What do you think of this film? I just revisited this for only the second time in many years, and here are my notes:
**/****
A standard though tame "nature revolts" drive-in flick, where the best thing about it has always been its deceptive poster art: a large over-sized frog sits with a bloodied human hand protruding from out of its gaping mouth. Unfortunately, many who become curious after looking at the advertisement are almost always let down when they try out the movie. FROGS features a very young Sam Elliott as a freelance photographer taking pictures of ecological waste who winds up settling in on an island mansion run by an old grouchy and crotchety man in a wheelchair (Ray Milland). This grouchy geezer is hosting a Fourth of July party, and his guests are mostly young adults who are only putting up with all his arrogance because they smell an inheritance payoff when he croaks. One of these people is Joan Van Ark, long before she became best known for nightly soap operas.
Speaking of croaking, much of the time is spent with everyone whining about the ever-increasing sounds of the frogs around the swamplands that are giving everybody a headache. These little creatures soon seem to grow in number, and soon all the guests are getting killed one way or another - but mainly by other members of nature's community -- spiders, snakes, lizards, and alligators. The frogs themselves just seem to stand by and approve while it appears that these other creatures have become fed up with mankind's screwing around with their environment and are now beginning to strike back. There are one or two bloody death sequences, but this is nothing more than ordinary on the whole. Ray Milland is absolutely ridiculous as he plays a creep not unlike the one from THE THING WITH TWO HEADS (a film which was funny, and more entertaining).
**/****
A standard though tame "nature revolts" drive-in flick, where the best thing about it has always been its deceptive poster art: a large over-sized frog sits with a bloodied human hand protruding from out of its gaping mouth. Unfortunately, many who become curious after looking at the advertisement are almost always let down when they try out the movie. FROGS features a very young Sam Elliott as a freelance photographer taking pictures of ecological waste who winds up settling in on an island mansion run by an old grouchy and crotchety man in a wheelchair (Ray Milland). This grouchy geezer is hosting a Fourth of July party, and his guests are mostly young adults who are only putting up with all his arrogance because they smell an inheritance payoff when he croaks. One of these people is Joan Van Ark, long before she became best known for nightly soap operas.
Speaking of croaking, much of the time is spent with everyone whining about the ever-increasing sounds of the frogs around the swamplands that are giving everybody a headache. These little creatures soon seem to grow in number, and soon all the guests are getting killed one way or another - but mainly by other members of nature's community -- spiders, snakes, lizards, and alligators. The frogs themselves just seem to stand by and approve while it appears that these other creatures have become fed up with mankind's screwing around with their environment and are now beginning to strike back. There are one or two bloody death sequences, but this is nothing more than ordinary on the whole. Ray Milland is absolutely ridiculous as he plays a creep not unlike the one from THE THING WITH TWO HEADS (a film which was funny, and more entertaining).
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"It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
"It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
