Despite coming out several months after Black Pumpkin, The Legend of Fall Creek was actually shot two years before it under the title Bloody Bobby, and takes place first. It’s the story of the Fall Creek Valley Massacre that’s referred to in Black Pumpkin which was originally titled Bloody Bobby 2. As if that isn’t confusing enough, this film has IMDB entries under both of its titles.
To add to the confusion the IMDB entry for Bloody Bobby and the film’s actual credits list Anthony Hall (Mud Season) as the sole director. The entry for The Legend of Fall Creek credits him as co-director along with Ryan McGonagle who co-wrote the film along with Jen Mathiasen.
The Legend of Fall Creek begins with a title card defining the term “Grindhouse” and a scroll of text giving the backstory to the legend of Bloody Bobby, a young boy who vanished after being teased and bullied by other kids. Shortly after we get a taste of Bobby’s handiwork as he kills off a couple with car trouble. It’s 12:01 on October 31st, and it’s going to be a very long day.
As Sheriff Leavitt (David Uchansky, The Wanderers) investigates the opening murders, Reggie (Curt Clendenin, Matt Mercury, Plot of the Galactic Mastermind) has returned to town 20 years after his family suddenly moved away. He’s meeting up with Tiffany (Christy Keller, Death Factory, Double Wide Blues). She is excited to meet the guy she’s been chatting with online, Oswald Jeffrey Gacy (Alton Clemente, Ambushed).
But as they, and others, make plans for the big Halloween party, Bobby (Irene Watson) has plans of his own and is warming up for the night’s festivities.
It doesn’t take long before it becomes very obvious why The Legend of Fall Creek was released after its sequel. The film is a train wreck. Not only is it hard to believe it was made by some of the same people who made Black Pumpkin, it’s hard to believe they got the chance to make another movie after this.
After the opening kills The Legend of Fall Creek becomes a slow paced, talky soap opera for a large chunk of its running time. Reggie is looking forward to a chance to see his old crush Madison (Anita Leeman Torres). Rick (Frank Brantley) rambles on about how hard it is to be a stud, etc. If it wasn’t for Megan (Silvia Spross, The Deep Ones, Attack in LA) doing a story on the legend of Bobby I would have forgotten I was watching a horror movie.
There’s also a load of gross out humour that seems totally out of place. We’re talking loud, dubbed in fart noises. ‘Big’ Dick McGee (Ryan McGonagle), the local diner owner using cooking utensils to scratch his back and other assorted health code violations. And in keeping with that spirit, a lesbian character named Liz (Maxie Solters, Havenhurst) is listed in the credits as Liz Bo.
Most annoying however is the way The Legend of Fall Creek will suddenly go into grindhouse mode. The film’s coloring will change, the sound distort, digitally added scratches and melting celluloid effects appear, etc. That was well past its expiration date even in 2016 when this was shot.
Between all of that it’s a wonder I lasted until the killings picked up again. Even then it’s mostly blood splashes and bodies found after the fact. Considering how unlikeable most of the cast are, seeing them meeting their fates would have made The Legend of Fall Creek a lot more tolerable.
As it is, The Legend of Fall Creek is a talky, tedious mess. Maybe that’s why McGonagle wrote and directed Black Pumpkin himself. I do give him a lot of credit for making so much improvement in the two years between the films though.
The Legend of Fall Creek will be released on DVD and Digital February 9th by Uncork’d Entertainment. You can check the film’s Facebook page for more information.