Bestoink Dooley (George Ellis) works at the local newspaper as a copy boy. Wanting to be a real reporter and cover a great story he convinces the editor (Zenas Sears) to let him investigate, on his day off, some unusual incidences that are happening on a local mountain called Blood Mountain. It seems that the mountain is bleeding, a phenomenon that has occurred from time to time, hence the name.
Bestoink visits his friend Steve, the local forest ranger. Steve introduces him to Dr. Stinson, his daughter Phyllis Stinson (Erin Fleming) and Stinson’s secretary, Ava Redman. They discuss the history of the mountain and the local legends about a monster that lives there. When murders begin to happen, Bestoink finds himself in the middle of the investigation. Bodies begin to show up drained of blood with their hearts pulled out of their chests.
It’s not long before Bestoink finds himself face to face with the monster.
“Demon Hunter” AKA “The Legend of Blood Mountain” was released in 1965 and was directed by Massey Cramer. It is a low budget independent regional comedy horror film.
In 1975, adult-film theater owner Donn Davison purchased the rights to the film. He added some Bigfoot documentary style scenes, which were narrated by Davidson, as well as the addition of a song called “Ballad of McCullough’s Mountain” that was written and sung by Tim York. The repackaged movie was then called “Blood Beast of Monster Mountain” AKA “The Legend of Blood Mountain” AKA “The Legend of McCullough's Mountain” AKA “Monster Mountain” AKA “McCullough’s Mountain”.
Davison took out most of the monster scenes and beach party scenes as well as doing a little tweaking here and there and adding some random junk. The monster in the original film is different than the monster in the repackaged film. Davison basically took a generic monster movie and turned it into a Bigfoot film.
Both the 1965 original film and the cut and paste 1975 film are on the rare side. The original film is the hardest to find. They are both really bad movies, but they are obscure enough to make them a prize possession that many collectors seek out. In 1988 a re-release to video was done of “Demon Hunter” but even that version is hard to find.
Bigfoot is part of a pseudoscience known as Cryptozoology. Cryptozoology is the study and search for unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose actual existence are either questioned or proof is in the form of anecdotal stories and folklore. Besides Bigfoot, the category includes fabled creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, the Jersey Devil and chupacabras. Animals in this category are referred to as cryptids.
George Ellis, who plays Bestoink Dooley, use to host a local creature feature show in Atlanta, Georgia and was responsible for bringing classic horror films to southerners.
In some states, it is against the law to kill a Bigfoot.
Demon Hunter
Blood Beast of Monster Mountain