The Big Picture
- Incident at Loch Ness is a mockumentary film that follows filmmaker Werner Herzog as he searches for the Loch Ness Monster.
- The film blurs the line between reality and fiction, using slow-burn pacing to capture the eerie atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands.
- With meta-commentary on Herzog’s reputation for difficult sets, the movie delves into the chaotic and unexpected events that occur during the monster hunt.
On the cold waters of the Scottish Highlands, monster hunting is a typical day for locals and tourists. Loch Ness has been the home of Nessie for centuries, or so the legend claims. There has been no shortage of attempts to gather proof that the Loch Ness Monster exists. Despite how famous Nessie is, there aren’t many films about the mysterious, unconfirmed creature, some of them are nothing but schlock, while others stick to family-friendly plots. By far the weirdest of the bunch is about filmmaker Werner Herzog searching for the monster and finding a lot more than he bargained for. It’s a found footage horror movie that uses slow-burn pacing to show how Herzog might just be as mythic as Nessie. A New German Cinema figure and an elusive, prehistoric creature meet in a Scottish Highlands bar, and the result is oddball, funny, and creepy.
Werner Herzog Investigates the Loch Ness Monster
Released in 2004, Incident at Loch Ness is a movie-in-a-movie, a mockumentary that follows Herzog as he prepares to make a documentary on the famous monster. A camera crew begins to capture Herzog’s final days before he heads off to Scotland, and there is no question whether Nessie is real or not. Herzog is more fascinated by the legend, especially in the believers. It’s not until the filmmaker is over in the Scottish Highlands that he realizes he’s being duped by his producer, with yet another movie being made without his knowing. This sets the stage for when the existence of the monster is confirmed.
The opening shot is of a camera at the surface of Loch Ness, a body drifting into the frame. Whatever happened, it’s safe to say it wasn’t good. Incident then goes back to detail the events leading up to what disaster happened out on the water. An essential part of the found footage horror subgenre — where movies are recovered after something terrible has occurred — is an attempt at depicting reality. What helps the authenticity behind Incident is how the Nessie premise isn’t too unusual or far-fetched from the documentaries Herzog has done in his career. There were the steady camera pans at mirages in Fata Morgana (1971) and the man who embraced the wild by living among bears in Grizzly Man (2005), as well as many others. From docs to fictional movies, Herzog is a significant filmmaker associated with New German Cinema and for most of the runtime, Incident plays out like a candid account, selling the concept of “it really happened.”
‘Incident at Loch Ness’ Claims To Be a Documentary of a Famous Director
Early on, Herzog has a dinner party and a celebrity friend who arrives is none other than Jeff Goldblum. Around the table, there is monster talk and Goldblum makes it clear in his view, showing he didn’t have to act too hard in his role as naysayer Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park. “It’s fun to believe in things,” Goldblum says, in his usual, protracted way of talking, “But Carl Sagan in his book said that just because it’s fun to believe in things, doesn’t mean we should believe in them.” John Bailey is behind the camera, cinematographer for The Big Chill and Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, and it’s explained that producer, screenwriter, and friend of Herzog, Zak Penn, has brought Bailey on to direct this documentary following the director on his new project.
Bailey films around an office where there are photos and clippings related to Nessie, research for the new project Herzog is focusing on, which he calls “The Enigma of Loch Ness.” He shows the 1934 “surgeon’s photo” of Nessie, pointing out how it’s famously seen in close-up, but once you look at the wide angle, the water’s ripples around the creature are bigger than the creature itself. “So it shows very clearly that this whole thing about Loch Ness is more or less a figment of our fantasy,” he states, “and I like that much more than the real monster — what’s going on in our collective dreams and collective nightmares.” Also on the crew are cinematographer Gabriel Beristain (Blade II) and sound technician Russell Williams (Dances with Wolves), professional individuals known to the film industry who are portraying versions of themselves, lending further credibility to the story.
Away from the opening shot, Incident takes its time in becoming a horror movie. On the boat the crew will use to sail Loch Ness, Penn makes everyone wear matching jumpsuits to look cool and, in his mind warped by writing Hollywood movies (Last Action Hero, X2: X-Men United), appear as authentic explorers. A score put over scenes that is heard repeatedly, is carnival-like, not taking itself too seriously. Penn, who was the actual writer and director of Incident at Loch Ness, pokes fun at himself and the Hollywoodized, shameless efforts to make situations more exciting. Penn plans to fake a sighting of Nessie while bringing in a Playboy model to be the crew’s sonar expert. “Why am I exactly wearing a g-string bikini?” Kitana Baker asks, her swimsuit in patriotic, American flag colors making it all the more absurd. “Because you are a model and you’re a sonar operator,” Penn answers. This is how Incident disproves the existence of big, ancient Nessie, from the 1934 photo that was revealed to be a hoax in the ’90s and the scenes Penn wants to be filmed behind Herzog’s back. But there are signs this trip to Scotland won’t be so easy-peasy.
