Documentary Review: The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State
Directed by Seth Breedlove
Small Town Monsters; 1091 Pictures
74 minutes, 2023
www.smalltownmonsters.com/
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Growing up watching the classic Universal monster films as a kid, creatures hold a soft spot for me. This is especially true for werewolves, for some reason. Where is Larry Talbot when you need him?

But director Seth Breedlove goes beyond into the realm of cryptids, urban legends that posits monsters like Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil are possibly real. While I do not believe so, I tend to enjoy stories about cryptids, and especially Breedlove’s take on them.

He has travelled around the country looking for them, and as far as were-creatures, he covered this topic in the more general American Werewolf (2022). For this one, he ends up more specifically in the second largest state in the Union, Texas, searching for the “Dogman” legend, a branch of werewolf. It would be easy to make a joke about ZZ Top at this point, but I will move on…

Aaron Deese

Based on the findings of author Aaron Deese’s 2023 book, The Dogman Triangle (he is also former Editor in Chief of Paranormality Magazine), Deese joins paranormal expert, author, podcaster (“Into the Fray Radio”), perennial Small Town Monsters host, and often Havana hat wearer Shannon LeGro on a tour of the Deep South, focusing on three points in the State (hence the “triangle” part), San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston, covering about 700 square miles. Each “point” is a chapter title.

It is important to note that though the word “werewolf” is bandied about because there is no official categorization, the term “dogman” is more accurate; in other words, it is not a person who converts into a wolf as in the lore, but rather falls into cryptozoology as a large wolf that can walk on two legs like a human. As with many cryptid monsters, the descriptions vary from “eyewitnesses” to the perceived form. I find this somewhat naturalistic version more interesting that the supernatural one in regard to transformations.

Shannon LeGro

There are three levels of observers scattered throughout the documentary. The first is the retelling of the folklore legends, usually dealing with the late 1800s to the 1950s, such as storytellers Ken Gerhard, Lyle Blackburn, and Nick Redfern from Britain. Then there are the third- and second-hand stories of people who knew people (e.g., neighbor, dad) that had a sighting, but did not have them on their own, like JoJo Santana and James Witter. Finally, there are those who claim they saw the dogman (or something like it), including Dawn and Michael Lucker, both of whom have different descriptions of size (a difference of 4 feet in height when upright). Worth noting, also, is Nick Losoya, an Apache who talks about a more skinwalker/loupagrou legend of the Indigenous people.

I like that the documentary addresses the possibilities of misidentification by the witnesses, such as a mangy bear (which can walk on its hind legs) or a wolf-dog hybrid (there are technically no wolves in Texas, but they explain it here), but fall back to it being a canid creature.

Deese, LeGro

Another direction they investigate that was keen to my interest was the “after effect” of a sighting, such as that of Tex Wesson, who suffered from PTSD for a while afterwards, and he is not the only one who mentions that in the film. In the many cryptid docs I have seen, this is an area that I do not remember being explored much, and honestly, I would love to see an entire film on just that: the psychology of the effects of seeing a cryptozoology subject in the flesh.

As for “tangible proof,” there is some given, such as footprints (though the two shown are totally different), a couple of grainy videos, and an audio track of howling. What we are mostly presented with are some incredible artwork by Johnathan Dodd (one of the financial supporters of this film, along with many, many others, is Swamp Thing illustrator Stephen R. Bissette) and animation by Chris Sealf. Also worth noting is the eerie music soundtrack by Brandon Dalo.

Considering the sheer volume of guns in the state (the most registered arms at 21 per 1,000 people), how are these things not hunted, extinct, and mounted on a mantlepiece like a deer head?

Fortunately for us, there is the promise that “Aaron Deese will return…” at the end of the credits. Goody!

Available on Cable VOD and Digital HD, as well as 1091 Pictures, iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and FandangoNOW.

IMDB listing HERE