LOCH NESS: THEY CREATED A MONSTER
The story you've NEVER heard from Loch Ness - a monstrous tale of fake photos, international rivalry, sex in lakeside caravans and petrol bomb attacks - told with newly discovered Loch Ness archive and incredible testimony....
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From Japan, the US, and across the world - they were drawn to a remote lake in the highlands of Scotland. WW2 veterans, mad scientists and hippies - all competed in a search for what they passionately believed would be - the Natural History Discovery of the Century. But the deeper they looked... the darker it got. Monster egos, fakes and frustrations, rivalries and ridicule mean that Loch Ness quickly became home to a very different type of monster.
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Premiered at Sitges Film Festival 2023
British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg 2024
Ottawa International Film Festival 2024
Night Visions International Film Festival 2024
Calgary Underground Film Festival 2024
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Director John MacLaverty Screenwriter John MacLaverty Director of Photography Carlo D'Alessandro, Stephen Gourlay, Sarah Howitt Editor Noel Nelis Music Francis Macdonald Producer John Archer Executive Producers David Harron (BBC), Mark Thomas (Screen Scotland) Year 2023 Category Documentary Language English Run time 91 mns Country of production UK Production companies Hopscotch Films, Indelible Telly with funding from BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland.
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For over 20 years, John MacLaverty has been directing stories from - and usually about - Scotland.
In that time, he's covered the subjects close to his heart - football, music, politics, travel - adding wit and stylistic flair when telling of the tale. Enroute he's pocketed 3 Scottish Baftas, 2 RTS awards and critical acclaim. His work has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and has been distributed internationally. Loch Ness - They Created a Monster is his first feature doc, and bears the same characteristic warmth and wit of earlier work. Alongside his partner, he now runs Indelible Telly, a small production company based in Glasgow.
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I remember being a kid in the 1970s and seeing Loch Ness items at the end of the nightly news, and being excited and intrigued - actual adults believed there could be a Unknown Prehistoric Beast in a Scottish Lake ? It was beyond belief !
But as a grown up - and a storyteller - I was more fascinated by the way the legend sustained. Even though - spoiler alert - there is absolutely no verifiable scientific evidence, people still flock to Loch Ness and watch the waters for a mysterious beastie.
Puzzled, I went back to the original archive and realised....there was an untold and unbelievable story, behind the unbelievable story.
The Monster Hunters I'd watched on TV as a kid, where a slightly strange bunch of people, and some of them...were still at the Loch. The deeper the research went, the more odd and strange it all became. This is not the conventional Loch Ness documentary - there's a whole untold story of monster egos and love by the lake - with fakes, fraud and firebombs !
I think it's important that this documentary is made by Scottish production companies, and a Scottish director - because so often, Scotland is portrayed as the mystic backwater, a forgotten place where dinosaurs could still roam...
LOCH NESS: THEY CREATED A MONSTER is reclaiming the Loch Ness story. On our own terms. And it's been (almost) as much fun as finding a prehistoric monster.
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“Documentary about the monster-hunting frenzy at Loch Ness in the 1970s and 80s is full of intrigue and eccentric characters” THE GUARDIAN
“The film offers a platform for more than a few credulous windbags, but it shows too some of the creepier, insidious types the Nessie phenomenon attracted.” SCOTSMAN
“John MacLaverty’s entertaining film doesn’t have any fancy explanations for this trend, it simply enjoys the cast of characters.” SUNDAY TIMES UK
“With knife threats, a Molotov cocktail and a mysterious disappearance all coming into the picture, there’s plenty to reassure viewers of the old adage that man is the real monster.” EYE FOR FILM
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