Friday, January 20, 2023

Collectible Time: Creature from Black Lake (Synapse Special-Edition Blu-ray)

My all-time favorite Bigfoot melodrama, Creature From Black Lake, is now available from Synapse Films in a hi-def, widescreen, Blu-ray transfer, captured straight from the 35mm negative.

Written/directed by Joy N. (The Aurora Encounter) Houck Jr and released/distributed by horror-curating Howco International Pictures, this 1976, drive-in gem works as a suspenseful, monster adventure, with amiable leads and homespun, supporting characters. 

The setup features two University of Chicago students, Rives (John David Carson) and Pahoo (Dennis Fimple), who trek to the Louisiana-Arkansas border in pursuit of a reputed Bigfoot, an ersatz Fouke Monster of Boggy Creek fame. Along the way, they befriend a hospitable inhabitant named Orville Bridges, who introduces them to his grandfather (Dub Taylor) and mother (Karen Brooks), who know and fear the creature, thus adding to the young men's zeal to substantiate its existence. (For passing hijinks, Becky Smiser and Cathryn Hartt play Rives and Pahoo's by-chance girlfriends; and huge Roy Tatum not only portrays a good ol' boy named Fred, but the eponymous beast.) 

Intersecting the lads' investigation, Sheriff (no-relation-to) Billy Carter (Bill Thurman) and inebriated tracker Joe Canton (Jack Elam) convince them even further (albeit from opposite ends of philosophical perspective) to keep believing that something is out there, which leads the boys toward a nocturnal clash with the mythical monster. 

Synapse's transfer is beyond breathtaking, and the meticulous upgrade is more than justified, for among indie, horror features, Creature From Black Lake should occupy the same revered perch as Night of the Living Dead '68, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Carnival of Souls '62, Halloween '78 and Phantasm. (Perhaps this special edition will grant the film even wider admiration.) 

As far as bonuses go, the disc includes a featurette with the film's photographer, Dean Cundey; an original theatrical trailer; a radio spot; and running commentary by writer/filmmaker, Michael Gingold and cinema historian, Chris Poggiali. 

Those who love this movie will appreciate its refurbishment, but for those who've not seen it, please do give it a shot. The odds favor it'll please, especially if one respects labor-of-love, cryptozoologist exploits. 

Purchase Creature From Black Lake at 

https://www.synapsefilms.com/product/creature-from-black-lake/

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