Incident at Loch Ness

 

 

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i'm one of the few who enjoyed this film. i took it for what it was, and laughed throughout the movie.

herzog in a mockumentry, who would have thought?

i thought the scenes between herzog and zak(sic) were hilarious.

buy it used, that's what i did.

Without knowing anything about this film, I picked it up in a bargain bin knowing I could trade it in without too much net loss. However, this is one movie I'll never trade in. Essentially, a docmentary within a documentary within a mockumentary, Zack Penn's Incident At Loch Ness is a winner that many just won't get.

Here's the setup: A camera crew is creating a documentary on noted filmaker Werner Herzog (Herzog, as himself). At the same time, Herzog is making a documentary on Loch Ness and the mythos surrounding it. Herzog is more interested in why people want to believe in a monster rather than the monster itself. His producer, Zack Penn (Penn, as himself) however has different ideas, and will resort to trickery in order to get the blockbuster film he envisions.

Penn hires a sexy sonar operator (Kitana Baker, as herself) with no sonar experience, and a strange cryptozologist (Michael Karnow) for comedic relief. He also demands that the engines on the boat be changed to quieter ones in order to get better sound coverage. Herzog, meanwhile, tries to make his film, as Penn tries to steer it in a different direction, with disasterious results.

Incident At Loch Ness doesn't try to be profound. Herzog (the character) never finds out just why people want to believe in monsters. Herzog (the onscreen character) plays it straight while Penn and Karnow play it for laughs. The big questions are never answered, but that's OK. They weren't meant to be. All you're supposed to do is hop on board for the ride. Since the film is largely improvised, you might like this if you enjoy Christopher Guest.

Personally, I loved it, and I also loved the DVD bonus features which shed a little light (but not too much) on the making of the film. There is a comedic audio commentary track with Zak Penn that takes the gag even further as well, before cutting out abruptly. Still, the movie is a low budget winner that will appeal to people who are sick and tired and the same old comedies. It will especially appeal to fans of Herzog.

5 stars.

This may be the first mockumentary made... about a mockumentary.

The independent, creative mind clashes with big-budget in "Incident as Loch Ness," a bizarre mockumentary-within-a-mockumentary (sort of a fictional "Lost in Le Mancha"). It has some problems -- a slow pace and spotty humour -- but it's still an interesting little movie.

The movie opens in 2003, with an interviewer visiting Werner Herzog (played by... himself) for a documentary. Herzog explains that his forthcoming movie is a documentary about Loch Ness, and how people want to believe in a monster. For this, he's collaborating with Zakk Penn (himself again), writer of movies like "Elektra," "X2," and "X-Men: The Last Stand." Very, very mainstream.

But problems crop up as soon as they get to Scotland. Herzog finds that Penn has hired a Playmate/sonar operator, an exozoologist and a big inflatable plesiosaur. He's trying to turn the intelligent documentary into Hollywood garbage. But as Herzog decides to put a stop to it, something huge in the water attacks the boat...

This is a notable movie for two reasons: It's Zakk Penn's first indie movie, and it's the most bizarre movie that Herzog has ever done. And as we're reminded, he once had a riverboat hauled over a mountain, so that is saying something. At the end, it's hard to even remember that this was all "wheels within wheels."

Stylistically, "Incident" does exactly what it is supposed to do: twist reality, and turn the documentary on its ear. It's slow-paced and rather meditative, like behind-the-scenes documentaries are, and at times it's pretty dull. No outright funny stuff, but it has a sort of wry humour in scenes like the exozoologist showing off his tentacle, or the Playboy girl installing the sonar.

Then after the slow buildup, we get some surprises -- something massive swimming in Loch Ness, which bashes into the boat and cameras. At that point, everything speeds up. The main problem is the ending -- it feels like Penn didn't know how to end the movie, so he just... ended it. Like Herzog says, "It felt empty."

It's pretty easy for people to play themselves by definition, but Herzog and Penn actually do a good job. Of course, they're not playing themselves -- Penn is willing to make himself look like a Hollywood sneak, and that's pretty admirable. And Herzog plays himself as a crabby, brilliant filmmaker who values truth (cinematic and personal) more than anyone else on the tub.

Reality gets twisted into a Mobius strip in this mockumentary-within-a-mockumentary, where Hollywood and independent film collide with a bang. Definitely a weird one.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Herzog le comique!?!
Ce film n'est pas une réalisation de Herzog. Il s'adresse à ceux qui aiment Herzog le personnage et non le réalisateur. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Ben

5.0 out of 5 stars "Documentary" great, extra features poor
The "documentary" is great. But if (like me) you ordered the DVD for the extra features -- particularly the 'directors' comments -- you'll be very disappointed. Read more

Published on Sep 23 2008 by Alistair Wentworth

4.0 out of 5 stars Customer from Canada is an idiot.
The movie is is about a fake documentary. You are dumb for falling for it. I can't believe you can type, let alone walk without falling down. Ha ha ha. Read more

Published on Oct 22 2005 by Gabriel Angerilli

2.0 out of 5 stars Tiresome Mockumentary
The first 20 minutes of INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS is actually quite convincing. The remaining 70 minutes contains far too many film industry insider jokes/references and over the top... Read more

Published on Oct 12 2005

1.0 out of 5 stars Review the film, not other Amazon reviews
I thought Amazon had a policy of publishing reviews that reviewed the product and did not comment in a negative manner on the opinions of others writing about the same product... Read more

Published on Oct 10 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulously funny, absurd satire
The previous review totally missed the point. The movie IS Zak Penn's; he wrote and directed it. There was no Loch Ness movie; Herzog was playing a role in this mockumentary... Read more

Published on Sep 15 2005 by cat

1.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to believe Herzog was involved with this flop
I viewed 'Incident At Loch Ness' on the Documentary Channel here in Canada. After viewing this pseudo-documentary I was thankful I had not paid for the DVD. Read more

Published on July 11 2005

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