BOG is another creature feature of the 1970s perhaps inspired by the success of THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK. Once again the eerie wilds of Wisconsin are used to good effect in a story which is a little reminiscent of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON in the tale of a swamp-creature stalking mankind. This film is bogged down by some cheesy tacked-on romantic sub-plots and a lot of over-emoting from the cast members. Old-timers like Aldo Ray, Marshall Thompson, and Leo Gordon all find themselves enmeshed in the predictable plotting which lacks the verve of something like KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS. The monster itself is little seen and much better use could have been made of the story's elements had the writer and director been so enthused. In the end, it's pure hokum.

"Bog" is quite similar to, and instantly reminded me of "Croaked: Frog Monster from Hell". Both movies were filmed in the rural Wisconsin regions during the mid-70's ("Bog" didn't get released until the early 1980's) and they are both … well … abominable! That is to say, they're bad but somehow irresistibly charming, cheesy and entertaining as the same time. And, for some strange coincidental reason, these movies also just happen to have the two greatest taglines ever in the horror film industry! For "Croaked" the tagline was: "This time the frog dissects you" and the DVD-cover of "Bog" proclaims the tagline: "Who's the bait now?" That's good stuff. The film neatly follows the familiar monster-movie routine. Some type of ancient creature that has been lying dormant on the bottom of a desolate lake gets awakened in a banal fashion (local fishermen using dynamite instead of regular bait) and begins to devour everyone in the area. This particular beastie entirely drains the blood out of his victims' bodies and leaves the complete lake town community baffled and scared. The awesome Aldo Ray stars as the heroic and quite fearless local sheriff who can't prevent the bodies in his town from piling up and "Bog" also stars two other veterans in the roles of forensic scientists; namely Gloria DeHaven ("Summer Stock" and Marshall Thompson ("It! The Terror from beyond Space"). They can't seem to figure out what kind of dangerous species they're dealing with, but perhaps that's because they're too busy falling in love. The scenes in which senior citizens Adriana and Dr. Wednesday interrupt their investigation of the organic tissue under their microscopes in order to declare their love and affection for each other are unintentionally funny, misfit and rather awkward. It takes more than a full hour before we get a proper impression of the monster. Before that, we just hear it growl and have to derive from the petrified expression of its victims' faces that it must be one hideous beast. Still, it's plain obvious that "Bog" is an incredibly low-budgeted and amateurish horror romp, so likewise for the monster design. The creature actually even looks more imbecilic and less scary than the monsters in those zero-budgeted 1950's movies, like "Attack of the Giant Leeches", "The Beast from Haunted Cave" and "The Giant Gila Monster". The thing has enormous eyes and his arms look like an over-sized crab. According to the trivia section, the guy in the suit was 6ft7 and weighed nearly 250pds. One final remark I just have to make: I seriously wonder how many gallons of booze were consumed during the production of "Bog". The first victims, two fishermen and their wives, drink beers non-stop. Even during their police interrogations! And also every dialog with good-old Sheriff Aldo Ray ends with the words "I could sure use a drink right now…".

Some of the filming was also done in Lake Tomahawk Wisconsin.. specifically the old airport control tower which was used in exterior shots as the police station. There is also an aerial shot of downtown Minoqua (nearby Lake Tomahawk) in the opening sequence.This is currently enjoying something of a grassroots revival in Lake Tomahawk (July 2008) Legend has it that the cast and crew spent a significant amount of time imbibing at the local bars...Which might explain some of the acting. and Yes I can confirm that this is truly one of the worst movies ever made but totally brilliant because of it. With regards to the editing. It is so bad that I had originally thought it was the vintage vcr that it was playing on that was causing the tape to freeze but soon realized that it must be an "artsy" editing job.Reading the other comment about the editing I now realize that it is even worse than I had imagined which only adds to the aura of shoddiness and thus to it's unintentional brilliance

I'm a devotee of bad films ("Manos, the Hands of Fate" is one of my favorites; no, seriously, I really like it!), but "Bog" was just a bit too dumb, even for me. Oh, I don't deny that it had it's moments. But in between those moments was a lot of dead space. I was surprised by the "love scene" between the film's two leads. I think this is, without question, the oldest love scene I've ever witnessed! Now, it's not graphic by any stretch of the imagination, but how often do you see a 50-year-old woman making out with a 60-year-old man? Heck, how often do you see a 50-year-old woman who is supposed to be our eye-candy? I've got to give the movie props for striking a blow for the geriatric community!