Incident at Loch Ness
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Release Date: September 17, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Razor sharp and funny as hell, Incident at Loch Ness is the harpoon hurled into the hot-air balloon of “reality” entertainment. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
In its final scenes, when truth and superstition collide, the film becomes more preposterous than anything Penn may have contrived earlier. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Turns out to be surprisingly layered. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Can be taken as a parable about cinema art vs. commerce. If that's too much to think about, just enjoy the off-beat humor. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Once the cat is out of the bag, "Incident" becomes simultaneously entertaining and disappointing. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Watching the movie is an entertaining exercise in forensic viewing, and the insidious thing is, even if it is a con, who is the conner and who is the connee? Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
A giddy mockumentary. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
In addition to being a funny movie about the movie business, it's a cheeky, ingenious motion picture puzzle. Read full review
70
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Constructed Chinese-box style as a series of films within films, with a faked one about the Loch Ness monster at the center, "Incident" will have maximum impact for the first auds to catch it before its sly central joke gets out. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
An amusing mock documentary that spends considerable energy artfully trying to make you believe it's real as real can be. The movie is transparently a fake, but its counterfeit nature is the heart of its charm. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Something of a gigantic goof, perpetrated by Penn and Herzog -- and the goofees included much of the entertainment media, people in the film business, the Scottish authorities and (I think) even some of the film's cast. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's actually a clever commentary on documentary filmmaking, an pretty good monster movie to boot. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Incident at Loch Ness manages to cross "Project Greenlight" with "The Blair Witch Project" in a way that makes one pine for the originals. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Incident at Loch Ness, unfortunately, is a riddle wrapped in a hoax stuffed inside a crock. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The film slowly sheds its convincing identity as nonfiction and becomes a cruel parody of making-of docs, studio-movie pandering, and showbiz egomania. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Starts cleverly but becomes more preposterous as it goes along. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
These blatantly comic characters undercut the credibility established by Mr. Herzog's naturalistic performance, and sink the horror premise as quickly as it surfaces. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Herzog, who deadpans his way through the high jinks, is the best thing about the movie, but even he gets wearisome before Nessie has sunk the boat. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Leah McLaren
A successful hoax is annoying for everyone except the hoaxster. No one enjoys being the credulous, unsuspecting dupe of a wise---joke -- personally I loathe it. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Incident is too reverent for its own good. It could use a big blast of Herzog-like madness, but it sticks to the conventional show-business satire's arsenal of clichés. Read full review
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