Frogman

I'm gonna preface this by saying I have a soft spot for B-Tier Found Footage films. I've loved em since the good old days of Lost Tapes, and I still love them. Frogman hits a similar vibe as to that old show.

The acting is meh, the cinematography is pretty bad (even by found footage standards), and it definitely overstays its welcome by about half an hour.

I will say that the practical effects of the monster and a few of the scenes near the end are actually quite good, especially covered up by the handheld camera appearance of the film.

I don't review films really as there are plenty of reviews to form your own opinion, but there are so few for this one that I though I'd put in my two cents. It's a fine film to sit down with for an hour and half and laugh and cringe at the poor acting and filming, but it does have plenty of nostalgia factor for those like myself who grew up on the Lost Tapes.

I thought this movie was fun from start to finish. For me, it had a midnight movie feel--cheap trash just made to entertain. It's found footage, and it definitely uses low-res shots and shaky camera work. The story feels like someone saw The Taking Of Deborah Logan and decided to do a Spinal Tap-like parody of it. I don't actually know if the tone was meant to be comedic, but there were plenty of moments that they couldn't possibly have thought anyone would take it seriously. I also liked how everything builds to an off-the-wall climax where they just totally go for it. I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen. It was a sweet rush of low budget horror.

When I first heard about this movie I was obviously skeptical. It had the premise of a cheaper version of "The Blair Witch Project" but instead of a witch, the threat would be a "Frogman". However I like found-footage and had to give this a try. It's basically exactly what I expected with three characters asking locals about the Frogman and if they believe that he exists. They even visit a little gift shop with Frogman related items. In there you can spot a few funny things and memes which is a nice detail. It takes quite a while for something relevant to happen and once the Frogman appears on screen it was not particularly scary but rather funny in a strange way. It was a little bit hard to take this "threat" seriously but the movie sure has some ideas to make it interesting. It reminded me of a V/H/S/-segment which probably wood have worked better because the even shorter runtime would have made the pacing much better. It also definitely suffers from some of the usual flaws of found-footage movies. Once something interesting happens on screen, there are weird and annoying glitches and the camera starts shaking like the camera man has Parkinson's disease. Overall it's a fun idea with an enjoyable third act and some decent effects and I would recommend it if you enjoy found footage movies and don't mind their downsides. [5,9/10]

Let's be real...found footage horror films can be pretty bad.

But it's also a medium where you can make a pretty darn entertaining film on an extremely low budget...if you have the imagination, and a good group of friends to make it with.

Enter Frogman.

Which is a perfect example of the latter.

You can tell they had virtually no budget to make this with, simply by watching it.

But it sure as hell was entertaining!

Sure, the concept is ridiculous...but it's also ridiculously fun!

Is it also bad?

Of course.

But in the so bad it's good kind of way.

The concept is super imaginative.

And it looks like they had a helluva lot of fun making it.

I must say, I thought the post-script addendum was an excellent touch, as well.

To give it that extra air of authenticity.

This is found footage horror done right.

So it's definitely worth giving a chance, in my personal opinion.

Cause, to put it bluntly...Frogman certainly f---s!

4 out of 10.

There are two key elements to making a Found Footage film work. The first and biggest one is obviously the ending. Everything is leading up to that moment that is going to explain why the footage needed to be found.

The other part though is the build up. Even though most Found Footage horror is on the shorter side of runtimes generally, there is still a long time where the audience has to follow these characters around in anticipation of what is going to happen. The build up has to be tense and has to fill us with a sense of dread. We have to be worried about what is to come. This is where 'Frogman' lets itself down.

The build up wasn't very good at all. It was never established why anyone should be afraid of 'Frogman' (or even if anyone was, for that matter). Everything in the buildup just felt like filler. Yes the characters had a little bit of charm but that wasn't nearly enough.

It leaves a massive weight on the ending to basically carry the entire film, and it simply couldn't do that. 5/10.