Documentary Review: The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State
Directed by Seth Breedlove
Small Town Monsters; 1091 Pictures
74 minutes, 2023
www.smalltownmonsters.com/
www.facebook.com/smltownmonsters
#IndieHorrorFilms #DogmanTriangle #SmallTownMonsters #Cryptid #werewolf

Growing up watching the classic Universal monster films as a kid, creatures hold a soft spot for me. This is especially true for werewolves, for some reason. Where is Larry Talbot when you need him?

But director Seth Breedlove goes beyond into the realm of cryptids, urban legends that posits monsters like Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil are possibly real. While I do not believe so, I tend to enjoy stories about cryptids, and especially Breedlove’s take on them.

He has travelled around the country looking for them, and as far as were-creatures, he covered this topic in the more general American Werewolf (2022). For this one, he ends up more specifically in the second largest state in the Union, Texas, searching for the “Dogman” legend, a branch of werewolf. It would be easy to make a joke about ZZ Top at this point, but I will move on…

Aaron Deese

Based on the findings of author Aaron Deese’s 2023 book, The Dogman Triangle (he is also former Editor in Chief of Paranormality Magazine), Deese joins paranormal expert, author, podcaster (“Into the Fray Radio”), perennial Small Town Monsters host, and often Havana hat wearer Shannon LeGro on a tour of the Deep South, focusing on three points in the State (hence the “triangle” part), San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston, covering about 700 square miles. Each “point” is a chapter title.

It is important to note that though the word “werewolf” is bandied about because there is no official categorization, the term “dogman” is more accurate; in other words, it is not a person who converts into a wolf as in the lore, but rather falls into cryptozoology as a large wolf that can walk on two legs like a human. As with many cryptid monsters, the descriptions vary from “eyewitnesses” to the perceived form. I find this somewhat naturalistic version more interesting that the supernatural one in regard to transformations.

Shannon LeGro

There are three levels of observers scattered throughout the documentary. The first is the retelling of the folklore legends, usually dealing with the late 1800s to the 1950s, such as storytellers Ken Gerhard, Lyle Blackburn, and Nick Redfern from Britain. Then there are the third- and second-hand stories of people who knew people (e.g., neighbor, dad) that had a sighting, but did not have them on their own, like JoJo Santana and James Witter. Finally, there are those who claim they saw the dogman (or something like it), including Dawn and Michael Lucker, both of whom have different descriptions of size (a difference of 4 feet in height when upright). Worth noting, also, is Nick Losoya, an Apache who talks about a more skinwalker/loupagrou legend of the Indigenous people.

I like that the documentary addresses the possibilities of misidentification by the witnesses, such as a mangy bear (which can walk on its hind legs) or a wolf-dog hybrid (there are technically no wolves in Texas, but they explain it here), but fall back to it being a canid creature.

Deese, LeGro

Another direction they investigate that was keen to my interest was the “after effect” of a sighting, such as that of Tex Wesson, who suffered from PTSD for a while afterwards, and he is not the only one who mentions that in the film. In the many cryptid docs I have seen, this is an area that I do not remember being explored much, and honestly, I would love to see an entire film on just that: the psychology of the effects of seeing a cryptozoology subject in the flesh.

As for “tangible proof,” there is some given, such as footprints (though the two shown are totally different), a couple of grainy videos, and an audio track of howling. What we are mostly presented with are some incredible artwork by Johnathan Dodd (one of the financial supporters of this film, along with many, many others, is Swamp Thing illustrator Stephen R. Bissette) and animation by Chris Sealf. Also worth noting is the eerie music soundtrack by Brandon Dalo.

Considering the sheer volume of guns in the state (the most registered arms at 21 per 1,000 people), how are these things not hunted, extinct, and mounted on a mantlepiece like a deer head?

Fortunately for us, there is the promise that “Aaron Deese will return…” at the end of the credits. Goody!

Available on Cable VOD and Digital HD, as well as 1091 Pictures, iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and FandangoNOW.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey
(aka On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Legend and the Search)
Directed by Seth Breedlove
Small Town Monsters; 1091 Pictures
96 minutes, 2019 / 2021
www.smalltownmonsters.com
https://onthetrailof.tv/

Who is the cryptozoology king creature in popularity? Is it Mothman? The Jersey Devil? Arguably, the big macher is Bigfoot, aka the Sasquatch (with its cousin, the Yeti, a close second). There are dozens of fictional movies about the mythical woodland beastie, often with it being a killer monster often stalking teens in wooded cabins. So, who better to do a self-involving documentary about the true legend than the leader in cryptid mythology films than Seth Breedlove, and his Small Town Monsters brand?

