‘The croaks are no hoax!’
Frogman is a 2023 American found-footage horror film in which three friends find out that he is more than just a local legend.
Directed and co-produced by Anthony Cousins from a screenplay co-written with John Karsko. The Feral Child Films-Rotting Press-Shock Treatment Production stars Nathan Tymoshuk, Chelsey Grant, Benny Barrett and Justen Jones.
Plot:
In the summer of 1999, a twelve-year-old named Dallas Kyle captured footage of the mythical Frogman, but no one believed it was real.
Twenty years later, Dallas, now an amateur filmmaker struggling to turn his passion into a career, returns to Loveland with friends Amy and Scotty determined to obtain irrefutable proof that the Frogman exists. But what begins as an innocent documentary project soon turns into a Lovecraftian nightmare as Dallas uncovers the horrific secrets hidden beneath Loveland’s idyllic surface…
Reviews:
“What takes it beyond the basic of found footage is how audacious it gets, as there’s an entire Lovecraftian end-of-the-world cult — a frogman sex cult! — out in the woods praising its name. It makes the whole movie pay off and the end even has some emotion. I usually dislike found-footage films, but wow — Frogman is good.” B&S About Movies
“While Cousins’ debut doesn’t offer any narrative surprises and makes strange style choices for the camera, it makes up for it with impressive creature effects. The more the humans invade the Frogman’s turf, the more delightfully weird and gnarly things get. It’s an SFX showcase with delightfully deranged mythology that makes this one worth the price of admission.” Bloody Disgusting
“A lot of found footage films rely on the tropes and cliches in their presentation and storytelling, however, Frogman avoids the majority of them and provides a compelling, if a bit silly on its surface, story. There’s some great “mythology” introduced and a story that gives you characters you actually find yourself rooting for.” The Good, the Bad and the Verdict
“When the Frogman (Men?) arrive, the scenes burst into a frenzy of panic and wild camera movement. And, it’s the audio that carries the day. The croaks, peeps, roaring, and thrashing fill in the gaps of what you can’t see. There is also a rational excuse for the “Frogman” project, a justification for bringing the hand-held camera into the field, and a reason why you would keep the film rolling.” ★★★★ The Scariest Things
“Found footage as a genre is full of underdeveloped and unlikable characters. Here, the leads are relatable people with enough development that we can understand them and the choices they make. And, like the writing, the performances here are well above what we’ve come to expect in films like this.” ★★★½ Voices from the Balcony
YouTube reviews:
Trailer:
Release:
In the US, Frogman was initially – and pointlessly – released as a marketing tool on VHS (enjoy the inferior 240p quality, eh?) on February 9, 2024, then on high-definition VOD and digital on March 8, 2024.
More amphibian horror:
Bad Blood: The Movie
Frog-g-g!
Frogs
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
The Maze
Psychomania
Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake aka Croaked: Frog Monster from Hell
