PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The Bray Road Beast, directed by Seth Breedlove (The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy Of Fear, Boggy Creek Monster), is a documentary set in the rural Wisconsin community called Elkhorn. For three decades, the citizens of the surrounding county have reported seeing a mysterious wolf-type creature. Wisconsin itself seems to be a hotspot for paranormal activity. There are other unexplainable activities that have occurred in Wisconsin, including reports of an apelike creature, cults, ritualistic activities, and the infamous Slenderman stabbing in 2014.
Among the most famous of these Wisconsin legends is the Bray Road Beast, which is described by those who claim to have seen him as a canine-type creature who stands on two legs. Linda Godfrey, Reporter for the Walworth County Week, decided to research the legend and find out for herself, but never imagined how big of a project she would be taking on.
The film begins by exploring werewolf myths from around the world, including America and Europe. There have been sightings of werewolf-like creatures for centuries, and most of them include violent or fatal attacks.
The Bray Road Beast, however, doesn’t kill anyone… at least, not yet. While the monster has never harmed humans, there are others that believe it is a harbinger of evil and satanic activity. Eyewitness reports all seem to describe the same creature, a beast that skulks in the darkness and runs from the sight of humans.
Most of the film is from the perspective of reporter Linda Godfrey, whose passion for the subject allows us to imagine what those who claim to have seen the beast may have been feeling. She explains that she started out very skeptical, but eventually she was won over by the amount of evidence she was presented with.
The rest of the film is made up of interviews with witnesses, stock photos, and stylized jump cuts. The result is a film that sustains interest in the subject. My one major criticism is that the special effects of the beast itself were crude and came off a little silly. This did not, however, detract too much this overall interesting film. A must for documentary lovers.
