VOD OF THE DEAD - THE DOGMAN TRIANGLE (2023)
Urban legends and mythological creatures are intrinsically tied to the world of horror. Some of the first horror stories and movies we see are either based on or directly referencing some creature, character, or seemingly unbelievable occurrence. From vampires to witches and wendigos to bigfoot, myths and legends have played a critical role in all cultures all over the world. While there are some who believe that these kinds of myths and legends bear some relation to the real world, the evidence is at best interesting and at worst comical. There was a time before the ubiquity of the internet when those homemade handheld videos captivated young minds and caused fully grown adults to devote their lives to searching for repeat occurrences to validate their claims. Nowadays, the world is a more skeptical place. Real-life technological breakthroughs like deepfakes have made it both easier and harder to spot video manipulation, and CGI allows creators to build worlds that no soundstage could ever accommodate creating a harmony between live-action and computer animation that is more often complimentary rather than confusing. This brings us to THE DOGMAN TRIANGLE: WEREWOLVES IN THE LONE STAR STATE, a new documentary from SMALL TOWN MONSTERS releasing on VOD today, JUNE 27, 2023. Does this documentary make us more of a believer in lycanthropy, or is it all bark and no bite?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
For centuries tales have been told around the world about strange, upright-walking wolves. While these stories are typically thought to be little more than legend or folklore, they live on, and in recent years the terrifying reality behind them is coming to light. In the state of Texas alone, dozens of reports of encounters with Werewolves have been brought to light. These reports were the focus of a recent book by author, Aaron Deese, who not only found a preponderance of such accounts but also a strange pattern to them; a pattern that fit inside a seven-hundred-plus square mile area he calls the Texas Dogman Triangle. The Dogman Triangle trails Deese, along with independent researcher and author, Shannon LeGro as they map out the triangle. Speaking with witnesses, and experts, LeGro and Deese journey deep into a uniquely American phenomenon that has roots in our ancient past.
HOW IS IT?
For the majority of the 80-minute runtime that is The Dogman Triangle, I thought that it was a mockumentary. That’s not hard to assume since the film marries the supernatural with reality by focusing on the existence of werewolves (dogmen) and is crafted with a keen documentary aesthetic. It wasn’t until the very end that I realized that the filmmakers aren’t making a supposed documentary, they are making a real one. While this is an interesting flip of the script for werewolf-themed fare, it also makes the viewing experience a bit all over the place. In spite of an interesting concept, it becomes clear by the end that The Dogman Triangle may have missed the mark by over-indexing on realism rather than narrative, and unfortunately, the whole isn’t nearly as interesting as it could’ve been.
The narrow focus of The Dogman Triangle is the Lone Star State of Texas, where supposed legendary creatures referred to as the “dogmen” have been spotted on more than one occasion. Those who have watched documentaries on aliens, UFOs, bigfoot, and such are likely familiar with the rhythm of these kinds of movies. A bevy of self-described experts and various random people sharing their first-hand experiences is the driving force behind The Dogman Triangle, and that serves the film well to a point before it becomes redundant and boring. You see, documentaries about this kind of phenomenon have the reputation of being labeled as “hoaxes” and as such the burden of proof to prove their existence lies squarely on the filmmakers. This may cause the viewer to ask themselves, “What kind of proof would I need in order to believe the premise that werewolves exist?”, and rightfully so. Filmmakers are tasked with providing the soundest and strongest evidence they can that the topic of their film is in fact reality and not just make-believe. That’s where The Dogman Triangle struggles, and why it was so hard to tell if this was a mockumentary or not. All of the evidence is presented orally, which means that there is no photo or video evidence and every account is only as good as the person telling the story. If a documentary is aiming to make a case for the existence of something so unbelievable as a werewolf, there just has to be more proof than a few people saying they saw one. In fact, the only images we get in the film look more like they came from Midjourney than someone’s phone or camera. This is the root problem with The Dogman Triangle; it doesn’t have enough proof to be a documentary and doesn’t pivot away from the documentary style enough to evoke something more interesting a la LAKE MUNGO.
Now here’s the part where I contradict myself. While The Dogman Triangle may have benefitted from having a narrative underneath that the mockumentary aesthetic helps uncover, it also could’ve functioned perfectly well as a documentary on werewolf mythology. In fact, some of the most interesting parts of the film are the times when the focus isn’t on people’s experiences with dogmen, but rather on the history of dogmen/werewolves in our culture and others around the world. There’s a part in particular that focuses on debunking people’s claims, and a very salient point is raised about misidentification. Specifically, how mangey bears often look very similar to how people describe dogmen/werewolves and how this might account for people not being able to identify what they are seeing since a bear with mange is not something most folks would have a mental picture of at the ready. Part of this is because the film never assumes that the viewer is questioning anything that is being said, rather, the film assumes it has nothing to prove and is just there to be a point of record. This is a precarious position to be in since it's reasonable to assume most people don’t believe in werewolves, no matter how compelling one person's story is, the burden of proof must be higher than that to sway people into challenging these beliefs. Perhaps instead of trying to document the potential existence of dogmen, the documentary could’ve focused on the history of the werewolf in modern culture and in particular local Texas legend. Still, it’s admirable that the filmmakers set out to try and explain something as strange as this, it’s just a shame that its contents feel quite hollow and ill-equipped to carry the weight of changing rational minds.
LAST RITES
The Dogman Triangle is a commendable documentary for those who believe in the existence of werewolves. Yet, it does very little to make a reasonable and believable argument to any naysayers as to why they should reconsider and could’ve potentially been better served being more objective and historical rather than anecdotal and assumed.
THE GORY DETAILS
Directed By
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Where can you watch it?
The Dogman Triangle arrives today, Tuesday, June 27, on VOD from 1091 Pictures!
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