Dogman

Dogman is a hyper low budget horror film despite being labelled a thriller.

It tells the story of a goofy middle aged man who discovers that there is something living in the local woods and it's not friendly.

Initially I thought it was a comedy, it was certainly written that way and the lead though competent would be better suited to that genre.

Due to the lack of budget the creature is mostly left up to your imagination. This rarely works and Dogman demonstrates exactly why.

Most of the cast are better than you'd expect as is the entire films cinematography but sadly by about a third of the way through the writing dips to painful levels.

There is something here and it's not devoid of quality, but the whole package just isn't enjoyable.

The Good:

Starts solidly enough

Considerably better cinematography than you'd expect

Competent little cast

The Bad:

Trails off into mediocrity

Lack of budget shows and hurts the film

The two kids were terrible

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

We need a comedy werewolf movie!

If you're looking for mindless and silly fun, watch this movie. It won't ever be a classic or a contender for any awards, but so what?

2012's "Dogman" is a low budget story around the legend of Michigan's Dogman. The film is directed by Richard Brauer, who does a really good job of navigating the issues of budget when telling this creature- feature. The film isn't so much about the actual legend per se, but more about a couple's farm and small community's deadly ordeal with the creature. Great horror story premise, with hit and miss execution-budget constraints withstanding.

The story of "Dogman" uses the legend of the creature to create an ominous set-up, with a couple struggling between, what they believe to be the acts of delinquent relatives causing property damage, or some other force terrorizing them. It soon becomes clear just what the situation is, and Brauer uses some classic tricks to tease the creature on camera. Some moments work and others show up on screen as uber-cheap. Budget- I know. The cast, for the most part, give pretty decent performances. Oddly enough the most seasoned among them-Larry Joe Campbell-gives the least convincing performance. The story arc never really falls apart, leaving most of the flubs to technical issues with special effects shots, and inability to create necessary thrills when needed.

The special effects are super low budget, when used, give poor quality and weak performance. Brauer does show prowess in his ability to create some suspenseful moments by leaving a lot of the creature off camera for the most part. Similar to how the werewolf creature in "Silver Bullet" is used. For the most part the actual effectiveness of the film's horror element comes from melodrama, creepy soundtracks, and the legend of the Dogman. There are better wolf-creature films out there that bring the beast clearly into the terror-zone but "Dogman" does give good story. It hits just below the 50/50 point with me personally.

Dogman is a skillfully executed and engaging story that elaborates on the mysteries of a Michigan monster myth while still maintaining a sense of good Midwestern charm. There's something subtly "feel good" about this thriller - a fun contradiction that plays all the way through the film without serving up an expected and cliché ending that you might expect with other "light" thrillers. Writer, director and cinematographer Rich Brauer's characters are fresh, natural and unassuming and his camera work exceeds what one might expect from an independent film. If there ever was a thriller for the whole family, this would be one.

Definitely low budget but it's actually pretty good. The cast is decent and the story itself isn't too bad either. Unlike a lot of other low budget movies I've decided to watch, I thought it was pretty fun.