From filmmaker Seth Breedlove, Momo: The Missouri Monster is quite unlike any documentary you’ve seen before. Focusing on the real-life alleged sightings of a Bigfoot-like creature in the small, riverfront town of Louisiana, Missouri in 1972. The legend began when two kids claimed to have seen the creature holding a dead dog in their backyard, instantly turning Louisiana into a media circus, tourist attraction, and supposed hot spot for creature seekers and monster hunters. Momo: The Missouri Monster aims to find the facts from the fiction as it explores the urban legend, also showing clips from a “long-lost movie” from the ’70s about the mythical creature.
Watching Momo is almost like watching a classic horror B-movie and an interesting monster documentary at the same time. The fictional 1975 movie (also called Momo: The Missouri Monster) is presented as having been completed but never released, giving us our “first look” at the footage. These segments make up the more fun parts of the movie, coming off as an amusing parody of creature features from the ’70s. They’re quite entertaining to watch, as it seems the purpose of these scenes is to sensationalize some of the more outlandish details about the monster stemming from its many alleged sightings.
Meanwhile, the host of a fictional television show called “Blackburn’s Cryptid Casefiles” speaks to actual residents of the small Missouri town where the Momo creature had been spotted. It’s through these interviews where viewers can learn more about the true story of the monster and its sightings, which has brought about varying opinions. Some of the locals don’t seem to be convinced their town was really host to its own version of Bigfoot in the early ’70s, which is a stark contrast to the dramaticized versions of the sightings we see from the “forgotten” horror movie. In a way, Momo serves to show how this and similar creature sighting reports can eventually take on a life of their own. Still, others believe the family at the heart of the sightings really saw something back then, whatever it was.
It’s certainly an interesting direction for a documentary to explore a real-life mystery under the guise of a fake TV show, accompanied with clips from a movie that doesn’t exist. The result makes Momo: The Missouri Monster unlike anything other docs you’ve seen before, and it results in a pretty fun experience. There’s a certain charm to the host and the monster movie footage is highly entertaining, and yet, the movie still manages to take itself seriously when the time comes to sift the fact from the fiction. And it definitely has me curious to keep an eye out for what comes next from the studio behind the movie, Small Town Monsters.
Momo: The Missouri Monster is now available on DVD, Vimeo OnDemand, Amazon Instant Video, and VIDI Space. The movie is fun to see if you love classic B-movies and intriguing documentaries, so definitely check it out if what is written above appeals to you. Even if you’ve never heard of the legend of the Momo from Missouri before, you’ll never forget it after watching this movie. The trailer comes to us from Small Town Monsters Youtube Channel.
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