There is something undeniably eerie about found footage films that delve into the mythologies we once loved and believed in. They offer a glimpse into a parallel universe of “what ifs” – what if Bigfoot actually exists? What if trolls really roamed around Norway? What if the slit-mouthed lady chased civilians in broad daylight? These questions have been answered to some extent, thanks to the power of found footage films.
But what about those myths that are not so familiar in mainstream media? One of which is the Peeping Tom of Maryland. In Butterfly Kisses, we are presented with an unsettling scenario where the legend torments the protagonists in a very torturous way – they cannot blink at all. However, what about unfamiliar myths that do not seem scary at all? This is where Frogman comes in.
The plot of Anthony Cousins’ directorial debut is similar to every other found footage plot about cryptids. A trio of friends embark on one final filmmaking endeavour to capture the elusive cryptid Frogman on camera. But as they dig deeper for answers, everything becomes a lot more intriguing and treacherous.
However clichéd the plot may sound, what makes it interesting is that it markets a mythological creature that is unfamiliar and yet both weird and eerily intriguing. The people of Loveland have only a few recorded encounters with Frogman in real life, where one of its famous sightings was debunked as a sighting of a giant, lost iguana. With that being said, it’s really a challenge for the director to come up with something that would make Frogman appalling and believable than a laughing stock. Using the found footage genre is a clever way to make this work.
Although it seems unlikely, the film does a great job of making Frogman undeniably unnerving, thanks to its surprising special effects and world-building. The film harnessed the inherent peculiarities of frogs—their bizarrely extending tongues, their icky sliminess, and the bluster of disorienting croaks and ribbits that pierce the silence of the night. These characteristics were ingeniously integrated into the film’s aesthetic, synergizing perfectly with the gritty texture of the footage captured by the camera and the foreboding and isolating forest and caves they ventured into.
Without giving away any spoilers, the first footage of Frogman caught on camera is the stuff of nightmares. Imagine a bipedal frog creeping up on you while you are lost with your family. That alone could make a whole new movie. But this scary encounter becomes the trigger for Dallas, played by Nathan Tymoshuk, to prove to everyone that the croak is not a hoax.
What also makes their reiteration of Frogman worth rewatching is that some of the instances in the film are based on true stories. For example, Frogman is often seen on the road, and he yields a magic wand, just like in the very first recorded encounter. The filmmakers also maximized the myth that frogs can spread warts, which actualized the myth and made Frogman even scarier than its visual effects.
Even though the film appears to have been made on a tight budget, it does not let Frogman become an enigma that only shows up without any impact. Instead, it expands the lore of the Frogman, which, in turn, cements Frogman’s scariness in the film. With nuggets of scary encounters leading to a face-off that will catch you off guard, the film makes Frogman’s existence seem so tangible and acceptable that it becomes a real threat to the protagonists and Loveland as well.
Like any other found footage film, Frogman has a boring side story to make up for the time without the Frogman on screen. The love interest is the least exciting part of the entire film because it feels out of place. A better replacement for it would have been to keep Dallas’ sister as a crucial part of the story since Loveland seemed to have a grasp between the siblings.
I think it’s safe to assume that we are past the era of found footage films about cryptids that do not show them. The sub-genre is now learning that its purpose is to show what is not usually seen rather than just giving us a sneak peek after an hour and a half of waiting. We wanted Frogman, and they gave us Frogman!
Frogman (2024) is available to purchase on limited-edition VHS release here (unfortunately sold out) and on digital platforms from March 8th.
More Film Reviews
Lake Jesup (2023) Film Review – “CATCHPHRASE!” [Dead Northern Film Festival]
Lake Jesup is a 2024 creature-feature horror comedy written and directed by Michael Houston King. Working in the TV industry as an actor for nearly 30 years, Michael has also…
The Ghost Station (2022) Film Review [FrightFest]
The Ghost Station is a 2022 South Korean horror thriller, written and directed by Yong-ki Jeong, with additional writing from Soyoung Lee, c, and Koji Shiraishi. Takahashi and Shiraishi are…
The Last Horror Movie (2003) Film Review – A Character Study in Murder
The Last Horror Movie is a 2003 British found footage horror mockumentary, written by James Handel and directed by Julian Richards. Beginning his career with the award-winning shorts Pirates (1987),…
Secrets of a Woman’s Temple (1969) Film Review – Temptation, Torture, and Treachery
Despite being one of Japan’s biggest film studios throughout the late 40s and 50s during the golden age of Japanese cinema, Daiei was struggling by the mid-60s and had…
Peppergrass (2021) Film Review – Truffles To Die For
In the middle of a pandemic, times are hard for Eula Baek and the restaurant she inherited from her grandfather. A plan to get some rare truffles to help raise…
Sadako DX (2022) Film Review – The Curse of the Endless Sequels Continues
The curse of endless sequels has plagued horror films for years with multifarious results. The Ringu series kicked off back in the late 90s and is no exception to this…
I am a 4th year Journalism student from the Polytechnic University of the Philipines and an aspiring Filmmaker. I fancy found footage, home invasions, and gore films. Randomly unearthing good films is my third favorite thing in life. The second and first are suspending disbelief and dozing off.