Editorials
‘Incident at Loch Ness’ – Werner Herzog Finds Nessie in Cryptid Mockumentary [Horrors Elsewhere]
During a pivotal moment in Incident at Loch Ness, Zak Penn repeats something Werner Herzog supposedly once told him: “Cinema is lies.” This comes after the discovery of Penn’s meddling on Herzog’s latest project. The filmmaker then tells Penn he should become a talk show host or lawyer if he can’t understand the distinction here. While these two storytellers both aim to make a good movie, they are worlds apart in their methods. Herzog seeks utmost accuracy and has a staunch sense of integrity. Penn, on the other hand, is a man of Hollywood’s conditioning. He believes audiences will never be satisfied by just the truth.
Deception is the central theme of this 2004 movie. Even before the camera ever started rolling, the minds behind Incident at Loch Ness had people fooled; outlets back then reported Herzog was shooting a mere documentary called “The Enigma of Loch Ness”. As everyone later realized, Herzog and his team were all along making a pseudo-documentary about Scotland’s most famous lake. Attaching a name like Herzog lends credibility to any project, so it’s understandable why no one suspected “Enigma” to be anything but legitimate.
The elaborate ruse begins with Herzog having a casual gathering of friends and colleagues at his home in Los Angeles before leaving for Scotland. There’s some business in the mix as well, seeing as producer Penn shows up along with cinematographer Gabriel Beristain. Herzog and his co-stars mainly improvise and work off a “scriptment” to avoid coming across as over-rehearsed. And no one is more devoted to the veil of artifice than the star himself; Herzog tells Beristain there won’t be any need for a “lighting package” because this is, after all, a documentary.
Incident at Loch Ness arouses suspicions after Herzog reaches the Scottish Highlands. Between a growing cast of oddballs and a music score to match, the movie gradually abandons the sincerity seen earlier on, only to then feel like a toned-down episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Everyone keeps a straight face through it all, yet their performances are undermined by a number of things that betray Penn’s ultimate ploy. The dishonest producer (really the director) is in fact orchestrating this entire production, and it’s not long before he lets the audience in on the secret. Meanwhile, Herzog remains in the dark until it’s too late to abandon the whole project.
Any hope for a bona-fide documentary is apparently off the table as soon as Herzog realizes his producer has been deceiving him. From having a Playboy model (Kitana Baker) play a “sonar expert” to passing a cryptid fanatic (Michael Karnow) off as a real professor, Incident at Loch Ness steers farther and farther away from shore. This movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie only resumes operations once there’s an actual sighting in the loch; Penn swears he didn’t stage this. And with that suspicious wake in the water, the story gets back on track as well as takes on an urgent tone.
Everyone, but especially Penn, gets a karmic surprise when their antics on the loch have stirred up more than the truth. No, the Discovery IV — Penn renamed the rental boat so it would sound “more authentic” — has attracted the attention of something big beneath the surface. And Penn throwing a Nessie-shaped prop into the water for some easy money shots has only turned the boat and crew into moving targets. The murky aesthetic of Loch Ness comes into full swing as the Discovery IV struggles to escape the unseen hunter on its tail; the boat can’t go very fast since Penn, all for the sake of filming, foolishly replaced the original engine with a smaller and quieter one.
Incident at Loch Ness works diligently to keep the audience trustful, even as the trickery becomes obvious. And much like a captain who goes down with the ship, Herzog neither shows signs of fatigue nor cracks a smile as the grim conclusion draws near. The movie owes much of its success to Herzog’s commitment to the bit. The movie started off as an amusing carousel of quirky characters and feasible nonsense, but the last act finally delivers a surprising horror element. The digital effects are impressive enough to be passed off as genuine, and Penn, as the director, understands the value of the “less is more” approach.
Herzog has been vocal about his feelings toward cinéma-vérité, a style of filmmaking he accuses of reaching “a merely superficial truth.” From his 1999 manifesto called The Minnesota Declaration, Herzog said “filmmakers of cinéma-vérité resemble tourists who take pictures amid ancient ruins of facts.” Knowing this, Incident at Loch Ness is even more entertaining to watch. The movie not only prods the contentious style but it’s also a joke at Herzog’s expense. The filmmaker is regarded for his ability to dig well below the surface of people and situations, yet he’s become the victim of half-truths for most of his career. This phony voyage to find the Loch Ness monster ends up being a clever satire rather than a shallow case of hypocrisy.
Incident at Loch Ness is the most unique movie about Nessie largely because it’s not about Nessie at all. This is a meeting of two larger-than-life myths, not to mention a demonstration of the scrutiny each one has faced. People today may see through Herzog’s attempt at verisimilitude after having watched their fair share of found footage and deepfakes since this movie’s release. However, knowing it’s a total sham doesn’t take away from one’s enjoyment. If anything, understanding it’s an exercise in hoaxes makes the movie even better.
Horrors Elsewhere is a recurring column that spotlights a variety of movies from all around the globe, particularly those not from the United States. Fears may not be universal, but one thing is for sure — a scream is understood, always and everywhere.