Seth Breedlove and tattoo on right

Starting off in Wadsworth, Ohio (I once stayed near there on a voyage to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in the early 2000s), Breedlove and some friends take a road trip to Upper New York State, specifically to Wells, New York (an over 7-hour drive), in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains. Apparently, this truly majestic range is a hot-spot for the hairy one, dating back to Colonial times when he was known as “The Wild Man.” Through the course of the film, they travel to various connecting free spaces, including the Green Mountains of New Hampshire and the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It’s easy to tell which one of the intrepid travelers is Breedlove by the “Small Town Monsters” logo tattoo on his arm. But I digress…

Breedlove wisely starts the film with both positing his reasons for the trip and this film (which I will discuss later), and as a expositional foundation, presenting some talking head experts on the topic, such as Aleksandar Petakov, who directed the 2016 television documentary “Sasquatch: Out of the Shadows”, Bruce Hallenback, author of the 2015 book, Monsters of New York: Mysterious Creatures in the Empire State, Paul Bartholomew (who also joins the Small Town Monsters group at some point), writer of 2020’s Bigfoot Encounters in New York and New England: Documented Evidence, Stranger than Fiction, podcasters Emily Fleur (“The Forest Fleur”) and Mark Matzke (“Monstoropolis”), as well as Dr. David Floyd, an English Professor at Charleston Southern University, who did a Bigfoot in Literature podcast (HERE). 

This gives the viewer a solid basis of why they picked this particular area, and its history with The Wild Man. One of my favorite parts is these historians telling stories they had heard about sightings. There is a fine mix of second-hand stories, with some first-person eyewitness accounts, including one anonymous tale (thanks to being hidden behind a COVID mask) by a guy originally from Brooklyn(!), but they were all fun to hear.

Joining the crew in this self-shot doc for the nearly a week in the area around Buck Mountain to Whitehall, New York, near Lake George, is a number of investigators of various types, including Steve Kulls, Michael Anne, and Ted Varamogiannis, one of whom claims to have had an encounter with the 8-foot, hairy creature about five years earlier.

Our crew has lots of adventures traveling around various areas, including Kinderhook, NY and the Savoy Mountain State Forest in Western Mass, where they talk to a group of enthusiasts called the Sasquachusetts Group.

The Journey also presents a number of really nice animations and illustrations, as well as a few short re-creations of encounters. The format of the documentary reminds me of paranormal search shows, where the participants walk around often after dark in green night vision lights with glowing human eyes, trying to find something out of place. For example, one of the investigators noticed that there had been some kind of “disturbance” among flowers. Could it have been Biggie? Sure. But it could have also been a dear, a bear, or a coyote (whether you pronounce it Kai-yow-tee or kai-yout). Amusingly, one of the trackers gives a howl out to try and attract the creature, but my question is, how does he know what the mysterious Bigfoot sounds like, to “imitate” it. While this seems kind of silly to me, I have to admit it is also part of the charm of almost innocence of the team, and the entire documentary (and is a motif of previous Small Town Monster cryptozoology-focused releases, as well).

You may ask, at this point, whether I believe in Bigfoot. Honestly, I am 100 percent on the fence. I feel there is a possibility, but I am skeptical, which I believe is an appropriate approach about any cryptid phenomena. Could there be a Sasquatch? Sure. Could there be a Mothman? Why not? The thing about cryptids, especially Bigfoot, is people seem to think of it as a singular, like the Loch Ness Monster. But there must be a troop of them unless they are immortal. They would need to breed, which means the ones sighted in the 1970s would be at least the grandparents of any that would be sighted today.

It seems odd to me that if they are that big, and even in a wide expanse of the Adirondacks through the Green Mountains, there should be more evidence of, say, sleeping places, if a number of them were together, especially in the winter. And with modern technology, motion sensor cameras are relatively inexpensive and could be placed in suspected spots, which are often used by human hunters to find prey like deer. Hunting season is generally in October through early December, if I remember correctly, and what are the odds of hunters not coming across them or their camps, even with the thickness of the woods?

All that being said, I am not arguing for or against their existence. Personally, I think it would be cool if they did, and also fear that they would be mercilessly hounded by those who would wish to exploit them, and put them in cages in zoos and circuses, or do experiments on them. Perhaps it would be better if they were not found?

And do our travelers on their quest find the hairy grail? Well, I will not say, but there is a feeling of satisfaction of the venture. Besides, the scenery is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, especially on the last day when Breedlove rents a helicopter to fly him over the very heart of the vast wilderness of the treed and rock-faced mountains of the Adirondacks. I actually replayed that part over because it made me smile so much. Part of the reason for that is, like much of the cast – which ties in COVID-19 – as this was filmed in the summer of the rise of the pandemic and the following isolation, there is the desire to be out in nature after being locked up for so long.

