Notable Cast: Nathan Tymoshuk, Alexis Allotta, Natalie
Tran, Chelsey Grant, C.Andrew Kogolenok, Brian Villalobos, Benny Barrett, Tom Ringberg,
Karen Schovajsa
“Time to croak, bitch.”
Despite the surprising amount of world-building that erupted
in the third act of Frogman, I’m not sure I would have expected there to
be a sequel. Yet, the film proved to be something of a massive cult hit, and
when Frogman Returns was initially announced, I was pretty stoked. While
the original certainly used the tropes and style of found-footage horror well,
balancing comedy, horror, and exploitation into one slurpy stew, its third act
went fully off the lily pad and straight into the deep end, with some wild
ideas and wicked body horror. It’s the kind of film that comes with a built-in
cult following.
Frogman Returns follows in those leaps and hops with
an eagerness to extend and deepen the insanity of Frogman’s world.
Powered by some returning cast, a slightly meta approach to the original, and
the pace of the Energizer Bunny on crack (is the Energizer Bunny even still a
thing? Probably in Frogman’s world as a real cryptid), this sequel does
go bigger, badder, and bolder with the ideas planted by its predecessor. And,
don’t worry, the third act goes even more bizarre than expected. It’s insane
and ‘ribbit-ing.’ You know, like riveting but for frogs. Or something. Sorry,
I’ll show myself the door.
Dallas, once again played by Nathan Tymoshuk, has been
tapped to host a new cryptid investigation show. His documentary about Frogman,
the first film, but presented as a true documentary in this world rather than
an insane, low-budget cult phenomenon, has left him in a place he doesn’t want
to be. With a camerawoman and producer in tow, Tran and Allotta, respectively,
he heads back to Loveland to find Amy and return Grant, because somehow… Frogman
has returned.
At an electrified 78-minute runtime, Frogman Returns
spends very little time letting its audience settle back into the world. Yes,
there are a few screens with words on them in the beginning to recap the events
of the original film while some key moments play out, but in reality, this film
assumes you’ve seen the original. Not that you can’t leap into this one cold,
but to maximize your enjoyment and the wild ass character arcs, you will
definitely want to make sure you’ve recently seen its predecessor.
The expansion of the world for these characters is perhaps
the most impressive piece yet. The opening of the film finds Dallas and his
team investigating another cryptid, the Nightcrawler, in California, and you
are not ready to deal with this new creature, whose borderline hilarious design
is sure to make you laugh. It’s a fantastic way to open the film, setting up
that Dallas is still traumatized by Frogman and the evil cult, and
unzipping the world to show that there are far more stories to tell in this
universe beyond the amphibious warlock types. The film continually does this,
introducing a few new characters as it goes and delving into the magic and mysterious
origins of its titular villain. By the time the third act hits, the film has
essentially evolved into a science fiction action flick. Does that sound
insane? It is, and it works in so many offbeat and effective ways.
However, that’s just how Frogman Returns works as a
film. Its new characters are a welcome addition to the comedic bits,
particularly Bridget's density as the producer and the connection Dallas makes
with the camerawoman, Lucy. The comedy here is far more character-driven
and leans harder into the ludicrousness of its concepts than its predecessor,
while still balancing the film’s brutal moments of gore and the science
fiction/action elements that rear their heads in the final act. The meta
element that the original Frogman film exists in this world as a
documentary adds some fun layers to how the characters move around in the
world, especially now that Dallas is semi-famous. The one-liners crack me up,
the special effects are over-the-top in their handmade quality, and every actor is 100% dedicated to the sale of everything this film represents.
Respect.
To be honest, if you saw Frogman, you’re going to
want to see Frogman Returns. It’s still the same style and the same
insanity at its heart, but this sequel is even more empowered to take it across
the road, into new dimensions of silliness and intensity. It takes a few wild
twists, adds in some great new characters, and manages to take the franchise
into some brilliant places. In my humble opinion, it builds on the foundational blocks of the first film. It's guaranteed to be one of the most entertaining films you see this year. If they decide to continue this series, I can’t
wait to see what mind-melting places that the next one includes.
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