April 8: Zoo Lover’s Day — You know what that means. Animal attack films!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey. His April Movie Thon list is here.

Louisiana has many problems, one of which is an invasive species of rat called nutria. These pests are indigenous to South America, but ended up in Louisiana in the 1930s in an attempt to cultivate a fur industry. It did not result in a profitable, lucrative market, and many of the creatures were released into the wild (along with a hurricane in the 1940s that provided an escape for the nutria). Turns out that the climate and environment of South Louisiana was ideal for the proliferation of the animal, and they began to destroy the wetlands and the overall ecosystem of the area.

As a native of Louisiana, I can tell you that there is always a solution to any vermin problem–if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em! And that’s just what New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme attempted to do in the 1990s. He had already basically decimated the redfish population in Louisiana’s waters by serving it blackened with a ramekin of butter on the side. Perhaps he could rebrand nutria into the next local delicasse. Slip it into a gumbo. An ètouffèe. Simply batter it and fry it. Heck, put it in the school lunches. It tastes like chicken, right? In this case, rabbit or turkey.

Turns out even people from Louisiana will not eat just anything. Or at least not pay top dollar for it in a fancy restaurant. Cajuns in South Louisiana, as put on display in the regional eco-thriller Terror in the Swamp, would have no issues catching anything that moves and finding a use for all of the animal’s parts. As two characters joke in the film, “How many Cajuns does it take to catch a possum? Two. One to catch it, and one to watch for cars”. Poor Boudreaux and Thibodeaux. Will they never learn?

In Terror in the Swamp, the thought of nutria as a food source does not really play a role in the plot. Instead, it is all about the fur. Some biologists have released something that has mutated a nutria into a Bigfoot-type monster stalking the bayou. Once a reward for the beast is posted, every redneck in the parish is ready with their shotgun and their boat. Just be sure to have the proper hunting license so you do not get into trouble with the game warden.

Unfortunately, Terror in the Swamp is not as exciting as I had hoped. Directed by Joe Catalanotto, the influence that Charles B. Pierce had on him is very evident. While Catalanotto worked on The Town That Dreaded Sundown, it is Pierce’s The Legend of Boggy Creek and springs to mind every time you see a man in a hairy suit traipsing about the Louisiana bayou. Couldn’t we have at least gotten a close up of those carrot-orange teeth nutria have?

Even as a defender of Louisiana regional horror, I cannot get too excited to recommend Terror in the Swamp to anyone. Unless you are from Louisiana I guess. It’s always nice to have some sort of representation on screen. To those who are starving, even the bitter tastes sweet. Speaking of starving, I could go for a little something. I wonder how nutria would taste in a jambalaya? Probably pretty good as long as you season it properly.