Hey, you guys! Look at this footage I found!
Through a mysterious editing process, Frogman brings together all the filmed components of a quest to locate a legendary cryptid that allegedly inhabits the swampier suburbs of Loveland, Ohio.
Amateur filmmaker Dallas Kyle (Nathan Tymochuk) is worried that his career peaked as a child, when he snapped a photograph of a mysterious amphibian creature while on a trip with his parents.
It happened near Loveland, Ohio, a small town that stays afloat financially by luring v-loggers, podcasters, documentarians, and other media soakers to have a look around for their slimy mascot.
Tired of the world at large perceiving him as a kooky kid with a camera, Dallas decides to go back to Loveland and shoot a movie about The Loveland Frogman.
Accompanying Dallas is his wedding photographer drinking buddy, Scottie (Benny Barrett), and his longtime friend and secret crush, Amy (Chelsey Grant), who is ostensibly on her way to Los Angeles to become an actress.
Inspired by Dallas’s passion to create something meaningful, the trio saddles up and checks in at a charming Loveland B&B run by Gretel (Chari Eckmann), an enthusiastic dame who acts as an unofficial tour guide for all things related to the Frogman.
As we see all too often, a lark expedition with three friends turns into a very dark and nasty little trip (trap).
It’s easy enough to classify Frogman as a found-footage descendant of The Blair Witch Project, as it sticks to the interview/wilderness template pretty closely.
If we look back to the earlier part of the previous century, it also bears a striking resemblance to Lovecraft’s Shadow Over Innsmouth, in which a nameless tourist stumbles into a dilapidated fishing village populated by folks with an unsettling “batrachian” appearance.
I believe writer-director Anthony Cousins purposely designed Frogman to dig deeper and bite harder than Blair Witch. It definitely establishes a darker shade of horror, especially when the viewer pieces together all the awful implications.
A big ol’ recommendation from Ol’ Sharky.