Strange Nature is a 2018 independent ecothriller film written and directed by special-effects artist Jim Ojala in his feature directorial debut. Inspired by a real-life pandemic of mass frog deformities discovered in Minnesota, the plot of Strange Nature follows a former pop star (Lisa Sheridan) and her young son (Jonah Beres) moving to rural Minnesota to reconnect with her estranged father (Bruce Bohne), only to find themselves in danger when the mutations begin infecting animals and humans. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Stephen Tobolowsky, Carlos Alazraqui, John Hennigan, and Tiffany Shepis. Shot in Minnesota in the summer of 2014, Strange Nature spent several years in post-production before making its theatrical debut in September 2018, where it was met with mixed critical reviews. Plot Based on a true unsolved ecological mystery, thousands of hideously deformed frogs have turned up in the waters of Minnesota. As seen through the eyes of a one-hit wonder, single mother and her 11-year-old son, a small town struggles with the unknown when the deadly mutations move beyond the ponds. Cast Lisa Sheridan as Kim Sweet Bruce Bohne as Chuck Jonah Beres as Brody John Hennigan as Sam Carlos Alazraqui as Greg Stephen Tobolowsky as Mayor Paulson Tiffany Shepis as Tina Stevens David Mattey as Joseph Chalet Lizette Brannan as Michelle Faust Checho as Trent Angela Duffy as Judy Justen Overlander as Larry Factual basis In August 1995, a group of students on a field trip discovered hundreds of deformed frogs occupying a pond near Henderson, Minnesota. These deformities typically consisted of missing or extra limbs, misplaced eyes, misshapen jaws, and spinal defects, among other conditions. By 1996, mutated frogs had been reported in 35 US states and three Canadian provinces, including nearly three-quarters of Minnesota's 87 counties. From 1998 to 2000, the Minnesota governor and legislature gave the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency funding to study frog deformities, and they worked closely with scientists and researchers from the University of Minnesota, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the United States Geological Survey, the National Wildlife Health Center, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the problem. Despite this, no conclusive answer as to what was causing the deformities was found, and in July 2001, funding for the study was withdrawn. Production Writer-director Jim Ojala, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, followed the events of the frog mutations as they occurred; as he