Swamp Monster Movie Opens Today

To hear the locals tell the tale, the mythical beast has been lurking in the swamps for more than 50 years. A creature that is an abomination, combining “man’s fierce intellect” with the “killing instincts of the alligator,” is it just folklore or does such a predatory creature really haunt the brackish backwaters of Louisiana?

The select few who have survived an encounter with the monstrous beast were almost speechless with fear. In ‘Anatomy of a Creature,’ Deanne Summers explores the mythology of the creature, talking to survivors like Frannie Jenkins, Esther McDougal and Randy Gambil, who tried to explain the unexplainable. Frannie, who had a brief glimpse of the creature, exclaimed, “its arms were like alligator skins, like claws,” while Louisiana native, Esther, was horrified by its “guttural, awful screeching sound.” Even Randy Gambil, a strong man in the prime of his life, ran away in fear when he accidently stumbled upon “just legs and head and…blood” while the mysterious monster snacked on a deer.

‘Creature’ director Fred M. Andrews attempted to capture the humanity of ‘Lockjaw’ as he brings the legend to the big screen. Mehcad Brooks (‘Niles’), one of the stars of the movie, noted that this film is a bit of a departure from recent horror movies because “there’s a story behind the monster, there’s a mythology” but co-star Serinda Swan (‘Emily’) was not as serene, saying the creature “is truly petrifying, he’s one scary dude.”

As a woman who has lived in fear of the creature for her whole life, Esther believes, “everyone should make up their own mind about this” but warns that she is not concerned that someone is not going to find “this thing,” she’s worried that they will!

Perhaps Lawrence Wallace, who lost his dog to the red-eyed creature, summed it up best when he emphatically stated, “I ain’t never gonna forget what happened out here.”

It the creature real or just a modern day folklore? You be the judge. Watch ‘Anatomy of a Creature’ …check your local listings and/or watch our homepage for listing updates. For Hollywood’s version of the legend of ‘Lockjaw,’ catch ‘Creature’ at a theater near you, premiering September 9, 2011.

‘Creature’ stars Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Dillon Casey, Aaron Hill, Amanda Fuller, Lauren Schneider and Sid Haig.