Despite ancient humans having already overcome several potential doomsday scenarios in real life, post-apocalyptic fiction used to be relatively rare until the invention of the atomic bomb convinced us that the end of the world could be just around the proverbial corner.
Since then, we’ve seen many different stories about the collapse of civilization and the strange societies that might emerge from the rubble, but I’d argue that one of the most interesting of these apocalyptic visions is the post-nuclear America of the iconic Fallout games. A witty satire of American jingoism and cold war shenanigans, it’s honestly baffling that it so long for us to finally see a live-action adaptation of this memorable setting.
Thankfully, Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet’s Fallout TV show isn’t just a great adaptation – it’s also an incredibly fun standalone story that makes the most of its post-apocalyptic worldbuilding. And since fans are going to have to wait a while to see the much-anticipated second season, we’ve decided to come up with a list highlighting six post-apocalyptic thrillers to watch if you’re still craving more Fallout!
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own apocalyptic favorites if you think we missed a particularly fun one. And while it’s not on the list, I’d also like to give a shout-out to The Hughes Brothers’ underrated post-apocalyptic action flick The Book of Eli – which I recently covered in its own article.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. The Divide (2011)
Xavier Gens may be best known for his memorable contribution to the New French Extremity movement – with the eerily prescient Frontière(s) – but the filmmaker is also responsible for a handful of underrated thrillers that flew under the radar despite being legitimately solid films. One of the most interesting of these flicks is 2011’s The Divide, a single-location exercise in claustrophobic tension.
Telling the story of a group of New Yorkers who find themselves trapped in a bomb shelter after a surprise nuclear attack, this dark thriller is more interested in the ensuing social chaos than effects-heavy physical destruction. And while critics at the time were horrified by the bleak story and cynical characters, I think this mean streak is precisely what makes The Divide worth watching.
5. The Day After (1983)
One of the highest-rated TV films of all time, ABC’s The Day After is one of the scariest movies ever made despite being more of a speculative docu-drama than an actual genre flick. Following an ensemble of families, doctors and scientists as they deal with the horrific aftermath of all-out nuclear war, this radioactive cautionary tale was vital in convincing real-world politicians to review their policies about nuclear deterrence.
In fact, the film is even credited with scaring President Ronald Reagan into changing his mind about expanding the United States’ nuclear arsenal, with this new stance eventually leading to a treaty with the Soviet Union. With a story this powerful, I think it’s safe to say that The Day After is a must watch for Fallout fans interested in the more down-to-earth elements of the apocalypse.
4. The Postman (1997)
If I had a nickel for each unfairly maligned post-apocalyptic epic starring Kevin Costner that was released in the 90s, I’d have two nickels – which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. And while Waterworld has since seen a resurgence in popularity with fans defending it as a bizarrely expensive B-movie, I haven’t seen a lot of discussion surrounding 1997’s more serious vision of a fallen America, The Postman.
Following Costner (who also directed the flick) as a post-apocalyptic nomad who begins to rebuild America by pretending to be a member of the newly reformed postal service, this David Brin adaptation is consistently fascinating – especially if you view the story as a cynical fairy-tale, which was Costner’s original intention.
And while the flick suffers from some goofy dialogue and a bloated runtime, it makes up for this by having directly inspired Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding.
3. Turbo Kid (2015)
Turbo Kid may have been billed as an indie Mad Max with bicycles instead of cars, but François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s comedic throwback to the post-apocalyptic future of 1997 is much more than meets the eye. From quirky characters to madly creative designs, the flick rises above nostalgia bait by being a legitimately fun time even if you don’t get the copious amounts of ’80s and ’90s references.
And despite the horror-inspired ultraviolence that colors the frequent action scenes as we follow a young comic-book fan deluding himself into thinking that he’s a superhero, it’s the childlike sense of wonder that really makes this a treat for cinephiles. It’s just a shame that we’re still waiting on the sequel that was announced back in 2016…
2. Six-String Samurai (1998)
A lo-fi homage to spaghetti westerns and classic samurai films – not to mention the golden age of rock ‘n roll – Six-String Samurai is a must-watch for those who appreciate weird cinema. While I’ve already written about the madly creative vibes that make this such an entertaining flick, I think it’s worth repeating just in case some of you have yet to give this musical fever dream a try.
And appropriately enough for this list, the film was also a source of inspiration for the 3D Fallout games – especially Obsidian’s fan favorite New Vegas. The game even includes a New Vegas Samurai achievement (unlocked by killing enemies with a katana) with a vault-boy illustration modeled after the film’s rendition of Buddy Holly.
1. A Boy and His Dog (1975)
The grisly post-apocalyptic comedy that inspired the original Fallout games, L.Q. Jones’ adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s novella is just as shocking today as it was back in ’75. Telling the story of a teenage scavenger who travels the wastelands of 2024 America alongside his telepathic canine companion, A Boy and His Dog feels like a Heavy Metal comic brought to life.
While the film’s rampant misogyny and brutal violence make it tough to revisit under modern sensibilities, it’s still a landmark in post-apocalyptic cinema and one hell of a memorable ride. Not only that, but the flick also inspired the creation of Fallout’s most beloved NPC, the ever-loyal Dogmeat.
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