'Frogman' & other horrors
Anthony Cousins' found-footage film about an amphibian cryptid doesn't seem like it buys into its own ridiculousness. Plus, this week's horror recommendations.
Salutations, fellow horror fans!
New week. New dispatch…from hell! This week, I’m trying out the new format/structure for Field Notes (From Hell!) I was talking about last week.
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THERE’S A DEGREE OF SELF-AWARENESS required for films like Anthony Cousins’ Frogman to work. It’s a fine balance. Too much or too little of it can turn an otherwise fun cryptid romp into a gross and painful slog.
I think it’s there, somewhere, in Frogman. Otherwise, the film would have felt like it totally croaked in arrival. It didn’t, despite a wooden script and its trio of cardboard-thin characters. At least one-third of the main cast works in a funny quip. “Frogman fucks,” he asks dryly. I like that.
Everything else feels somewhat off. Like the film doesn’t buy into its own ridiculousness. We follow a down-on-his-luck thirtysomething named Dallas. Subjected to unfunny ridicule from a cringy sleuth-tuber, Dallas’ persisting motivation is to prove that the half-frog, half-person creature he spotted as a kid in the ‘90s is, in fact, real. So, he coaxes his filmmaking friends Scotty and Amy, to scour the woods and uncover the truth about Frogman.
A big chunk of the film follows the trio around Loveland, the town that amphibian cryptids built. There are huge Willow Creek vibes here, particularly in the scenes where Dallas & co. interviews the locals about the eponymous creature, even if the actors show up with nary half the conviction of those in Goldthwait’s film.
About halfway through, we switch gears as the film goes full-on Blair Witch Frog-ject (sorry!) and introduces a bunch of spooky setpieces, made somewhat effective by the film’s lovingly distressed visuals, complete with fake aberrations and digital scratches. The frozen still images of Frogman, though ridiculous in nature, telegraph as creepy. I kinda dig it.
I wish there were more action, though. The finale is tense and grotesque, a final set piece that kind of depletes its own thrills by reminding us that “oh, I don’t really care about much of these characters.” It’s giving ribbits, yes. Riveting, no.
Every week in Field Notes (From Hell!), I give you three horror film recommendations: one recent title, one classic horror, and one guilty pleasure.
Here are this week’s recommendations.
Recent horror — Moon Garden (2024, dir. Ryan Stevens Harris)
It's surprising how only a few people have started talking about Ryan Stevens Harris’ Moon Garden. The film exists, it seems, inside of a young girl’s mind while in a state of coma. There are lots of great ideas in play here, and an exhibit of the filmmakers’ craft, each bringing their own stroke of genius (the production looks amazing) in a beautiful story about a kid processing life.
Classic horror — Onibaba (1964, dir. Kaneto Shindō)
Astounded by the wizardry of some of the shots here (and the fact that they were once mislabeled as bad cinematography). A searing, sensual take on the old hag folklore, Onibaba is one of the most fascinating horror films in Japan. It
Oh, and it made our list of underrated supernatural horror films. I called it a “menacing post-war horror that beautifully unfurls in a violent clash of rage, envy, and possession.” There goes the barrage of superlatives.
Guilty pleasure — Ghost Ship (2002, dir. Steve Beck)
By all accounts a bad movie, but a fun one. It’s known for that one scene (iyknyk), but honestly, there’s plenty to enjoy here. And I’m showing my biases here: Julianna Margulies is amazing, per usual.
That’s it for this week’s digest! Thank you so much for reading through.
About Field Notes (From Hell!):
Field Notes (From Hell!) is Deep Cuts’ weekly email digest. Dispatches go out every weekend, with handpicked capsule reviews and horror recommendations.
Again, this week’s email is brought to you by Amazon Prime Video — watch thousands of horror films, including Amazon Original titles like Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake.
Cheers to you, ghoulies!
—Armand
Thank you for the reviews and suggestions! I am going to have to watch Moon Garden, it sounds right up my ally (I use to be child counselor).