One hour long TV special about the weird creatures that may or may not be lurking in the wilds of the world. This focuses primarily on Big Foot, the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. Its not way out or far out or over the top this is a rational and balanced look at the mysteries showing people speaking both in favor of and against the possibility that these creatures exist. In all honesty in the films brief running time it covers the 3 subjects better than most 2 hour History Channel shows do on one subject. In all honesty this is the place to start if you want to get a very good primer on the subject of real world "monsters". Highly recommended to anyone with any interest in the subject.
3 Reviews
The best place to start if you want to know about real world monsters
dbborroughs3 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Left Some Big Tracks
a_l_i_e_n17 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After CBS ran the prime time special "Monsters! Mysteries or Myths?", Bigfoot, overnight, became a pop culture sensation. Reports of encounters (even one of an alleged kidnapping committed by the forest giant) increased receiving major media attention. Indeed, "Monsters..." became the highest-rated television documentary ever broadcast (a record that was still intact as recently as the early 1990's and may possibly even hold to this day).
In addition to Bigfoot, the hour-long program also took a look at the ongoing search for two other elusive creatures: the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman. Personal accounts by eye witnesses were included as well as lots of interesting photos- though, curiously, the famous 1967 Bluff Creek film of an alleged Sasquatch was not among the evidence presented. In response to the public's now rabid fascination with Bigfoot, the documentary was re-edited and released a couple years later in theatres under the title "The Mysterious Monsters". While this version did include additional actor recreations, alleged audio recordings of the creature and, best of all, the Bluff Creek film blown up to 35mm glory for the big screen, it was still largely the same material shown in the TV version. Also, a particular disappointment about the re-tooled movie release is the absence of original host Rod Serling.
Of course, "Monsters! Mysteries Or Myths?" didn't prove the existence of anything. It only presented the cases for and against the possibility that missing links and lake monsters were alive and among us in the 20th century. The featured experts who expressed doubt in these theories were, predictably, not as much fun to listen to as were the true believers. One especially entertaining re-creation of an alleged encounter featured actor Richard Kiel playing a sasquatch that crashes a boyscout camping trip.
As documentaries on crypto-zoology go, "Monsters! Mysteries Or Myths?" is one of the best ever made-- even if it IS now dated in spots. For example, the famous "Surgeon's Photo" offered as evidence in support of Nessie's existence has since then been exposed as a fake. Overall though, it holds up pretty well and clearly served as the template for similarly themed shows that followed in it's tracks like "In Search Of" and "Unsolved Mysteries".
In addition to Bigfoot, the hour-long program also took a look at the ongoing search for two other elusive creatures: the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman. Personal accounts by eye witnesses were included as well as lots of interesting photos- though, curiously, the famous 1967 Bluff Creek film of an alleged Sasquatch was not among the evidence presented. In response to the public's now rabid fascination with Bigfoot, the documentary was re-edited and released a couple years later in theatres under the title "The Mysterious Monsters". While this version did include additional actor recreations, alleged audio recordings of the creature and, best of all, the Bluff Creek film blown up to 35mm glory for the big screen, it was still largely the same material shown in the TV version. Also, a particular disappointment about the re-tooled movie release is the absence of original host Rod Serling.
Of course, "Monsters! Mysteries Or Myths?" didn't prove the existence of anything. It only presented the cases for and against the possibility that missing links and lake monsters were alive and among us in the 20th century. The featured experts who expressed doubt in these theories were, predictably, not as much fun to listen to as were the true believers. One especially entertaining re-creation of an alleged encounter featured actor Richard Kiel playing a sasquatch that crashes a boyscout camping trip.
As documentaries on crypto-zoology go, "Monsters! Mysteries Or Myths?" is one of the best ever made-- even if it IS now dated in spots. For example, the famous "Surgeon's Photo" offered as evidence in support of Nessie's existence has since then been exposed as a fake. Overall though, it holds up pretty well and clearly served as the template for similarly themed shows that followed in it's tracks like "In Search Of" and "Unsolved Mysteries".
Bigfoot on a camping trip
dtucker8627 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I had previously written a review on this site about the Sunn Classic Film The Mysterious Monsters. This special was made the year before and so much of the footage from it was reused in the later film! Rod Serling was the perfect choice to narrate this because he has the spookiest story teller voice I have ever heard. The film is divided in three with searches for the "Yeti" (Abominable Snowman), Bigfoot (or as the Indians call him Sasquatch) and then the Loch Ness Monster. A picture of "Nessie" that is shown (the famous "surgeons photo" with its neck and head sticking up out of the water) was later discredited as a fake when one of those involved confessed on his death bed in 1994. One part of this film that was later reused in the Mysterious Monsters shows Bigfoot visiting and rummaging through a Boy Scout camp unitl one of the Scouts wakes up and sees the creature hovering over him and lets out a blood curdling scream. That scene scared me to death as a kid.
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