Frogman Returns (2025) Film Review – Unnamed Footage Festival

Stop right here! Before you dive into this review and find out how phenomenal Frogman Returns is, it is essential that you watch Frogman (2023) first, which is easy to find on streaming services. This is essential, as the film heavily builds on the lore of the first while taking a slight deviation into even more absurd territory.

That out of the way, Frogman Returns follows Dallas Kyle (Nathan Tymoshuk), who, after the events of the last film, has found global acclaim for finding the Frogman and opening up a flood of cryptid-related sightings. Unhappy with this situation, not wanting the spotlight and living with the guilt of the past, he is drawn back to the sewers where he first found the killer, magic amphibian, when he learns that Amy (Chelsey Grant) has launched her own quest to ensure the Frogman is gone for good. Dallas is joined by two members of his camera crew, the ones behind his recent TV series, and Amy brings an ally from the Frogman family of followers who wants to end the cult and get him his power back.

You have to love the sequel’s self-awareness and the meta approach. Indeed, Frogman became one of the more modern championed films in the found footage genre and found a pretty large fanbase; certainly not a global sensation, but beloved by the community. This starting point has Dallas as a sort of super celebrity, as he is asked to investigate other cryptids, with the movie making it clear that the world of Frogman is now filled with them. It certainly borders on fantasy right away, sort of in a similar vein to Digging the Marrow, for those familiar. Yet, Frogman remains the focus and gleefully so.

After a strong opening that kind of frames the sequel’s meta approach, the crew heads back to Ohio, where Frog-mania is going strong. Along the way, Dallas gets a chance to show off the wand’s power to an enthusiastic camerawoman, which he can now wield, leaning heavily into the original movie’s comedic aspects. One car disappearing into the void later, the three finally make it to Frogman’s layer, where they run into Amy and a local man wearing a pseudo-science mash-up suit and a gun, who can zap Frogman away.

From this point forward, things get utterly chaotic, showing that director Anthony Cousins put the success of the initial film to good use, bringing a bigger budget, practical effects, and a sharper, more refined found-footage film. Frogman Returns delivers a tasty buffet of the macabre, with sequences so wonderfully absurd and unforgettable. Not to spoil too much, but there are laser fights, magic, and a trip to an alternative dimension filled with all sorts of ghastly and unforgettable creations. The film builds on what came before it in a gleeful way that fans of the first will utterly adore. Particularly with the emphasis on practical effects, including Frogman himself getting some lines.

More in the spotlight, Nathan Tymoshuk and Chelsey Grant’s performances may be less personable than in the first film, given the film’s structure and slow build, but both fit the roles of troubled heroes quite nicely. The supporting cast here is also strong, with Natalie Olivia Tran and Alexis Allotta as the film crew following Dallas, creating a nice clash of personalities among them and Dallas. With the film hinting at a possible trilogy, the future of the franchise looks to be in good hands with the two in the lead, and Anthony Cousins (with cowriter John Karsko) able to delve deeper into the world of Frogman.

Fans may very well have the emergence of the most beloved found-footage franchise of our time: pure fun, unforgettable, and a must-watch for fans of the genre. The minor caveat here is wanting more monsters and some of the supporting cast falling flat, but this is such a minor nitpick; it is a near-perfect follow-up that only looks to get better if, or when, Frogman Returns again, “Frogman: The Last Croak” perhaps?

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