With no knowledge other than a vague familiarity with the moniker “The Jersey Devil,” I was otherwise totally unprepared for the style and content of Bloodlines: The Jersey Devil Curse.

Having neither received a documentary to review, nor heard of filmmaker and director Seth Breedlove before, the talking heads style typical of documentaries (historians, folklore experts, research writers and suchlike) picking the bones out of the subject of this legendary creature had me wondering just what I WAS watching. Documentary, or more likely mockumentary, I thought; the latter reinforced by the first of several dramatisations of alleged encounters with the beast, each detailing its fearsome reputation and antics during these sightings over time.

In the 1980s, a young lad stands alone in a state park in the pine barrens of South Jersey (home of the Devil), trying to entice a friend to join him on a night-time mission to track it down. The friend, seemingly having enough belief in its existence to see the drawbacks in this suggestion, turns him down flat. He’s on his own; just him, his bike, and whatever guts he possesses.

A park ranger hears the kid’s missing. When he locates him, backed up against a tree in terror after something grabbed up his bike, then dropped it again from above, both run for cover in a nearby shed, where the ranger, realising he’s dropped his radio as they hear hoof-like sounds clumping around above their heads, decides they’d best make a break for the ranger’s station. Hotly pursued by the devil, they reach the station where backup awaits, weapons drawn, and an onslaught begins against the monster.

Still not sure of Bloodlines: The Jersey Devil Curse‘s nature at this stage, this is where I thought things were about to kick off; a perfect doorway to a promising tale with a tinge of mockumentary realism; but it wasn’t to be. The documentary theme continued, and bar a couple of other nicely handled dramatisations from throughout history, that’s all it turned out to be. Informative, well-researched (by those clearly passionate about the topic), but without doubt a documentary. This is when I looked into the director’s bio, which gave me all the explanation I needed.

Seth Breedlove (born 1981/1982 (a lack of clarity which rather pleased me) founded the Wadsworth, Ohio-based production company Small Town Monsters in 2013, and since its establishment has directed over a dozen documentary films and miniseries related to cryptids and cryptozoology under its name. This is a man whose work directly reflects his passion for all things cryptid with a glare that’s bedazzling. Whether documentaries and cryptozoology are your thing or not, such enthusiasm, devotion, and persistence driven by this level of fervour has always been rather irresistible to me, and I applaud his efforts, even though (whilst I gobble up documentaries), cryptids hold no fascination for me.

Breedlove’s joined on Bloodlines: The Jersey Devil Curse by writer Jason Utes and the other actors and speakers Adam Alderson, Adam Reid, Elizabeth Flood, Lindsay Dunphy, Meghan Barylak, Rycen Earley and Zachary Palmisano, all with a wealth of opinions and years of research-based information to impart. I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed this much more if I knew what to expect ahead of time, but it was interesting regardless and unmissable for all those cryptidheads out there.

5 out of 10 Devilish Documentaries