Review: STM The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State (2023)
Welcome to another episode of Brannyk talks about Small Town Monsters! Today we watch The Dogman Triangle by Small Town Monsters!
Welcome to another episode of ‘Brannyk talks about Small Town Monsters’! We’ve explored the Joisey Devil, aliens giving boo boos to cows, totally Bigfoot, a big ol’ stinky doggo, your tea-spilling ghost-witch, and an alien Bigfoot with a hankering for a good peanut butter sandwich. We have a new screener from Small Town Monsters!
Oh boy, so what’s happening this time?
The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State
Get your cowboy boots and hats because we’re going (clap clap clap) deep in the heart of Texas.
Researcher and author Aaron Deese, along with investigator Shannon LeGro (On the Trail of UFOs), investigate the dogmen of Texas – strange and terrifying creatures that are possibly half-wolf and half-men.
Deese and LeGro follow the triangle of where these sightings have popped up from the 1900’s to present day. They interview eyewitness and scour through Texan history to uncover the truth.
But are these dogmen real or sensationalized accounts by newspapers? Is there any kernel of truth to these accounts? And if so, are we safe from The Dogman Triangle?
Thoughts on The Dogman Triangle
Seth Breedlove really outdoes himself in The Dogman Triangle. As you may know (or can assume), I am a fan of Small Town Monsters ever since watching Momo (that adorable peanutbutter-sandwich-stealing alien). And even though I remain on the skeptical side of cryptids, I am always entertained by STM and always learn something new in each film.
Right out of the gate, The Dogman Triangle leapt into my heart with its introduction, playing the documentary like a SCP instructional video. I loved every part of it and the introduction was certainly good hype for the rest of the documentary.
As always, the interviews were insightful and endearing, highlighting the people and history of these small towns. We get the pleasure of seeing Lyle Blackburn and his iconic cowboy hat again. And while there wasn’t an investigation at any location, the addition of Aaron Deese was terrific to the documentary. His voice and demeanor are calm and curious, and his passion for the Texan dogman was contagious.
The animations were slick and enjoyable, and the art collected for this project was extensive. The music (Brandon Dalo) was absolutely stunning, drawing from the drawl of country music without being overwhelming or cheesy. Part mystery and part epic Western, the soundtrack for The Dogman Triangle stands out, being one of the best from STM. It’s enjoyable on its own and I suggest giving it a listen (it’s on Spotify, so easy-peasy).
Brainroll Juice:
Honestly, I think The Dogman Triangle really pulled everything together. It was informative, entertaining, and didn’t drag the time out. There have been a few times in STM documentaries where the end has dragged on a bit and I feel like The Dogman Triangle learned from those instances. It’s a concise and fascinating documentary about an interesting cryptid.
And while I enjoyed the nods to skepticism, the history and the lore are the meat of the project. The interviewees are salt-of-the-earth people who may or may not have been witness to something incredible. STM takes special care and attention to every interview, carefully crafting the interviewee’s story. The beauty of Small Town Monsters is that the focus in not on sensationalism, but the people of these legends. A true documentarian, Breedlove documents the stories and lets you decide whether you want to believe or not.
On another note, one thing that was brought up and I appreciated was “Dogman PTSD”.
But in all seriousness, I appreciated the discussion of how witnesses feel after what they’ve seen and how isolating it can be. Many of the interviewees seem like rough-and-tumble Texans who would have a ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ bumper sticker, but being a witness opens the doors to vulnerability. One interviewee even stated how awkward it is to talk about because people then question his integrity and credibility.
It can be lonely to experience something that you, and no one else, can understand or explain. And that can take a toll on people. It can be a heavy burden to believe something that no one else may believe.
So, in the end, whether you believe in The Dogman Triangle or not, the lesson in Small Town Monsters is that we are human, all of us. We all have stories to tell and regardless if they seem fantastical or not, everyone has the right to tell their story. And every story is a gift.
