CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE (1977)

MATT’S REVIEW:

Bigfoot. We hadn’t seen much of Bigfoot in any ShockMarathon until ShockJanuary, when he showed up three times! And I’m told there are more Bigfoot movies to be seen. It’s now fair to say that Bigfoot is yet another subgenre in the ever increasing list of horror movie subgenres. The first Bigfoot movie of this ShockMarathon is certainly the best to date. Creature From Black Lake is a great film. But not because of Bigfoot. No, it’s the characters, Pahoo and Rives, who make this film. In fact, Bigfoot very rarely appears in any of the Bigfoot movies we viewed in ShockJanuary. He usually makes just a few obligatory entrances, leaving the rest of the screen time to hijinks and drama between the human characters.

It’s hard to discuss this movie for very long without breaking into unabashed praise of Pahoo. But I will try to hold off for a while in order to discuss the film as a whole.

In an early scene, we find ourselves in a college classroom where the topic of the class is Bigfoot. Only in horror movies are there college courses devoted to Bigfoot! I love it. The movie wastes little time setting up the plot, which consists of two eager students agreeing to go into the deep woods of the Deep South to investigate the Bigfoot phenomenon.

All right, now I have to talk about Pahoo. He is one of the greatest characters in the history of film. His exuberance is infectious. I found myself wondering why I didn’t approach life with so much verve and zest. Since watching the movie, I have hung a piece of paper on my bathroom mirror that reads: Be Like Pahoo. It seriously seems wrong not to be like this man. What is the point of a life of restraint? There is no point. Be like Pahoo. Let it all out. Love the world. Love food. Love pretty girls. Blurt things out. Be like Pahoo.

I’ll admit that it took me a little while to warm up to Pahoo. At first I thought he was a big idiot. And I was right. He is a big idiot. But he’s more than that. He’s honest. He’s true to himself. I began to understand this in the scene where he tries to pick up some girls in the town’s small business district. Shortly after that scene, Pahoo’s position as my favorite character of all time was sealed.

Here’s how it goes: Pahoo and Rives are invited to dinner at the home of some locals who claim to know some things about Bigfoot. The only problem is that they don’t like to talk about it much. Twenty-five dollars later, the man and his son decide that they might be able to discuss Bigfoot after all. The only stipulation is that the old lady who’s making dinner can’t know what they’re talking about. She’s much too sensitive about the Bigfoot subject after all that’s happened. No problem, right? Wrong. Only minutes after he agreed to keep quiet about Bigfoot during dinner, Pahoo hears a noise and shouts, “Was that the creature?!!?!!?” Suddenly he and his buddy are forced to spend the night in the barn. Foolish and unrestrained? Yes. But you find yourself forgiving Pahoo immediately for all his mistakes because you know it’s just Pahoo being Pahoo. A restrained Pahoo wouldn’t be Pahoo anymore. If he held anything back, I think he’d die.

Later, after working so hard to get some ladies to visit him and his buddy in their tent, Pahoo watches as the girl he had his eye on opts to hook up with Rives. Now Pahoo is stuck with her not-so-pretty friend. He’s disappointed. But he doesn’t let it ruin his night. He rolls with it. Within a few minutes, he’s kissing this girl. He’s Pahoo. He’ll take what he can get.

In another classic moment, Pahoo lets his anger get the better of him and he gets into a big argument with his buddy Rives. After all, Pahoo never even wanted to go on this journey to find Bigfoot. He wants to go home. He’s had enough! He hates Rives. Then Rives gives Pahoo some food and they’re friends again.

The ultimate Pahoo moment comes at the very end of the movie. He’s barely avoided death. He’s in the hospital. He’s finally out of the wilderness and done with the search. It’s an investigation that he really didn’t want to go on in the first place. It’s an investigation that he wanted to quit long before he ended in the hospital. But it’s also an investigation he knows his good buddy Rives is dedicated to. And Pahoo puts his friendship ahead of his own petty desires. With the little energy he has, he says to his good buddy, “I’m just mad that we gotta start this dang project all over again…it’s out there somewhere…we’re gonna find it, right partner?” That’s right! He hates it out in those woods. Everything has gone wrong. But he’s willing to put himself through it again just because he knows Rives wants to find Bigfoot. What a guy, that Pahoo! What a guy!

I didn’t want this to happen. But it has. I ended up talking about Pahoo. Pahoo, Pahoo, Pahoo. There is more to Creature From Black Lake than Pahoo. Let me try to get back to it.
You see, Creature From Black Lake is the perfect mix of professionalism and homemade fun. It’s clearly not a product of a big Hollywood studio. But it’s also not as poorly made as something like Night of the Demon. (Not that Night of the Demon is bad, it’s just that it has some unbearable scenes whereas Black Lake is solid all the way through.) Yes, Jim McCullough and his son knew what they were doing. The only major technical problem I have is with the panning and scanning that dominates the film. Whoever was involved in transferring the film to VHS did a poor job. But that’s my only complaint. Otherwise, you can see just about everything on-screen, you can hear everything, and it’s very entertaining. Yeah!