Instead of heading over to River Cinema to see “Avatar: The Way of the Water,” I decided to take the chance and see “Loon!” Now, if you have no idea what I am talking about, do not feel bad. Advertising for the film was not Hollywood level because this movie was Minnesota nice. “Loon!” is a Minnesota-made movie that was mostly filmed in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks as well as the lakes in the northwest of Minnesota. The film was directed by Crookston native Kale Eickof, who is an experienced video editor who currently works in Los Angeles for Motorhead. According to the film’s website, the goal of the movie was to “make you think twice the next time you hear the eerie echo of a loon’s call proliferate across an empty Minnesota lake when the sky grows dim.” It asks its audience to think of a few questions, one of them being, what would you do if this bird attacked you? 

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The film follows a young DNR cop named Jake and some citizens of Loon Lake. He starts getting strange calls from locals that loons have been attacking out of nowhere. Jake, played by Charles Eickof, dismisses these notions, saying that there is no way such a peaceful bird would do such a thing. After people start dropping dead like birds flying into a window, Jake starts to take these claims more seriously, especially after he is attacked by a loon himself. He starts getting visions from a supreme loon overlord who sets to kill all the people. I think he wants to do this because humans are destroying the world, but it also could be that he is God, and that is his will. I could not tell you which is correct. Jake seeks answers from the local tribe, a priest, and his dear friend Mario. In the end, the loon overlord carries out a final attack on Jake and his friends but fails because the tribe leader called Jake’s flip phone and recited an ancient spell. The end.  

Would I say this movie is a cinematic masterpiece? No. But do I love this movie because it is so weird, it was made in Minnesota, and made me cry-laugh with my friends? Yes. Overall, Loon was an experience. A good or bad experience, maybe a bit of both, but it is one of the two. If you have nothing to do, and you feel like seeing a weird movie about the Minnesota state bird, then I say go see “Loon!” That being said, the only way I will watch this movie again is if I saw it on a streaming service so I could watch it for free. So if you find yourself asking, “what is a loon?” google “Loon!” for an answer.  

 Claire Arneson is a Dakota Student Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].