Zak Penn renames the boat’s name, believing it should sound better, although the captain views it as bad luck. Russell Williams complains to Penn about picking up too much noise on his audio recordings, attempts are then made to correct this, of which Pen denies any wrongdoing, where a smaller engine is switched in and the boat’s radio is messed with, placing importance on the movie over the crew’s safety. Sure enough, it’s no surprise when the engine fails and the radio is dead, leaving the vessel adrift in the middle of Loch Ness. Cloudy, foggy weather is no stranger to Scotland, building a moody atmosphere that sunny days couldn’t do, and soon a dense fog swallows up Herzog and his stranded crew, making them seem even more lost and helpless.
Werner Herzog Has a Reputation for Difficult Sets
“That is my reputation, but it was never my intention to get into any trouble or run excessive risks,” Herzog says in an interview. While Incident hunts for Nessie, it’s also a meta-commentary on Herzog, famous for explosive collaborations with actor Klaus Kinski. The two created fantastic movies, at the cost of volatile stand-offs and, as legend has it, a confrontation where Herzog pulled a gun on the stubborn Kinski to get him to do a scene. Similar high-tension situations arise in Incident, especially once Herzog realizes what Penn is planning. A floating prop will be their monster to catch on camera and the Playboy model will plunge triumphantly into the water to personally drop the sonar sensor, finding out how freezing Loch Ness can be. In another scene, Penn is tired of Herzog’s frustrations directed at him, so he points a flare gun at Herzog, who shrugs it off, claiming he never held Kinski at gunpoint and pointing out that the flare isn’t even loaded.
Herzog can’t believe the lengths Penn has gone to to inadvertently bring everything crashing down. “You know what?” Herzog tells the producer, “This is the single most chaotic set I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been on a couple of difficult ones.” Ideally, audiences are so wrapped up in the events involving Herzog and the crew, it’s quite a surprise when Nessie is not only real, she’s pissed off at the floating prop mocking her. “This study about my life had turned into maybe some sort of horror movie,” Herzog addresses in a solo interview that is on the nose, which is the point in this found footage horror, inside a mockumentary, inside the making of a doc. It’s a soggy meta sandwich, dipped far into Loch Ness, well past the thermocline where Nessie rests after surfacing.
‘Incident at Loch Ness’ Becomes a Slow-Burn Horror Movie
Like other found footage horror, there is the question of “why” the characters keep the camera running as everything goes to hell. The reasoning behind Incident makes sense, they are a filmmaking crew who can’t do much else except keep filming. Herzog, Penn, and others are tossed around violently in the first attack when the monster rams into the boat. Afterward, there’s a quiet moment that goes for laughs but is equally claustrophobic and unsettling. Everyone takes cover below deck, stuck in a place where there is no real safety when the time comes and Nessie sinks the boat. As for who survives, that is best left for your own viewing experience, but considering Werner (“I would like to see the baby”) Herzog appears in the Star Wars universe, it’s no spoiler to say he makes it out all right. The digital effects that bring the Loch Ness Monster to life are worth watching for, teasing enough of the scaled creature that places Incident closer to Cloverfield than The Blair Witch Project in how much is seen.
In 2004, Nessie was some love. If Herzog’s monster hunt didn’t have enough of the monster for you, there was Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster, bringing the Mystery Machine over to the Scottish Highlands for an adventure full of multiple creatures and Daphne’s relatives. If you want something less family-friendly and all the weirder, try Incident at Loch Ness. Recently, the largest excursion in 50 years to uncover the truth took place in the Scottish Highlands. The truth is out there, under the cold waters where a monster can be discovered, or that is what believers of Nessie hold dear in their hearts. As for Incident at Loch Ness, it doesn’t fool anyone about its legitimacy, without losing the strange entertainment that plays into reality and fiction. It’s perfect for fans of Herzog and Nessie because two things can be true; Incident at Loch Ness can put to rest how Nessie is a myth while keeping the legend alive.
This content was originally published here.