a bunch of light fluff with virtually no boggy creek creature to be seen. The only real sighting is near the end when you see its shape during a very heavy rainstorm, other than that there is virtually no sign of the creature which was really disappointing as a kid. The story is basically the old evil hunters must kill anything they see and are after the boggy creek creature and kids are out to help it or just some random hairy guy in the woods that likes to pull random boats through the water. Not really worth watching I would however like to see the original, granted the maker of that would make the also bad boggy creature of the 80's, but he also made a very good slasher movie in the 70's "The Town the Dreaded Sundown".

The only parts I can stand now, or would ever have been able to stand, are scenes where the monster is on screen. He looks huge! Then again, never seeing the fury swamp beast's face is a let down, even if it's hidden to preserve the creature's mystique.

Most of the movie consists of the fishing adventures of three siblings. No thanks. As a childrens' film, it's still tame fare. I'd rather watch 'Harry and the Hendersons', the TV show.