Dogman

Released in 2012, "Dogman" is about Michigan's legendary half-canine, half-human creature first supposedly sighted in 1987 in the northwestern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula. The star is that goofy rotund guy from the sitcom According to Jim (who has since lost the weight). Mariann Mayberry plays his wife, Kimberly Guerrero a Native American neighbor and Stacie Mitchell (aka Stacie Hadgikosti) an investigating deputy.

Despite an outstanding opening & closing folk-rock song, presumably by Grant Floering (who's credited for the music), and the presence of a few formidable actors, you can tell this is a micro-budget flick right out of the gate. The slow-going, mundane proceedings don't help. For instance, there's a scene of the deputy interviewing two teens at the hospital that's just tedious and unnecessary. The runtime could've easily been cut in half. Then there are some inexplicable elements, like all the time spent on the tree camera, but we mysteriously never get to see the footage. The ending leaves you with a big question mark and the potential for a sequel (which materialized in 2014 with, amazingly, the same cast). Speaking from someone who appreciates low-budget woods-oriented flicks, "Dogman" is just too uneventful and pedestrian with uninteresting characters. Still, it's competently made for a no-budget flick. It's just not that entertaining and entertainment is the name of the game.

The movie runs 90 minutes and was shot in Benzie County, Michigan.

GRADE: D+

This is a story about - guess what? - a Dogman! It's also a well done indie movie about a small village of rural-ites confronting said Dogman to the best of their abilities.

It won't win any big awards, but so what? Most Oscars reward the propaganda machine and its bizarre agenda. This is just a great story told well and presented by an outstanding cast and crew.

Don't listen to the naysayers on this one. Watch and believe in the Dogman!!!

Fun though low budget. At times funny too. Don't think that the fact that it's low budget means you should skip it - there are lots of low budget indie films that a great: Blair Witch,, The Wilding,

Give it a shot.

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!

Our group of movie goers really liked this film. It was a horror film, but written and presented in an even paced approach, with funny moments, teenagers doing bike tricks, snowmobiles on dry land, surprises, action, and mixtures of every day life with this horror creature. The mystery of the Dogman unfolds, in a comic sort of way, with an element of a medicine woman as a quiet hero. The plot is interesting, layering back the ancient story of this dogman creature thing. What is it? We can't tell you too much, but it's a fun watch. The ending leaves room for more, we agree. Maybe a sequel? it was worth it to make a nice introduction, and we would welcome a sequel. Get your popcorn and enjoy this one. We did.