The Dogman Triangle (2023) Review
Based on a book by Aaron Deese, Seth Breedlove’s latest film The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State makes a loose trilogy with his 2021’s Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou and last year’s American Werewolves. All three deal with alleged sightings of strange dog or wolflike creatures.
Despite the use of the word werewolf in the title, there isn’t much talk of shapeshifters as such in this film. Most of the film involves Deese and fellow paranormal researcher Shannon Legro (On the Trail of Bigfoot, On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors) discussing sightings of these creatures in the roughly 700 square mile region of Texas that Deese dubbed The Dogman Triangle.
They interview witnesses and look at historical accounts of the creatures as well as discuss these cases with other investigators. Ken Gerhard (The Proof is Out There, Terror in the Skies), Lyle Blackburn (Momo: The Missouri Monster, Mondo Bigfoot) and Nick Redfern (Decoding the Past: Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, The Bigfoot Alien Connection Revealed) give their weigh in with their opinions as to what’s going on in The Dogman Triangle as well.
Actual evidence is, as is usually the case, very limited with just an audio recording of something howling and footage shot on an iPhone that even they have to admit is too blurry to tell much from. This means that the various stories we hear have to o the bulk of the convincing, and they are a very mixed bag.
The Dogman Triangle contains two eyewitness accounts that didn’t sit well with me. One from a rancher who claims to have chased one on horseback and tried to rope it like a steer sounds like a Texas Tall Tale. Another, about one of the creatures trying to break into a house full of young girls, sounds like one I’ve heard before only with Bigfoot as the culprit. I also found it odd the creature wasn’t afraid to try and break into the house, but fled when a car pulled into the driveway.
Similarly, the historical accounts read like sensational stories meant to sell newspapers rather than accurate reporting. One is a familiar piece of folklore repurposed as tabloid “news”. A father sends his son out to shoot a deer only to have him return claiming he saw a monster. The disbelieving father tells him not to return until he shoots a deer. When he doesn’t return the father organizes a search and finds the boy dead, a presumed werewolf feasting on his body.
To be fair The Dogman Triangle does take a look at, and make a somewhat convincing case for at least some of the sightings having rational explanations such as a bear suffering from mange or a hybrid of some sort. They even interview one man who thought he was seeing a hyena that escaped from an exotic animal collection.
But the film never comes to any sort of conclusion as to what the beast might be, or even if there isn’t more than one kind of dogman roaming the Texas backcountry. The viewer is left with a collection of interesting but frequently contradictory stories where the creature has different appearances and behaviours. That’s further complicated near the end by Redfern talking about black helicopters, missing people and obvious victims of foul play being ruled suicides, taking things in a whole new, and to me rather dubious, direction.
The Dogman Triangle has an interesting subject, but the execution feels weak, haphazard and far from what Breedlove and Small Town Monsters are capable of. I’m tempted to call it filler, something slapped together to help round out a release schedule. Whether or not that’s the case, die hard cryptid fans will probably enjoy it, others will find it sporadically interesting at best.
1091 Pictures will release The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State to VOD and Digital Platforms on June 27th. You can check the Small Town Monsters Facebook Page for more details, or order the film on Blu-ray or DVD on their website. And if you’re looking for more mysterious creatures, FilmTagger can put you on their trail.