Bottomline:
If you like cryptids and documentaries, do yourself a favor and watch this. Currently it’s streaming on Tubi, but I highly suggest buying it or, better yet, support them in their future projects. Because I have a feeling STM is just going to get better and better.
(5 / 5)
Smile 2, a psychological supernatural horror, released in October 2024 just in time for Halloween, sees director Parker Finn (Smile, Laura Hasn’t Slept) return with a sequel starring Naomi Scott (Aladdin) as pop star and recovering addict Skye Riley. While Smile 2 boasts a talented cast, it ultimately falls short of its predecessor, offering a familiar storyline with minor variations and a predictable finale. The film attempts to introduce a new method to combat the parasitic ‘Smile Entity’, but this addition fails to elevate the sequel beyond a pale imitation of its chilling predecessor.
The Plot.
Smile 2 begins shortly after the end of the original; just six days after Rose Cotter’s death. During a short interlude scene, we watch as the now cursed Joel attempts to pass the Smile Entity on by killing one criminal in front of another. The plan backfires spectacularly, inadvertently passing the curse onto an innocent bystander named Lewis Fregoli.
The film then shifts gears, introducing Skye Riley, a singer and performer making a triumphant return to the spotlight with a comeback tour after a tumultuous past. During a candid interview on the Drew Barrymore Show, Skye opens up about her struggles with addiction and the devastating loss of her boyfriend in a car accident. Her sobriety journey, however, faces a severe setback when she seeks pain relief from her old high school friend, the unwitting Lewis Fregoli. In a chilling turn of events, Lewis takes his own life while Skye watches, passing the Smile Entity onto her.
Unaware of her new cursed existence Skye gets on with rehearsing for her tour, but she begins to notice that strange things are happening. People are smiling at her in an unnatural way and she becomes the target of anonymous attacks and aggressions. When text messages begin to arrive from an unknown number, Skye decides to get some answers.
Highlights.
Let’s not beat about the bush. I found Smile 2 difficult to finish and was struggling at about the hour-and-a-half mark to stay awake. That being said it’s worth watching because everyone needs to see the 3-minute scene of the ‘smilers’ chasing Skye through her apartment. This was possibly the creepiest thing I’ve seen on a screen. The buildup, the synchronicity of the movement of the actors and their positioning, the camera work, and the lighting. I have rewatched it several times and it doesn’t get old. If you are only interested in watching this, fast forward to the 123-minute mark and get ready to be impressed.
Drawbacks.
Where do I start?
My primary concern with Smile 2 is its striking resemblance to its predecessor. The narrative follows a familiar pattern: an attractive woman fleeing a supernatural force, grappling with hallucinations, experiencing a mental health decline, and culminating in the revelation someone close to Skye was the Smiling Entity after all. This repetitive structure diminishes the film’s impact.
While the introduction of a new method for shedding the entity initially offered a glimmer of hope this concept wasn’t fully realized. It just served to add names to the line of people that the entity has infected in the past.
Furthermore, the film’s pacing suffers from excessive focus on Skye’s musical career. Scenes showcasing her stage rehearsals and music videos, while intended to establish her identity as a performer, feel unnecessary and detract from the narrative momentum. Yes, we understand she’s a performer, you told us, you don’t need to prove it. These scenes appear to artificially inflate the film’s runtime, suggesting a lack of confidence in the core story.
The Final Take.
Ultimately, Smile 2 fails to expand upon the established lore of the franchise. The film’s conclusion feels contrived, with a blatant setup for a third installment. Hopefully, if a ‘Smile 3’ is inevitable, the creative team will bring fresh ideas and avoid simply retreading familiar ground.
(2 / 5)
Both Cthulhu’s granted for that one scene.
We’re back again with Goosebumps The Vanishing, episode two. A story too big for one episode, apparently.
Or, maybe this is just a nod to the fact that Stay Out Of The Basement was a two-part episode in the original 1995 show. Either way, after seeing this episode, we could have kept it to one.
