Initially, there is much to enjoy about this investigation into numerous unexplained sightings, events, and missing person reports in a rural recreational area on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. Aaron Deese and Shannon Legro are engaging hosts, albeit somewhat easy on their interviewees. And those interviewees are largely credible, right up to the point where some are not, when theories lean into speculation more akin to the plot of a Marvel movie than a serious quest for the truth.
At the heart of the mystery is an apparent attack on a family out camping in 1982, and our hosts are delving into these reports to prove one way or another if there are dogmen (or werewolves if you prefer, although it seems the former have pointier ears so…dogmen) prowling the area. They even have a supposed survivor of the attack on the telephone at one point who reveals…nothing. He doesn’t like to talk about it, you see.
Undeterred, Aaron and Shannon head out to the park with different local experts to hear tales of sightings and mysterious events, of secret tunnels and supposed dens, and yet they do not visit either. Instead, there is a lot of standing around in the dark, observing very little at all. And then we step over into truly strange territory when one ‘expert’ extolls his theory on portals and different dimensions. And we’re out.
Dogman Territory begins well, has good intentions, and is concerned about a subject most may not have heard much about. But there is little real evidence to support any theory, fantastical or otherwise, and the resulting film is just too bland.
