Reviewed by Kevin Scott, MoreHorror.com
Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987)
Written by: Donald G. Jackson, Randall Frakes
Directed by: Donald G. Jackson
Cast: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (Sam Hell), Sandahl Bergman (Spangle), William Smith (Captain Devlin), Cec Verrell (Centinella), Kristi Somers (Arabella), Rory Calhoun (Looney Tunes), Cliff Bemis (Leroy).
I don’t really know what to make of the name “Hell Comes to Frogtown”. I think it has served a dual purpose in being clever, and keeping me from seeing this film. The play on words is the clever part. Our hero’s name is Sam Hell, and guess what-he’s headed to Frogtown. Then again, it would be quite logical to assume that this could be a low budget Jim Henson film wannabe, and I guess it is. However, after I watched it, I’ve come to realize that it’s way more subversive than that. The two lead actors are unlikely choices for a film like this, and possibly the main draw for genre fans to give it a chance.
Roddy Piper was a wrestling superstar at this point and was trying to become a bona fide film star way before Dwayne Johnson tried it. His most high profile project “John Carpenter’s They Live” came out just a few months after this in 1988. His street cred as a wrestler could have helped in a theatrical release, and after “They Live”, maybe this little film would get a boost in home video circulation. This was a New World film, and although not helmed by the legendary Roger Corman at this point, it was a machine that churned out home video solid gold in the mid to late 1980’s. The other draw was the female lead. Sandahl Bergman was already a sword and sandal icon from her performance in “Conan the Barbarian”, and the go to actress for the tough/sexy factor.
I must digress and say that I should have given this little movie a chance sooner and appreciated its craziness. I also must say that everyone that was in it was perfectly cast, and more than likely was in on the joke. If making your protagonist’s name Sam Hell wasn’t enough, making him have one of the highest sperm counts of all surviving human males after the nuclear apocalypse is deliciously shameless. That’s what we get, and the government wants to use him in their repopulation plan to rebuild society. A government rep named Spangle, and her muscle Centinella force him to reluctantly agree to a mission to Frogtown by confining his assets within a high tech chastity belt that’s controlled by earrings that are worn by Spangle. If he gets too far away from her or tries to remove the belt himself, it will self-destruct. There are nubile, fertile women in Frogtown to rescue, and he’s going to rescue and impregnate all of them or die trying. Frogtown is a pretty dangerous and lawless place. It’s populated by mutant half human/half frog creatures that have created a wild west type society where anything goes.
I’m going to sing the praises of “Hell Comes to Frogtown” because I spoke of it being subversive before. It has the feel of a crazy free love type film like “Barbarella” where sex in the future has transcended social mores. I also got a faint “Planet of the Apes” vibe as the frog creatures relished in being what they are, and treat Roddy Piper as the substandard life form. The supporting cast is equally good with the great Rory Calhoun of “Motel Hell” fame as Sam’s connection in Frogtown, Cec Verrell as the strong, but sexually ambiguous military chick along for firepower, and Kristi Somers as an amorous frog lady that wants to crossbreed with Sam. “Hell Comes to Frogtown” won’t change your life, but it will make you wonder if the imagination or the drugs were good behind its origins.
SOURCE: More Horror – Read entire story here.