{{Short description|2015 American documentary film}} {{Use American English|date=November 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox film | name = Minerva Monster | image = File:Minerva Monster (2015) poster.jpg | caption = Promotional release poster | director = Seth Breedlove | producer = {{Plainlist| * Jesse Morgan * Alan Megargle }} | writer = Seth Breedlove | screenplay = | story = | based_on = | starring = | narrator = | music = Brandon Dalo | cinematography = Jesse Morgan | editing = | studio = Small Town Monsters | distributor = | released = {{Film date|2015|05|16|Lore City}} | runtime = 54 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $500 (est.) | gross = }} '''''Minerva Monster''''' is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Seth Breedlove,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ohiomagazine.com/ohio-life/article/monsters-inc|title=Filmmaker Seth Breedlove's Small Town Monsters|last=Vickers|first=Jim|date=October 2017|website=Ohio Magazine|publisher=Great Lakes Publishing|access-date=November 5, 2022}}</ref> about the purported sightings of an alleged Bigfoot-like creature around the town of Minerva, in Paris Township, Stark County, Ohio, in 1978.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Blackburn|first=Lyle|author-link=Lyle Blackburn|date=August 2015|title=Monstro Bizarro|magazine=Rue Morgue|issue=158}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/entertainment/2022/06/07/monsterfest-coming-downtown-canton-ohio-summer-2023/7543215001/|title=Ghosts, Bigfoot and UFOs: Monster Fest coming to downtown Canton next year|last=Balint|first=Ed|date=June 7, 2022|website=The Repository|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref> The first in a series of cryptid-related documentaries produced by Breedlove's production company Small Town Monsters,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3722828/on-the-hunt-for-the-unexplained-with-small-town-monsters-creator-seth-breedlove-interview/|title=On the Hunt for the Unexplained with "Small Town Monsters" Creator Seth Breedlove [Interview]|last=Swope|first=Michelle|date=July 12, 2022|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref> the film features interviews with law enforcement, media officials, and supposed witnesses of the titular creature.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5">{{harv|Heldenfels|2015|loc=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112495635/the-akron-beacon-journal/ p. B5]}}</ref><ref name="Fox 8 2022">{{cite web|url=https://fox8.com/news/minerva-monster-film-documents-sightings-of-creature-that-lurked-in-small-town/|title='Minerva Monster': Film documents sightings of creature that lurked in small town|date=June 2, 2015|website=Fox 8|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref>
''Minerva Monster'' premiered at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference in Lore City, Ohio's Salt Fork State Park, on May 16, 2015.<ref name="Downing 2015">{{cite news|last=Downing|first=Bob|date=March 29, 2015|title=Ohio's 'Minerva Monster' subject of documentary|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112497030/the-lima-news/|newspaper=The Lima News|location=Lima, Ohio|page=13|access-date=November 3, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1">{{harv|Heldenfels|2015|loc=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32900476/the-akron-beacon-journal/ p. B1]}}</ref>
==Synopsis== {{Expand section|date=November 2022}} ''Minerva Monster'' explores a series of alleged sightings of a purported Bigfoot-like cryptid around the town of Minerva, in Paris Township, Stark County, Ohio, in August 1978.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5" /> It features interviews with supposed witnesses of the creature, including members of the Cayton family (including claimed eyewitness Howe Cayton), former ''Akron Beacon Journal'' reporter Barbara Galloway, and Stark County Sherriff's deputy James Shannon.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5" /><ref name="Downing 2015" />
==Production== According to director Breedlove, production on ''Minerva Monster'' began in September 2014.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5" /> The film was shot and edited over the course of eight months.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5" />
''Minerva Monster'' was filmed using a $3,000 Sony camcorder,<ref name="Balint 2018, p. D5">{{harv|Balint|2018|loc=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112484246/the-akron-beacon-journal/ p. D5]}}</ref> on a budget of around {{US$|500}}.<ref>{{harv|Balint|2018|loc=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112483169/the-akron-beacon-journal/ p. D1]}}</ref> A crowdfunding campaign for the film on Kickstarter raised an additional $6,515.<ref name="Downing 2015" /> In a 2015 interview, Breedlove stated that, "There was no real budget to speak of. We put money into things like equipment and gas and chartered a plane to fly us over Minerva for aerial shots."<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B5" />
==Release== ''Minerva Monster'' premiered at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference in the Salt Fork Lodge and Conference Center in Lore City, Ohio's Salt Fork State Park, on May 16, 2015.<ref name="Downing 2015" /><ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1" />
On June 4, 2015, the film was screened at the Minerva Public Library.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1" /> On June 6, the Minerva Area Chamber of Commerce held a "Minerva Monster Day" event, offering free screenings of the film at Minerva's Roxy Theatre.<ref name="Fox 8 2022" /> On June 25, the film was shown at the Wadsworth Public Library.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1" />
A fifth-anniversary screening of ''Minerva Monster'' was scheduled to be held on March 21, 2020, at the Palace Theatre in Canton, Ohio, followed by a screening of another Small Town Monsters-produced film, ''The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear'' (2018), and a premiere of ''On the Trail of UFOs'';<ref name="Canton Palace Theatre 2020">{{cite web|url=https://cantonpalacetheatre.org/event/stm-mysteries-and-monsters-2/|title=Small Town Monsters presents Mysteries & Monsters|website=CantonPalaceTheatre.org|access-date=November 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925040047/https://cantonpalacetheatre.org/event/stm-mysteries-and-monsters-2/|archive-date=September 25, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://clevelandmagazine.com/entertainment/film-tv/articles/minerva-monster-documentary-film-screening-explores-the-local-legend|title=Minerva Monster: Documentary Film Screening Explores The Local Legend|last=Bigley II|first=James|date=March 10, 2020|website=Cleveland Magazine|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref> the event was canceled by March 17, 2020.<ref name="Canton Palace Theatre 2020" />
===Home media=== The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray; copies of the film on either format were available for purchase at the film's premiere at the Ohio Bigfoot Conference in Lore City.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1" /> It was also made available to rent and stream or purchase and download on Vimeo.<ref name="Heldenfels 2015, p. B1" /><ref name="McCune 2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.indeonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2015/05/15/screening-room-local-documentary-tracks/34554232007/|title=Screening Room: Local documentary tracks 'Minerva Monster'|last=McCune|first=Robert|date=May 15, 2015|website=The Independent|location=Massillon, Ohio|access-date=November 3, 2022}}</ref>
==Critical reception== In a review of the film for Massillon, Ohio's ''The Independent'', Robert McCune wrote that, while the filmmakers do not offer commentary of their own, "Their bias shows in whom they didn't put in front of the camera: the naysayers and critics. [...] if you don't go into this documentary believing in Bigfoot, there likely is nothing here that is going to change your mind."<ref name="McCune 2015" /> Despite this, he called the film "thoughtfully produced and edited", and wrote that "it tells an interesting story well".<ref name="McCune 2015" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Bibliography=== * {{cite news|last=Balint|first=Ed|date=June 24, 2018|title=Folklore Hides in Shadows|newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal|location=Akron, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com}} * {{cite news|last=Heldenfels|first=Rich|date=May 16, 2015|title='Minerva Monster' returns on-screen|newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |location=Akron, Ohio|via=Newspapers.com}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=4757986|title=Minerva Monster}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes|id=minerva_monster|title=Minerva Monster}}
{{Seth Breedlove}}
Category:2015 films Category:2015 documentary films Category:2015 English-language films Category:Films shot in Ohio Category:Documentary films about Bigfoot Category:Kickstarter-funded documentaries Category:English-language documentary films