FROGMAN (2023)
I don't know why I added this film to my collection. I would say the price was right, but it really wasn't. To top it off, Frogman employs the "found footage" gimmick. This is a subgenre that usually leaves me cold, so I had no business sitting down and trying to enjoy this thing. But you know what? I enjoyed this thing. It has the same exoskeleton as The Blair Witch Project. I know, that's an obvious touchstone, but hang with me. You don't know where I'm going. You have entered "hot take" territory, by the way. Try this on for size; Frogman is the movie that Blair Witch wanted to be. Do I sound insane yet? I can't help it. Frogman is simply more absorbing. I realize that no one asked me to make this comparison, but both flicks follow three root characters as they try to validate a cryptid. In this case, it's the Frogman of Ohio, a real local legend that has proven to be a hit with tourists.
Horror is just as subjective as comedy or science fiction, so you may not warm up to the main players as much as I did. If I wasn't won over by Dallas, Amy, and Scotty, Frogman would have flopped. They have genuine chemistry, more so than the three filmmakers in Blair Witch. Okay, I'll drop it. Why do I have a feeling that I'm in the vast minority here? Frogman isn't pitch-perfect. If you think about the concept too long, you'll begin to see holes in the architecture, so to speak. I still had fun unraveling the mystery of the titular polliwog. Special effects are used sparingly, but we do get...well, I won't spoil anything. Even if you don't care for Frogman, you must concede that it's better than 1972's Frogs. It's a whitewash (or a greenwash).
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