Cryptids started its funding all the way back in 2013 and had an Indiegogo in 2020. These days, years feel so much longer, so I’m sure there have been some people excited to see this for some time.

This anthology is united by a radio show called The Truth Serum hosted by Major Harlan Dean (Joe Bob Briggs). The subject is cryptozoology and the wildcat line is jammed up as each caller tells an increasingly stranger story about the myths and monsters that lurk at night, all while Dean worries that a prank caller and those very same monsters may be even closer than he thinks.

This project was put together by Justin M. Seaman and Zane Hershberger, the same guys who created The Barn, The Barn Part II, 10/31, 10/31 Part 2 and Force to Fear. They’ve brought along several indie filmmakers to create the different stories within Cryptids, including Brett DeJager (Bonejangles), Max Groah (Bong of the Living Dead), Johnny William Holt (The Dooms Chapel Horror), Billy Pon (Circus of the Dead) and FX artist Robert Kuhn.

What I loved most about this was how much it felt like listening to the old days of Coast to Coast. This was confirmed when I read some info about the film, as well as it being inspired by Monsters You Never Heard Of by Daniel Coen, a Scholastic book that I read so many times that the cover fell off and I needed to repeatedly tape it back on. In fact, so many of the books of Cohen inspired me to write, including his novel The Monster Maker and his non-fiction books The Greatest Monsters In the World, The Encyclopedia of the Strange, Super-Monsters (with a cover featuring the monster from the end of Night of the Demon) and The Ancient Visitors.

As the calls come in, you get to get in deep — very, very deep in some cases — with the Hopkinsville Goblins, Melonheads, the Loveland Frogman, The Beast of Bladenboro, Chupacabra Death Machines and Bigfoot. As always with anthologies, the stories can be a mixed bag. That said, the gore is more than up to the task to smooth over any cracks and the main story is absolutely perfect thanks to Joe Bob giving a way better performance than in most of the movies he showed on MonsterVision.

This is a great idea for a film and I’m excited that the filmmakers finally got to realize their vision. I don’t want to give too much of a spoiler for one of the later stories, but man, there’s a facial wound in this that really caught me. Like I said — the grisly stuff looks gorgeous.

Cryptids was watched as part of The GenreBlast Film Festival which is from August 31 to September 3. All screenings for GenreBlast are held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia. Passes are on sale through The Alamo Drafthouse Winchester. Learn more at the official site.