Movie Monsters

Coming Soon: Cryptid

The above image of the Cryptid movie poster may be clicked to see a larger version. Remember the "Cryptid" comic book? Now there’s going to be a movie. According to the IMDb: Gruesome murders of South African farmers spur reports of a possible "cryptid" – a creature previously discovered by science. The worldwide news coverage of the gruesome murder attracts an international team of scientists to the remote area which is considered by some to be the "cradle of civilization". Cryptid Monster Full Cast and Crew for Cryptid (2006) Directed by Darrell Michael Writing credits (in alphabetical order) James Drydon [...]

Rich Dolan Comments On “Mothman”

As a comment to my review of the “Sci-Fi Investigates” program, one of the program’s four investigators, Richard Dolan, sent in a comment to my blog. I wish to bring his insights to a higher level of blog-awareness by posting it separately today. Richard M. Dolan Hello everyone, I’d like to extend my greetings to everyone and just say that I often enjoy reading the entries in here. I agree with other commentators that the absence of John Keel on this show was very unfortunate, as was the absence of Loren Coleman. I asked the producers about getting Keel on [...]

Sci-Fi’s Mothman Non-Investigation

On October 26, 2006, "Sci-fi Investigates" broadcast their "Mothman" episode. While it had a few moments that are pure entertainment and certainly funny, it had little or nothing to do with "investigating" Mothman or unexplained phenomena. The program was a forensic failure. Eyewitnesses were interviewed, sites were visited, group discussions were recorded, and more eyewitnesses were interviewed. The archival footage was interesting, but the repeating images of the collapsed bridge and created Mothman-in-flight scenes were visibly boring after their third time through. Come on, did they run out of b-roll so quickly? Skepticism and Ridicule Are Not the Same Thing [...]

Days of Mothman Malaise

Despite strange dark clouds on the horizon, there does seem to be more promising news on 76-year-old John A. Keel’s slow recovery from his heart attack. Keel, as this Mothman time of year rapidly approaches, is recuperating nicely, still in a New York-area hospital. He may be released today or tomorrow, and then be admitted to a rehab center for a few days of physical therapy. Details are still emerging about the recent events. Figuring out an exact date for Keel’s heart attack is developing into a mystery unto itself. He apparently had a covert one a few days before [...]

Bring On Kraken!

Modern images of the Kraken come via Jules Verne’s book and from remembrances of the 1954 sci-fi movie named after his book, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That’s about ready to change, in a small way, after the September 23nd broadcast of Kraken on the Sci-Fi Channel. Early reviews are what might be expected, as people sometimes make more fun of the name than the subject. Take for example, Kevin McDonough of United Features Syndicate in his contribution, with the oddly headlined "’Kracken’: Well, the title’s good" : You have to love a movie called "Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep" [...]

Mothman Producer Dies

Executive producer Barry Conrad (above, right) and his producer partner Lisa McIntosh (above, left) have been working on their documentary project about the Flatwoods Monster, Kelly Creatures, and Mothman for over five years. Their production company has completed several documentaries that have been broadcast on the Biography, A&E, Discovery, Sci-Fi and TLC channels. When the crew visited me in Portland, Maine, on April 19, 2002, they were here to interview and tape me about Mothman, my book on the topic, and the then just-released Richard Gere The Mothman Prophecies movie. They did this, intriguingly, in a live production event in [...]

Mothman Festival ‘06

Annual Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant – September 16-17, 2006 Point Pleasant — Organizers plan to add some new activities at the Fifth Annual Mothman Festival in downtown Point Pleasant next weekend. Above: Mothman Museum director Jeff Wamsley holds his most recent book, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes. With him is museum co-worker Todd Wiseman, an Ohio University film student making a documentary about Mothman. Among the new events are a Mothman weight and power lifting contest, organizers said. In addition, visitors can expect events held during past festivals, including haunted hay rides. The festival begins at 10 a.m. Saturday [...]