Cursed Waters: Creatures of Lake Okanagan has a heavy title for a surprisingly sensitive documentary. I was completely unfamiliar with the production company Small Town Monsters, and had no preconceived notions as to what to expect from their work. Despite the lurid marketing materials and ominous opening, the narrative thread is more focused on separating tourism from the traditions and beliefs of indigenous populations. 

About Documentaries

I don’t review a lot of documentaries. This isn’t due to lack of interest.  It’s certainly not due to their relevance on more core interests. All documentaries have a narrative. Good documentaries don’t know where their narrative will lead when they start.  Documentarians are on a path to explore and discover as they film their subjects, especially in the genre of supernatural or cryptid-focused films. 

Any time I go into a documentary about uncovering legendary creatures, I start with the base assumption that there will be no definitive proof established. This is because there have been no major news articles announcing any scientific breakthroughs in cryptozoology.  Cursed Waters does nothing to change this.  In terms of evidence, they present some first-hand stories, grainy footage, and historical records. It’s not the most compelling argument. 

Smart Choices

The important thing is, they know that. After presenting it, the filmmakers switch tactics to explore the First Nations’ heritage of the water spirit—not the tourist creation used to sell tours, plushies, and knickknacks, but a separate creature known as N’x̌ax̌aitk.  Even the term “creature” feels slightly off after listening to the experts describe the significance of water, and therefore the importance of the water spirit. It’s a beautiful moment in what could have been a kitchey take on Canada’s Nessie. 

It’s important to convey both the sense of wonder while grounding their discoveries in science and reality.  Cursed Waters was never going to find true evidence of either the water spirit or the tourist sea monster. But honestly, they didn’t try very hard either. If I had any complaints, it would be that they don’t put a lot of science into their search.  At one point, they hire a boat to visit Rattlesnake Island, which is something that is presented as a bit of an undertaking. This, however, is a known hiking spot used for day trips.  It’s an overdramatic moment in an otherwise-grounded exploration of the evolution of tradition into monetization.

Unanswered Questions

The other interesting part of the documentary that never gets an answer, is a weird photo. Yeah, that’s not super clear, but you should watch Cursed Waters for more context.  Basically, a nice boating group took a picture of a weird thing in the water. Maybe it’s a sea monster, maybe it’s a dead giant crayfish. Who knows? The fun part is the group and the debate the photo inspires. 

Cursed Waters was a Kickstarter project, so it can’t be blamed for a limited budget or scope. And it’s not exploitative, which it easily could have been. This is, in a lot of ways, a documentary made by people who love the subject matter and want to learn more about it. They aren’t scientists, just fans of the unknown, looking for a little more information about the world. If you can embrace the documentary in that spirit, you’ll probably enjoy a great deal of it. 

Cursed Waters is available on streaming.