Frogman

March 4th, 2024

MOVIE: FROGMAN

STARRING: NATHAN TYMOSHUK, BENNY BARRETT, CHELSEY GRANT

DIRECTED BY: ANTHONY COUSINS

AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)

The conversation that surrounds the found footage genre fascinates me. What The Blair Witch Project did in 1999 has never been repeated and most likely never will. Instead of trying to replicate what was done in the woods, the genre has often expanded, trying to invent new ways to elevate the stories or adapt to the technology of its time. Frogman is the recent independent horror film to take a stab at found footage and because it didn’t work for me, I started to think I may be allergic to movies like this. The concept is interesting enough and the promise of a hybrid frog mixed with a man sounds like potential, but Frogman is more found footage that should just stay lost.

The story goes back to when Dallas (Nathan Tymoshuk) was 12 years old and on vacation with his family, with luck and a video camera, caught a glimpse of the legendary Frogman. Ever since the video became a phenomenon, deemed a hoax by many cynics, life for Dallas had never been the same, as he would always be in search of his obsession, the mysterious part-man-part-frog. Now he’s older and along with his friend Scotty (Benny Barrett), they attend their high school reunion, reconnecting with Amy (Chelsey Grant), and convincing one another to go out for one more search of the mysterious creature.

For the second act, director Anthony Cousins does a good job of taking us to the setting of Loveland, Ohio, giving us a tour of the town and reminding me of Wisconsin Dells. No matter if it’s real or not, the entire culture of the locals is based around Frogman, with t-shirts, frog-themed bars, and restaurants on every block. What Cousins establishes is enough to buy it, but sadly, Cousins and co-writer John Karsko fail to build the fear. After the setting is established, it takes too long to get into the woods, the anticipated searching for this Frogman, and capitalize on any potential of a good scare. In short, I was bored.

This is what often brings me back to why the Found Footage genre is hard to get right. Even though there often has to be a good enough reason for the cameras to keep rolling and even when they do, the images on the screen have to be worth it. Films such as Blair Witch, REC, or even the Paranormal Activity series succeed at getting both parts right, with greater emphasis on the scares. Frogman is just not scary. It quickly becomes tedious and repetitive, while the three principle actors are a mix of bad, bored, and trying too hard.

There may still be a place for found footage films or maybe it only works best in the V/H/S series- especially in the recent installment of V/H/S/85– which I was a fan of. Frogman ultimately feels like an interesting premise that falls into the swamp of found footage gimmicks. It’s better in theory than it is on the screen and at a brief 77 minutes it still takes too long to make good on its promise. There’s just not enough Frogman and that is nothing to croak about.

FROGMAN IS AVAILABLE ON DEMAND & DIGITAL ON MARCH 8TH, 2024.

2 STARS

Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com