Frogman

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.

Chuck the Movie Guy on TikTok recommended this poorly acted, terribly paced, and awful found footage movie. He pushed this garbage for weeks to get people to rent it and it was awful. The guy is a conman. Look, I'm not a smart man but I know when I'm being fed a bunch of BS. I rented this movie off a bunch of recs from social media people (the ringleader was Chuck the movie guy) that got an early viewing of it. All of them said it was a "banger" "slaps" or "fantastic" lol no it most certainly was not. Air was awful. The people that saw this early must have gotten paid of getting something in return to hype this up because again, it was GOD AWFUL. Don't waste your money. I will never again rent any movie based off of a rec because they got an advanced copy of it. This was awful and this score is at an 8 right not and will most assuredly will DROP to a 2 or 3 within a month when actual viewers review this movie like me instead of friends and family giving it a 10. Junk movie.

I've always had a soft spot for those offbeat, lower-budget found footage movies. They have this raw, unpolished charm that I just can't resist, and this one definitely tapped into that familiar vibe. The acting is fairly average, and the camera work is rough, even by found footage standards. It also drags on a bit longer than necessary, which can make it feel sluggish at times. However, I have to give credit where it's due-the creature effects and a few scenes near the end were surprisingly well done. The handheld, shaky camera style really worked in its favor, masking some flaws and adding a layer of tension to the overall eerie atmosphere.

When the movie started, I was really enjoying it. My friend was talking and it bugged me because I found I wanted to be engaged - even if the concept was a bit silly or whatever, on the face. I thought the first reveal of the Frogman was fun, and was looking forward to the rest of it.

But found footage films are all about the thrill of immersion - feeling like this somehow could be real. If it's done right, it can make something average feel very impactful (see - Blair Witch Project). Unfortunately, Frogman suffers from some bad acting at times, but especially from 'film effects' that don't make sense. If we're watching 'found film' it doesn't make sense within the world of the movie to have glitches and flashbacks and psychological effects - so you get pulled out immediately. Unfortunately the end of the movie suffers a lot from this so I found the ending just a letdown because of it. It's too bad, cuz I wanted it to be good.

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.