Incident at Loch Ness

Amazon.com

Nothing is quite as it seems in Incident at Loch Ness, an entertaining pseudo-documentary comment on cinematic fakery. Conceived and directed by Hollywood screenwriter Zak Penn, this half-clever ruse begins with a master-stroke by casting German director Werner Herzog as himself, preparing to film a documentary about Scotland's mysterious Loch Ness monster. As this film-within-a-film is chronicled by a documentary crew led by renowned cinematographer John Bailey, "producer" Penn rises to apparently impossible heights of ineptitude, until it becomes obvious (indeed, it's the film's near-fatal flaw) that there is no "reality" here at all--just a very amusing pile-up of falsehoods. Penn's onto something good here, and Herzog is by far the film's greatest asset, maintaining a credible commitment to the ruse with a hilarious and fiercely believable performance. Still, the ideas at play are better than Penn's execution of them, so you'll have to play along, in Blair Witch fashion, even after the film's ploy becomes clear. Penn and Herzog provide a worthwhile commentary track, adding another layer of observation to Penn's multilayered con game. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Incident at Loch Ness chronicles the story of the making (an unmaking) of acclaimed director, Werner Herzog's film. Herzog's stated intent was "to explore the origin and the necessity of the monster" rather than to look for the creature itself. Shocking, controversial and strangely humorous, the film raises many questions about where reality ends and fiction begins.

Customer Reviews:

"In Search Of" meets "This is Spinal Tap".......2007-08-10

The one thing that kept me from giving this film four stars was the "Blair Witch"-like sense of doom hanging over the survivors clinging to the sinking boat in the last sequences. (I'm not giving anything away: one of the first shots is of floating wreckage and a body at the beginning). The last scenes made me wonder what a serious film of a darker threat under Loch Ness would play like.

But otherwise, this is still a pretty funny mockumentary that had laugh-outloud moments, usually involving the obnoxious "producer" making incredibly stupid statements or clashing with film director Werner Herzog. That Herzog has dealt with crazy people on film before--like maniac Klaus Kinski in "My Best Fiend" and nutjob Timothy Treadwell in "Grizzly Man"--makes him a perfect choice as the harried voice of reason trying to work with someone way over their head. Herzog's reactions to super babe Kitana jumping into the loch in a string bikini or walking in on the producers with their fake monster are hilarious.

Is this for everyone? I have no idea. The sudden shifts in tone, from serious documentary in the first third, to Spinal Tap-like hilarity on the loch in the middle, to the final third in a foggy danger, might throw off most people...but I liked it.

(It might help if you see "My Best Fiend" and "Grizzly Man" first, although both of those films are serious documentaries--and funny in their own way!)

Ink Plot Test Movie.......2007-07-29

This film is a test of the viewer's intelligence and insider knowledge of the movie business. You can chart yours by just when you figure it out. I was watching on the Independent Cinema Channel and it seemed to be a legitimate documentary until they were out on the water, which is to say I would not chart very high.

It's Blair Witch made by intelligent honest talents, basically. And as with that film there may be some who would believe it until the circus music credits. And others who are insulted that Herzog and his director are saying, yes you are exactly that stupid.

Hopefully they will make a mockumentary on the last two national elections too.

Herzog would not make much of King Lear but playing himself he is largely brilliant.

Unwatchable.......2006-11-26

Never have I seen a film so painfully unenjoyable as *Incident at Loch Ness,* and I say this as a fan of Werner Herzog's oeuvre. *Aguirre, the Wrath of God* and *The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser are magisterial works, and Herzog's performance in Harmony Korine's Julien Donkey-boy is mesmerizing.

But this film, I'm afraid to say, is an unendurable bore. Overwhelmed by its rather maladroit attempt at postmodern cheekiness, obvious in its staging, derivative in its conceit, this film I turned off right at the point, some thirty minutes into the film, when a bizarre -- and, for someone of Herzog's stature, embarrassing -- stab at some sort of sophomoric humor involving a Bikini Team bimbo occured.

I have not the slightest idea how or why Herzog came to involve himself in this debacle, but, I have to say, it was quite sad to see his trading on his fame this way.

Therefore, if you know little about Herzog and his films, but are interested in knowing more, see *Grizzly Man,* see *The Burden of Dreams,* see *My Best Fiend,* and, for heaven's sake, stay far, far away from *Incident at Loch Ness,* lest you form a low opinion of an otherwise brilliant filmmaker.

So Bizarre It Works.......2006-08-12

I'm NOT a fan of mockumentaries however `Incident At Loch Ness' is the type of humor so very twisted it works. If anyone had told me what this film was about I wouldn't have seen it. But I'm glad I did. Have no fear, `Incident At Loch Ness' is hysterical!!!

I'm NOT a fan of "reality" TV either. `Incident' works because it is so very silly and knows it, mocking itself. While "reality" shows never embrace their own humor. The fact that `Survivor' was fake yet the audience didn't get it and still defends it as "real" proves mockumentaries are a risky genre. (For those of you still hanging on to the "reality" of `Survivor', please explain how more than one actor played the same character.)

The plot: Artsy German filmmaker Werner Herzog teams up with GenXer Zak Penn to film a documentary in Scotland about the Loch Ness monster, `Enigma of Loch Ness'. Werner takes the art of film very seriously approaching the project with great professionalism. This puts him at great odds with Zak who is treating everything as a joke.

Out on the lake hero Werner and villain Zak come to deadly blows when Werner realizes the ship's sonar operator is a Playmate, their scientist is an unpaid actor, and Zak has created animatronic monsters to appear in the lake. Werner is disgusted that Zak has betrayed the art of his documentary.

But Zak defends his actions to the grave, literally when the ship is attacked by the real Loch Ness monster and kills two crew members.

The humor doesn't end there! A totally separate second film exists in the audio commentary and Werner and Zak look back and argue anew. The two pretend they are in a lawsuit.

`Incident at Loch Ness' goes down as a risky film with very dark humor. Werner takes the situation seriously, making us laugh at how absurd this all is. Zak takes the situation as a joke, making us laugh at how anyone could take the (fictional) seriousness of the situation as a joke.

As a final mind fxxx, `Incident at Loch Ness' was marketed as a REAL documentary NOT a comedy. My video store had it under listed un "documentary."

HIlarious Spoof.......2006-07-29

This has to be one of the most hilariously perplexing, obviously phony movies I've ever stumbled across. So much more intriguing than your average run-of-the-mill mockumentary. Werner Herzog is so engaging a personality, when he says he's going to "hunt down" Zak and strangle him with his two hands, the statement is so simple and delivered with such a deadpan expression, the irony of Zak pulling a gun on Herzog, the bikini clad "sonar operator", and Herzog's sheer magnetism makes the film worth seeing. Any "fan" would love the opportunity to watch Herzog schlumping across the sinking bow of a boat, hosting a pre-production dinner party while worrying that the exotic tuber he has prepared may still be too toxic to eat, or simply listen to him speak, in the finale, about the film as "a stillborn child that simply didn't want to come to life". "The truth...seemed vulgar and pointless."

The film itself I found myself laughing out loud to - anyone who takes this thing seriously enough to write a poor review of it simply doesn't have a sense of the absurd. When I think of all the acclaim for something as insipid as (the previously mentioned) "Blair Witch Project", I have to admit I just don't get those kind of viewers at all.

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