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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
Nothing is more amusing than a bad 80s flick.
It's already been said by everyone else. This movie is so bad its good. I bought it for 3.99 on a closeout rack. In the DVD menu they even mis-spelled the word "start," as in "STRAT movie" and how can anybody not love Roddy Piper from "They Live" fame?
But whatever you do, do NOT pay the 22 dollars these shmucks want for it. Unless of course you bought "Jackass: The Movie" or "Freddy vs. Jason". Then, well, go ahead. You deserve to be ripped off.
Rating: 
-
Five stars BECAUSE it's bad
This is one of those movies that you've gotta love because it's so awful. Bad costuming, low-budget special effects, terrible acting - what more could a film fan ask for? Great campy fun, and an absolute howler.
Rating: 
-
Go get 'em, Roddy!
Meet Sam Hell. Life for this poor guy has never been the same after the world fell apart. Before the apocalypse wiped out most of humanity, Hell was just another bloke trying to make it with the ladies. After the end of the world, he suddenly found himself in great demand. Why? Sam Hell has the unique distinction of being one of the only-if not the only-men on the planet capable of fathering children. This ability is a big deal in a world where fertility is a highly prized commodity for both men and women. Radiation rendered most of the lads and lasses incapable of bearing children, so if the human race is to once again thrive and eventually rebuild the planet, the right man must meet the right women. Besides, our side needs more children so they can raise good little soldiers to continue fighting the Russians (or whoever it was who turned America into a desert). Fortunately for this barren world, and for lovers of low budget trash cinema, Sam Hell just happens to be former wrestler turned actor "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. I can sleep better at nights knowing Piper made more films before and after his memorable turn in Carpenter's "They Live."
Hell's adventure begins when a group of scientists working for something called Med Tech (or some such thing) save his life from a sadistic soldier, a Captain Devlin (William Smith), bent on killing the fertile fool. It seems Sammy impregnated this guy's daughter and attempted to mosey on down the road, something the soldier finds reprehensible. As part of the bargain for rescuing Hell from an early demise, Med Tech insists that he sign on to a most peculiar mission. He must rescue a bevy of fertile women from the clutches of humanoid frogs. Just in case Sam attempts to run away from his duties, the scientists saddle the hapless dupe with a rather painful looking chastity belt that will explode should he attempt to remove the device or flee. Heading off to Frogtown with a sexy scientist and a punk rock looking bodyguard, Hell and company spend most of their time schlepping around the desert making crotch jokes. Predictably, his two female companions hit on him, the chastity belt inflicts pain on several occasions, and the trio picks up a ratty looking girl in the desert. If you're not laughing so hard by this point that your sides hurt, you can keep watching for more hijinks as Sam and his gang stroll into Frogtown.
From the moment Hell walks into a bar inhabited by numerous mutated frogs, the film takes on a weirdness and utter ridiculousness I have rarely witnessed in any other movie. There's a vivacious frog stripper with eyes for male humans, a sadistic thug frog who seeks to do humans harm, and Rory Calhoun as an elderly miner named Looney Tunes. Lots of chase scenes, "exotic" dancing, and explosions follow as Hell attempts to free the women and fulfill his contract. Tricking human sized frog creatures bent on controlling the human race is never easy, but Piper and the rest of the cast sure give it the old freshman try. The movie tries hard to have a twist ending, but by the time Count Sodom and his cronies arrive on the scene I began to divorce myself mentally from the proceedings. Regrettably, the man called Sodom shows up at the end of the film, meaning I actually paid attention for most of the movie. It's not that "Hell Comes to Frogtown" is a bad B budget film; rather, the problems I had with the picture seemed to revolve around the fact that I watched it while I was awake. My bad.
It's easy, too easy in fact, to bash this movie for its cheesy production values, ridiculous eighties haircuts, and ludicrous plot. It takes a hardy soul indeed to overlook the myriad flaws in this film. I found the experience more bearable when I concentrated on the familiar actors and actresses parading across the screen. You've got Sandahl Bergman, of "Conan the Barbarian" fame, playing the role of Spangle, the sexy scientist charged with guarding Sam Hell on the trip to Frogtown. William Smith plays the dual roles of Captain Devlin and Count Sodom with his usual gravel voiced charm. Don't spend too much time scratching your head over the appearance of Rory Calhoun as the oddball Looney Tunes. This actor, whose career stretched back into the Golden Age of Hollywood, was apparently willing to take any role as he entered the 1970s and 1980s. He's probably best known to B movie lovers as the grinning Farmer Vincent in "Motel Hell." His appearance here is ample proof that earning a paycheck in the movie business beats working a real job any day. Really, the only redeeming quality of "Hell Comes to Frogtown" is Roddy Piper in the lead role of Sam Hell. Piper isn't a great actor by any stretch of the imagination, but there is always something fun about watching him tackle a part. He's much, much better in "They Live," of course, but his presence helps this movie immeasurably. Piper's ability to keep a straight face here should win him some sort of award.
Amazingly, the picture quality of this DVD is quite good. It's even in widescreen. The only extras are a trailer and a commentary track from the director and writer. Why they didn't let Piper make a few remarks is a mystery and a sad omission. Seriously, most fans of cheap science fiction will want to give this one a watch if for no other reason than to see giant frogs with human attributes pummel Piper senseless. Watch it as a double feature with "They Live."
Rating: -
Good cult movie
HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN is a little seen gem. After nuclear war, almost every man on the planet is impotent and frogs have grown to human size. One of these frogs, Commander Toty, has kidnapped some fertile women because of their value to humans. Sam Hell (Rowdy Roddy Piper) has the highest sperm count of any man on the planet and he is called in to save the women from Frogtown and get them pregnant. The DVD of this film is good, but doesn't have nearly enough extras. The trailer, production notes booklet and commentary (by Donald G. Jackson and Randall Frakes) are good but this release could've been helped by more extra material.
Rating: -
Babes, Mutants and Action in the Future
Roddy Piper (wrestler and star of They Live) is back in another science fiction thriller. This time it is the future and very few men are fertile. Roddy leaves pregnant women wherever he goes. Because of this, Med-Tech wants him to help with the repopulation of the country so that they can carry on the war that created the mess.
But no sooner does Hellman (piper) sign on the dotted line than he is railroaded into an attempt to rescue a group of fertile women from the mutants of Frogtown.
What follows is a pretty good film although it is obvious that the budget was not huge. The acting is pretty good and Piper appears more boyish and less sharp-edged than he does in They Live. I particularly liked the frog mutant playing at Sydney Greenstreet's The Fatman. The only thing I did miss was that there was no great one-liner from Piper. He had one of the great lines of all time in They Live.
Sure it's campy and low budget but it is also very fun.
