Incident at Loch Ness (2004): B-

Incident at Loch Ness, a mockumentary directed by screenwriter Zak Penn (X2, Elektra), is mildly comical for those familiar with (and fond of) adventurous German auteur Werner Herzog. But it’s tough to see how anyone else will find it amusing, as Penn’s behind-the-camera debut is inspired only when reverentially poking fun at Herzog’s particular, peculiar brand of cinematic invention. Penn’s phony non-fiction film charts his efforts to produce a Herzog picture about the Loch Ness monster, a mythological creature whom the German director views as a telling mirror for the dreams and desires of mankind. Herzog’s requests for certain types of interview candidates (namely, a quirky, crazy-haired talking-head expert) is the film’s sharpest insider joke, and far more vibrant than subsequent gags involving Penn making the crew wear matching jumpsuits and hiring a sexy bikini model (Kitana Baker) to “work” as part of the expedition team. Incident at Loch Ness eventually reveals itself to be a playful commentary on the tension between the “real” and the “fake,” a topic that doesn’t get much of a workout by the mildly cheeky proceedings. If not more than a semi-clever lark, though, the film’s critical subversion of cinema-verité nonetheless subtly links it to the non-fiction work of Herzog, who’s spent a lifetime rebelling against traditional documentary forms in search of his deeper, “ecstatic” truth.