Emily Fleur

There are many who have the Squatchitude of wanting to find the creature and learn about it, Jane Goodall style, as so beautifully expressed in the film by Fleur. Yeah, I would love if Bigfoot was proven as long as they get the respect they deserve. And the love for both the beast/s and its/their environment, is present and strong here, which is part of what makes this documentary so compelling, and a love story for the natural creature.

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey is available on various platforms from 1091 Pictures, including iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and FandangoNOW.

Trailer is HERE 

Review: The Mark of the Bell Witch

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

 

The Mark of the Bell Witch
Directed by Seth Breedlove
Small Town Monsters
85 minutes, 2020
www.smalltownmonsterss.com

Seth Breedlove has become a cinematic cryptid monster maven over the years, directing a number of documentaries about mysterious creatures that may or may not exist, such as Bigfoot, the Mothman and the Missouri Monster (aka Momo). A few of his releases have been reviewed on this blog; if you search for his name, you will find them.

For his latest, Breedlove dissects the Bell Witch haunting in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, arguably one of the more infamous and deadly hauntings in American history. I remember learning about it as a youth from a Ripley’s Believe It or Not comic book, and it has been adapted into movies, books, and other comics over the years.

As with most adaptations, these other sources tended to be glorified versions to enhance the “scare” factor, which led to parts of the story being left out due to time. Breedlove aims to be more comprehensive. He not only has interviews with residents of the area of Adams, Tennessee (population 600), but also has the events play out with actors in black and white “flashbacks.”

Of course, there are no first-hand witnesses interviewed because, well, the events depicted are from nearly 200 years ago, in 1817 to 1821, on a farm run by John Bell, Sr. and his family. This is, however, due to its urban legend status, one of the more documented “hauntings” in American history, especially in that neck of the woods, yawl. It was first written about in M.V. Ingram’s book regarding the Bell Witch from 1894, An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch.

The manifestation started slowly with knocks and raps on the walls and doors, then with strange animals like a mysterious hare (not a common rodent in that environment; as King Arthur might say, “Jesus Christ, that rabbit is dynamite!”) or a trash-talking Cerberus-type pooch with two heads (and this is way before Triumph, the insult dog).

If you are into this kind of thing, you probably know that poltergeists are attracted to young people, especially women, and this fits here as one of the victims of malevolence (hair pulling, welts, etc.) was Betsy (played by Sue Matzke), the youngest of the Bell children who was in her late pre-teens, just the right age for the spooky pokings. Perhaps it was a possession of poor Betsy? Tyler Estep, a pastor who in interviewed, says the area was ripe with Protestant revivalism at the time, which may have led to “spiritual warfare.” As a skeptic, I’m – err – skeptical.

As the power of the Witch (apparently named Kate) grew and developed a literal voice, preachers were called left and right to try and figure out what was going on, supposedly talking to the spirit. I like how Breedlove gives multiple explanations of possibilities, whether it was the curse of a neighbor on the clan, or the spirit of a disturbed Native American’s resting place, or perhaps a demon, leaving it open rather than positing an answer that would be a guess at best.

Although no mention of their works are listed, there are multiple interviews with authors, such as Timothy Henson (also the historian for Adams), John Baker Jr., and Pat Fitzhugh (The Bell Witch: The Full Account, 2000; I looked this up myself), so the connection to the legend is unclear. There are also folklorists and historians like Brandon Barker and Beau Adams, a Classics professor named Heather Moser, and the host of “Astonishing Legends,” Forrest Burgess. Again, in many cases, the link to the story is not transparent, which is arguably the weakest point of the documentary, even if their stories are interesting and occasionally far-fetched (especially the Christian and “spirituality” end of it).

The thing about any media dealing with a Cryptid topic is one can say anything, since there is little real info. Was Bigfoot circumcised? Does Mothman dislike light? Sure, why not; try proving it’s either true or not. But on the flip side of that coin, that’s also part of the appeal: it’s the mystery of the whole thing. That’s why I find it so fascinating and enjoy Breedlove’s work, including this one.

Having the story play out in black and white scenarios really boosts the tale, keeping it from getting too bogged down in talking heads by just relating the events. Smart move. Either way, John Bell Sr., died of poisoning, supposedly given to him by the Witch. Of course, I have my own thoughts, such as their slaves concocting a way to get rid of a bad master, or possibly Betsy was abused by her dear old dad and her welts  were by him – even if she was somewhat in denial – with her getting him outta da way.

