Frogs (1972)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Good concept, poorly executed.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

If any film deserves the right to have its name in the dictionary under the definition of B-Movie, it's the 1972 horror epic 'Frogs'.The plot, of course, is of only cursory relevance. But for the sake of those who give a flying proverbial, it follows the story of disabled millionaire Jason Crockett, played by Oscar-winner(!) Ray Milland, and his be-flared family who live in a palatial mansion somewhere in the swamps of Okefenokee. They are partial to a bit of careless pollution. The titular Frogs take offence to this kind of behaviour. So they wage war upon the Crocketts, and all who associate with their frog-hating kind.But you don't really want to hear about that. What you want to hear about are the meticulous production values that mark out this film as a seminal example of the genre.Gasp in amazement as you see a man in a wheelchair pull a revolver on a snake which is hanging from a chandelier. I say 'hanging', but what I really mean is 'being held by a human hand'. I know this because I can see it. Watch through your fingers as another man stumbles into a greenhouse, closes the door behind him, then fails to notice as a score of lizards (somehow) follow him inside to loiter around menacingly amongst plant pots on shelves. See how they knock over open bottles vaguely labelled 'Poison'. Shudder as the man chokes to death on the fumes. Howl in terror as seagulls swoop down on a garden to scare some protagonists - not because breadcrumbs fly across the screen in an effort to lure them. No. Definitely not. Then scream for your life as another man wrestles an alligator which has had its mouth taped shut.And all the while, the Frogs look on; leering at the mayhem they have caused without having to take a single human life themselves, because the Frogs rain down their justice with the most chilling power of all: telekinesis.Frogs: you'll croak. To death.

Despite the poster depicting a frog with a human hand hanging out of its mouth, American International Picture's Frogs is not about giant frogs. Instead, this is a nature-gone-mad movie featuring about 500 bullfrogs, along with an assortment of other creepy critters (lizards, snakes, spiders, birds, alligators) who begin to terrorise a wealthy family and an ecologist who happens upon them. The frogs of the title are a merely an annoyance and a constant presence, driving the residents of the island mansion on which the film takes place insane with their constant croaking.Photographer Pickett Smith (Sam Elliott) is taking pictures of the local wildlife in a swamp located near to the estate of the wealthy Crockett family. Clint Crockett (Adam Roarke), the young and drunken heir to the family inheritance, accidentally knocks Pickett off his canoe and into the water with his speed-boat, and so takes him back to the mansion for a change of clothes. There, he meets the grumpy and wheelchair-bound patriarch Jason (Ray Milland), who voices his distaste for the slimy inhabitants of the surrounding fauna. Pickett discovers the body of a man sent by Jason to spray pesticide, and soon the Crockett's and their employees find themselves under threat from a variety of murderous beasties.Although the promise is utterly ludicrous, Frogs is played with a straight-face for the most part, and is elevated by decent performances from Milland and Elliott - the former of which was a regular on the B-movie circuit at this point in his career and the latter showing us what he looks like without his trademark moustache. But the animal attacks are few and far between, clumsily edited and failing to generate anything in the way of jumps or scares. The majority of the film consists of the family complaining about the frogs while Jason groans and disapproves at everything, ignoring both the warnings of Pickett and the blatant unnatural occurrences happening all around them. For a film about killer frogs, it's better than it has any right to be, but this is tedious stuff for the majority of its running time.

The movie is simplistic and goes without much thought than wildlife taking revenge on a group of humans. For what it's worth though, Frogs presented this eco-minded thought into a really strong concrete horror film message. There are no cheesy giant frogs, like the cover might indicate, no off-shot kills, and there are no crude looking special effects. In fact the trickery is non-existent and the movie shot an abundance of real creepy animals. Real spiders, snakes, lizards, and yes, frogs, are all placed on the actors, but selling that they were actually being attacked was weak at times. It's unique in that way, but while watching Frogs, I felt that were too many limitations to filming it. The two main leads, Sam Elliot and Joan Van Ark were fun characters but there were a few roles by the supporting cast that were too unlikeable. The ending is rather expected, fitting and satisfying. In the end, Frogs is a good watch but doesn't provide anything memorable or one outstanding scene.

Frogs is a so bad it's good movie. It is about a photographer who stumbles apon a family who are celebrating a man's birthday. Only the man is grouchy and hates nature. Only things start to go wrong when nature strikes back. The films is very cheesy and silly but it delivers some very effective chills. In one scene a man accidentally shoots himself in the leg. He is then attacked by tarantulas that drop onto him from above. He is then bitten multiple times and eventually killed by the venom. He is then covered in moss and webbing. The scene is actually quite frightening and one of the few scenes in the movie that is not goofy. Another death scene includes a man in a green house. Lizars knock over vials of poison and the poison creates a cloud. the man walks right into the cloud and suffocates. That scene is very silly. The other death scenes are either silly or frightening. This is also one of my favorite movies. The last scene in the movie is very creepy. This was obviously made on a very low budget. In one scene tape around a crocodile's (or alligator) mouth is visible. The movie is not very bloody at all. Some scenes contain blood though. Overall the movie is a very enjoyable experience.