Incident at Loch Ness

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Rotten Tomatoes® Score
62% 67%

Release Date: October 1, 2004

On DVD/VOD: March 1, 2005

1h 34m | Comedy, Documentary, Drama

Werner Herzog set out in Summer 2003 to make a documentary about Scotland's infamous Loch Ness monster, to explore its origin and necessity rather than to look for the creature itself. As he began production on the film, to be called Enigma of Loch Ness, noted cinematography and filmmaker John Bailey was already directing a documentary about him, tentatively called Herzog in Wonderland.

However, chaos followed Herzog to Loch Ness. Director Zak Penn insisted on renaming their boat Discovery IV, despite the absence of a Discovery I, II or III. He also had everyone wear official expedition jumpsuits (complete with spelling mistake). Finally, the production ground to a halt after a boating accident.

In the fall of 2003, the unfinished Enigma of Loch Ness was combined with the Herzog in Wonderland footage and the resulting film was Incident at Loch Ness. However, due to numerous pending lawsuits, the credits for that film remain undecided. In the ensuing legal fracas, a series of startling film clips made their way onto the Internet. The footage was purported to be the clearest ever taken of the elusive monster, but it was accompanied by claims of a hoax. The answer as to the origin and validity of these clips remain unclear.