That does not, however, fit with other parts of the legend, such as the apparition appearing to neighbors in their own abodes, or that one entity would migrate into multiple ones (perhaps a family), so who knows. The point is, the facts were written down by one of the Bell’s sons to start, which we hear parts through the narration of actor Lauren Ashley Carter (star of the 2013 cult classic Jug Face) and then the just grew exponentially after that, much of it written years if not decades after the “fact.” A majority of what was published was when pulp fiction was becoming popular, with the likes of the Western Tall Tales (Davy Crockett’s feats, Paul Bunyan, and Mickey Finn, to name a few) and legends of crime like Billy the Kid being fed to an audience fascinated by a new medium.

Again, it all comes down to what is real and what is not, and with cases like this, there is the speculation of the gray areas in between with possibilities and tales to be told around a campfire. Breedlove does well to collect this information, present it in an easy and palpable form, and lets the audience speculate on what might have been a rare supernatural murder.

 

Documentary Review: Terror in the Skies

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019

Images from the Internet

Terror in the Skies

Directed by Seth Breedlove

Small Town Monsters

68 minutes, 2019

www.smalltownmonsters.com

Folklore horror is a hidden gem that doesn’t get talked about much. Well, apart from the granddaddies of them all, the bigfoot/yeti and the Loch Ness monster. But nearly every corner of the world has their own equivalent mystical creature. For example there is the Jersey Devil, or the Mothman, or even the Gitaskog. Many of these tales arise from the oral cultures of the Indigenous people of the area, but there are many that rarely make it to the mainstream.

One of the things that makes this film different is that director Seth Breedlove has gone beyond the genre into the documentary realm, making it real. This is not a mocumentary like the extremely overrated The Blair Witch Project, but he takes a serious probe into the story we are to be presented.

For this case, we are looking at the giant birds of Illinois. Not birdmen, but birds proper, although to be fair, there is a correlation explained here with the West Virginia Mothman. But the focus here to start is Alton, Illinois, along the mighty Mississippi. The local natives (pre-settlers) called it the Paisa Bird, the stories of which were passed down to the French explorers of the area in the 17 Century.

We’re not talking about just big birds (and not the ones who live on a PBS street), but humungous ones that are described as the size of a Piper Cub airplane, and eats livestock and – you guessed it – human piggies, especially piglets (i.e., kids).

The film begins with a history of these sightings dating back to colonial times by bringing out a slew of experts in the field, including a world renowned crypto-zoologist (not my term). They tell of the eyewitnesses from long ago, where it’s necessary to have a secondhand experience because, well, we’re talking a span of hundreds of years. That being said, most of the sightings in the early part of the film are from the 1940s through the 1970s.

What is my opinion about all these gigantic birds? Y’know, I think it’s possible, though it seems strange that no one has ever captured one, and the tales of people shooting them posit that they burned the bodies because they were scared. I’m on the fence at the 40-minute mark because I do think it’s possible for there to be big birds. Ten to twenty-foot wingspans? Well, that’s easy to mistake. Most descriptions seem to be like condors, which can be believable. And that they come and go, well, there is migration and even small birds can fly thousands of miles away (though I’m still not sure about coconut laden sparrows who are African or European). Perhaps they end up in South America for stretches of time (lots of condors down there). Hell, big pelicans keep migrating up to Saskatoon from Mexico every summer, so I can see the possibility of it all. To sum it up at this point, I’m firmly perched on the fence.

At the 40-minute mark, the film takes a strange turn and for me kind of puts pressure on the vibe when the possibility of these Thunderbirds (as Native Americans call them) are of a mystical nature is introduced. From nature to paranormal, essentially. Suddenly there’s the question of whether they are supernatural harbingers of doom, or multi-dimensional beings. Oh, please.

As the tale moves north to the Chicago area, suddenly we’re introduced to the “Chicago Mothman,” a more human, bat-like creature, reminiscent of the film Mimic (1997). Wisely, the director chooses to be a bit skeptical at this point, mentioning the fact that there are 71 sightings in a city of millions, and not to mention the number of CCTV cameras around. But it is here that we get to start hearing directly from the “witnesses,” though there is still commentary by the experts; that being said, I found the addition of the belief in the paranormal aspect gave loose on their credibility a bit.

Despite my skepticism, which is not to be read as criticism, this is quite a well-put together film, that is the right length for its topic, rather than being longwinded like this sentence. Along with live footage and quite a bit of from-the-sky drone shots (and rightfully so considering the topic), there is also some decently done animation (nothing too elaborate) to demonstrate the eyewitness reports, or what the creature(s) looks like from description to description.

This documentary was actually quite fun, presenting one of the first crypto-zoological animals that I believe could be possible (at least in the first 40 minutes), and kept my interest throughout its hour length.