A cornerstone of Pacific Northwest Bigfoot mythology is making its way to the silver screen courtesy of director Eli Watson and producer Seth Breedlove this fall. The Siege of Ape Canyon, operating as a documentary about a mysterious encounter with multiple large, apelike beings, arrives this November primed and ready to make your matted hair crawl with its creepy tale of a bigfoot retaliation.
Whether you believe in their existence or not, The Siege of Ape Canyon is a solid documentary which becomes downright hallucinatory as the tale of these five miners and their hellish night of rocks and logs being thrown at the cabin’s roof and walls in their camp is endlessly engaging.
The story known as the “Siege of Ape Canyon” is a legendary tale from early 20th-century American folklore and it involves a strange encounter with the legendary bigfoot in a gorge on the southeast shoulder of Mount St. Helens, Washington when the search for gold pans out a big, hairy surprise for five miners. Had it merely been brushed away as nothing but misidentified bears, we wouldn’t be watching this documentary, but there is something unsettling sticking to the ribs of this haunting tale.
And it’s not trading in illusions either.
In 1924, a group of gold prospectors led by Fred Beck claimed they were attacked by massive, hairy, ape-like creatures in a remote Washington canyon—an event that became one of the most infamous Bigfoot encounters in history. Siege of Ape Canyon brings this harrowing tale to life with expert interviews, gripping historical analysis, and, for the first time ever, on-the-ground footage of the actual cabin site. Featuring exclusive insights from researcher Marc Myrsell, who has spent years unraveling the truth behind the event, this documentary peels back layers of myth, legend, and evidence to uncover what really happened in the shadowy depths of Ape Canyon.
The story originally broke in the July 1924 issue of The Oregonian newspaper, where it was sensationally dubbed “The Mount St. Helens Ape Men Attack”, but - as explained in the on-ground documentary - trying to disprove the men has proven to be problematic due to the nature of the story and the spiritual beings at the center of the storm: where - as stated here - were definitely not ordinary flesh-and-blood beings.
Which is why you should never shoot and kill a bigfoot.
The lore associated with these fiver miners and their strange encounter - which began with the discovery of enormous footprints near their cabin and ends with a retaliation as a group of these hairy creatures descends upon their hand-built cabin - as they fired on a spying bigfoot, knocking its lifeless body into the canyon below is a haunting one and its shadow looms heavy onto the Squatch scene.
While there have been multiple films inspired by the event, which saw the miners fleeing into the woods after one of these creatures reached through a crack and grabbed an axe handle inside the cabin, there has been little movement on the documentary side of the event, which brings The Siege of Ape Canyon into focus. This film highlights expert interviews, historical analysis, and on‐the‐ground footage of the cabin site for the first time, and brings to focus the truth behind the lore by focusing on the original event.
The Siege of Ape Canyon premieres in conjunction with Small Town Monsters’ tenth anniversary of explorations into cryptid lore. Previous productions include The Mothman of Point Pleasant, On the Trail of Bigfoot, and American Werewolves, as well as several dozen other films produced or directed by Breedlove.
The Siege of Ape Canyon will launch exclusively on streaming platforms, including Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand, on November 11, 2025.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 92 mins
Director: Eli Watson
Writer: Mark Myrsell
Cast:
Genre: Documentary
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "This isn't just A Bigfoot Story. This is THE bigfoot story."
Distributor: Prime Video; Vimeo
Official Site: https://www.smalltownmonsters.com/
Release Date: November 11, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: In 1924, a group of gold prospectors led by Fred Beck claimed they were attacked by massive, hairy, ape-like creatures in a remote Washington canyon-an event that became one of the most infamous Bigfoot encounters in history. Siege of Ape Canyon brings this harrowing tale to life with expert interviews, gripping historical analysis, and, for the first time ever, on-the-ground footage of the actual cabin site. Featuring exclusive insights from researcher Marc Myrsell, who has spent years unraveling the truth behind the event, this documentary peels back layers of myth, legend, and evidence to uncover what really happened in the shadowy depths of Ape Canyon.
