Minerva Monster

This was a documentary that I sought out since I've seen later ones from our director, Seth Breedlove, and his production team of Small Town Monsters. This would be the first one that they did as it explores the lore and encounter by a family living in a small town in eastern Ohio. Since I've lived near there and currently reside in Columbus, I was intrigued to seek this out.

The title of this documentary is what this variation on Bigfoot is called. I had to look up Minerva, Ohio since I didn't know much about it. It is east of Cleveland and close to the Pennsylvania border. This doc does well in setting up the history of this place, what it was known for and then delving into the family that sighted this cryptid. There are others that saw it. The police were even called and newspaper reporters also came to cover it. This helps to frame how big it got in this area.

It is from there that we learn the repercussions of the news getting out. The son, who was a teenager back in 1978, recounts how it affected their lives. I do feel bad. I can't fully say what they experienced, but I also cannot disprove it either.

Another angle to look at here is that I've seen more polished works from Breedlove so it is interesting to see an earlier work for him. There are slight sound issues that I don't notice now. These aren't also as exciting since it is mostly just watching people get interviewed. I did like showing newspaper articles and maps to help frame things. That was a good touch. This is under an hour so it flew by. I would have liked looking more into the lore. If there isn't any outside of this one stretch, that does prevent that.

If you are looking to fill an hour of your time and you are interested in cryptids, this is something I'd recommend checking out. It doesn't go as in-depth as it could, but I didn't hate my time here either.

My Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Minerva Monster (2015)

** (out of 4)

Minerva is a small town in Ohio, which is about seventy miles south of Cleveland. In 1978 there were a large number of encounters with an unknown creature that was stalking the woods. This documentary from Seth Bleedlove interviews a few of the witnesses as well as a police officer who was working that area.

This here is the third monster documentary that I've seen from the director and this here is probably the weakest. That's not to say this isn't slightly entertaining to monster buffs but there's no question that it's just not fully entertaining. The biggest problem with the film is that it's pretty much just standard witness testimony and none of the stories are overly exciting or really pack much of a punch. If you're a Bigfoot fan you'll at least want to hear the stories but there's just nothing too engrossing here.

I've been skeptical but as a child even a teen let my imagination soar with this legend. But there has been something that has kept my interest coming back. It's stories like this and the people who are certain of what they saw. From law enforcement to locals who are average people. But the sightings and the reports are the same. Where as the people who are more respectful of nature and there surroundings.

The difference between the stories where in other areas like California where its met in brutal violence and fear is in control of actions. The stories are scary and violent.

MINERVA MONSTER is a documentary about the titular creature. After a brief history of Minerva, Ohio, we are introduced to those who claim to have witnessed and / or encountered it in 1978. As low-budget docs go, this one is quite good. The people are colorful, interesting, and genuine in their convictions. Consisting mostly of interviews, film of the town, and hand-drawn pictures, much is left to the imagination. Some of the accounts are pretty creepy!

Is it enough to convince the skeptic? Perhaps, but it suffers from the same lack of hard evidence that most such stories do. Where are the up-close photographs, non-grainy videos, or clear tracks? How about hair, a tooth, or a skin sample? A skeleton, why is there never a skeleton? Something from which to test the DNA? Anything concrete!

Not to get too cynical, it would be great if some real evidence did show up. This production may not change minds, but it is well-presented...