The story
We begin this second episode with Anthony investigating the parasitic plant taking over his body. Rather than, I don’t know, going to the hospital, he’s decided to phone a colleague and send her some samples from the bulb he pulls out of his arm with a handheld garden trowel.
Meanwhile, Devin is having his own worries. He’s haunted by what he saw in the sewers. So, he gets CJ to go with him to investigate. What they find is more of the tendrils of the plant that dragged him down through the manhole last episode.
I sure would have liked to see more about that.
Instead, we see Devin pivot to flirting with a newly single Frankie. Because teenage hormones I guess.
Meanwhile, Trey is having a terrible day. First, his girlfriend leaves him. Then, Anthony breaks his car window.
Needing a way to deal with his frustration, Trey decides to break into the Brewers’ basement. There, he starts wrecking up the place. Until he meets the plant creature and has an unfortunate accident.
What worked
The big difference between this episode and the last is the increased gross-out factor. This episode had some straight-up cringy moments. From the tendrils waiving from Anthony’s arm to the whole goat he brings home to feed his new pet, this episode was skin-crawling gross in the best way possible.
The series is called Goosebumps, after all.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. This episode, unlike the last, just wasn’t that great.
To start with, there was a lot of unnecessary drama between characters who are not in danger of being eaten by a plant from the inside out.
I especially disliked the focus on the Frankie/Trey/Devin love triangle.
Now, I don’t hate it. This part of the story adds extra emotional depth to the show. We can see why Trey would be especially incensed by his girlfriend falling for the son of the neighbor he’s feuding with. But it would be more enjoyable if it wasn’t so cliche and dramatic.
I hate the way Trey tried to gaslight Frankie. It makes me dislike him when he should be a sympathetic character. I hate how whiny Devin is every time he talks to Frankie. And I hated the impassioned speech Frankie gives after Devin asks her why she was with Trey.
Listen, I understand what we’re going for here. Devin and Cece are not struggling financially. They’re doing alright, and their new friends here in Gravesend are not. We kind of got that without Frankie claiming that her socioeconomic status is why she’s dating a bully and gaslighter. It felt out of place. It felt like pandering. It certainly didn’t feel like something an eighteen-year-old would say. I hated it.
Finally, there was a moment near the end of the episode that irritated me. I don’t want to give too much detail because I wouldn’t dare ruin an R.L. Stine cliffhanger. But, well, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I get that we’re watching a show about a carnivorous plant that is going to wreak havoc on this family and neighborhood. I understand the suspension of disbelief. Some might even say I am a little too generous with it. So I can buy into a teenager being absorbed by a plant and turned into a monstrous version of himself.
I can’t buy into what happens at the end of this episode. It doesn’t make sense with the rules established. It certainly doesn’t make any sort of scientific or logical sense. It is a lazy moment meant to further the storyline but threatens the structural integrity of the season.
All in all, this wasn’t the best episode of Goosebumps. But it’s only the second episode. Honestly, the season has plenty of time to go either way.
(2.5 / 5)
So, this is a convoluted post, not going to lie. Because it’s Thriller Nite. And we have to kick it off with a link to Michael Jackson in homage, because he’s the bomb and Vincent Price is the master… (If the following video doesn’t load properly, you can get there from this link.)
The movie monsters always approach so slowly.
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
Their stiff joints arcing in jerky, erratic movements
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
It takes forever for them to catch their victims.
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
As they awkwardly shamble towards their quarry –
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
And yet no one ever seems to get away.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
Scenes shift, plot thickens, minutes tick by endlessly…
While the camera pans to a wide-eyed scream.
Seriously, how long does it take to make a break for it?
The movie monsters always approach so slowly.
So my father used to enjoy telling the story of Thriller Nite and how he’d scare his little sister, my aunt. One time they were watching the old Universal Studios Monsters version of The Mummy, and he pursued her at a snail’s pace down the hallway in Boris Karloff fashion. Both of them had drastically different versions of this tale, but essentially it was a true Thriller Nite moment. And the inspiration for this poem.
For more fun music video mayhem, check out She Wolf here on Haunted MTL. And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.
