Found footage is one of those genres that audiences either love or hate. The trope can get old fast, especially when the camera cuts out just as the scary thing appears, or if there’s no real reason to be filming. Anthony Cousins’ 2023 creature feature, Frogman, cements itself as a worthy entry into the genre by seamlessly using its found footage angle to elevate the horror and structure its plot. And while the found footage is certainly the flashiest part of the film, Frogman is also a fantastic monster movie. When the Frogman (Ali Daniels) appears on-screen, the pomp and circumstance he’s afforded is befitting his unnerving design. It’s refreshing to see a genuinely creepy creature, and for it not to be a rehashed version of a monster the audience has seen a thousand times before. Following Dallas (Nathan Tymoshuk) as he hunts for the mythic Frogman, the film effortlessly toggles found footage, folk legend, and creature feature tropes to create a fresh take on three separate horror subgenres.

Beginning on a 1999 camcorder, the 10-year-old boy, Dallas, glimpses a creature dubbed the Frogman. Years later, Dallas is on a mission to record new footage of the creature to prove the initial sighting wasn’t a hoax. The bulk of the film takes place in Loveland, with Dallas and his friends Scotty (Benny Barrett) and Amy (Chelsey Grant), trying to record on that original 1999 camcorder. Sprinkled in between the grainy footage is crisp YouTuber commentary blasting the footage for being an obvious fake, and iPhone recordings. Dallas’ insistence on using the camcorder subtly establishes the stakes for his character. He’s never moved on.

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Found footage is often so loathed for seemingly being a useless aesthetic choice. In Frogman, these specific footage types, and their rotation, are both budget and plot-essential. Frogman was made on a small budget, but the characters in the movie are also scrambling to film their documentary. Having the various film types, all of which look grainy compared to the YouTube clip, helps to convincingly sell that aspect of the plot. This also aids the movie in crafting its love letter to American cryptid mythology, winking at the audience by simulating the experience of digging into the lore of a local legend. As the film switches between the various types of footage, the audience feels as though they’ve fallen down a research hole and are hunting for the Frogman themselves.
‘Frogman’ is an Homage to Classic Creature Features

Combining found footage with urban legends is nothing new, as The Blair Witch Project did it to legendary results back in 1999. But Frogman’s eventual descent into full creature horror is what makes it stand out. Rather than working with a recognizable fiend, the film plays with cryptid mythology. The Frogman is a creature specific to one town, Loveland, and has several bits of lore for the characters and audience to learn during the runtime. The first two acts of Frogman aren’t scary; instead, they are dedicated to Dallas and his friends interviewing people on the street to try and learn what they can about the Frogman. It appears to the audience, however, that most of the interviewees are messing with them, as one person yells about how the Frogman can mind control, and another alludes to the brides of Frogman. The audience is invited to chuckle as they learn the lore, never taking it at face value. This slow burn lulls the audience into a false sense of security, with much of the runtime feeling like a video a classmate might have filmed on their weird trip to a small town.
Frogman proves just how terrifying cryptids can be when the monster finally appears in the third act. The sudden shift into horror makes the creature reveal land as scary rather than campy. The camera does a remarkable job actually showing the Frogman, rather than twisting away in an attempt to preserve the horror of the unknown. The camera still glitches, with the loud, static buzzes jarring the viewer, but not at the expense of showing off the clever creature design. Frogs are not generally regarded as frightening, but the unnaturally long tongue, the slime, the slouch of the creature, and its bloated stomach create a disturbing horror monster The move into creature horror, along with the found footage angle puts Frogman up there with Joshua Brucker’s Mothman and Bobcat Goldthwait’s Willow Creek.
Cryptids are criminally underused in horror. Frogman capitalizes on this unique brand of creature horror and marries it to the overused trope of found footage. The combination works shockingly well, with the homegrown monster legend being a perfect fit for the DIY documentary the characters are filming. The grounded nature of found footage and local legends gives Frogman a gritty realism that lingers long after the film has ended. Everyone has heard of the Mothman, but never does he rise to the level of eeriness that is achieved in Frogman.
Frogman is available to rent or buy on Amazon.
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Frogman

Release Date

March 8, 2024

Director

Anthony Cousins

Cast

Benny Barrett
, Sonya Boushek
, Ali Daniels
, Chari Eckmann
, Chelsey Grant
, Liam Hage
, Stephen Hage
, Michael Paul Levin
, Arden Michalec
, Shea Mikel
, Jack Neveaux
, Brian Sams
, Brandon Santiago
, Jason P. Schumacher
, Justen Jones

Runtime

77 Minutes

Writers

Anthony Cousins
, John Karsko

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