I have always been a huge fan of drive in movies. Perhaps
that’s because for most of my teen years the only place to see movies in my
town was the drive in. But the whole culture of the drive in and the movies
that were made to be shown there has been ingrained in my soul now, so much so
that I love seeing them still. And while they may not have had huge budgets
behind them the creativity and attempts to make great movies were more than
enough.
Fans of these movies can rejoice because Shout/Scream
Factory has done a great job of rediscovering classic movies like these that
made their way to VHS years ago but have been screaming for a decent DVD
release for some time now. The fact that they are releasing several as double
feature blu-rays make them even more difficult to resists. One example of this
is the double feature of THE FOOD OF THE GODS/FROGS. Both are part of a
sub-genre of horror that dealt with animals gone wild attempting to take back
the planet from ungrateful pollution filled man.
FOOD is loosely (very much so) based on a story by H.G.
Wells. It features Marjoe Gortner as a professional football star on vacation
at a remote island. While there, one of his friends goes off into the woods and
is attacked by a 3 foot long wasp that looks, well, terrible. This is a no
budget special effect but with movies like these it doesn’t matter. He dies and
Marjoe and another friend must take him back to town.
While looking for a phone to use to call the police, Marjoe
comes across a house. When no one answers the door he looks in the chicken coop
only to discover chickens that are 8 feet tall! The rooster attacks him (again
a really cheesy looking rooster head prop) and he ends up killing the rooster.
The owners have been taking a weird substance that’s been coming from their
spring and adding it to the feed the give the animals, making them grow to this
substantial size.
As the film progresses more characters are added and the
discovery that rats have found their way into the house and the feed being fed to
the animals. This leads to a pack of giant rats using actual rats in long shots
and huge rat heads in close up attacks. As I said most of these are cheesy but
fun. With the exception of the amount of blood seen (not too much for gore
hounds though) this movie might even be easy enough for a few youngsters to
watch. It’s all in fun and makes for one riotous drive in movie.
FROGS takes on a different tone, opting not for poorly made
animal heads but instead using actual amphibians as Mother Nature’s source of
might. Sam Elliot (yes THE Sam Elliot sans moustache) is a photographer taking
pictures at a lake where pollution is a concern. When a speedboat tips his
canoe, the driver (Adam Roarke) and his sister (Joan Van Ark pre-KNOTS LANDING
days) pick him up and offer to take him to their house on a nearby island to
dry off and recover. Once there he discovers they’re part of a family most of
us wouldn’t want to be a part of.
Patriarch Ray Milland runs the family with an iron fist,
forcing them to be there each year to celebrate the birthdays that fall in the
same month for several of them. With each hoping to be included in his will,
worth millions, they do any and everything he asks of them catering to his
every need. Each one gets a chance to show why they do what they do or why they
ignore him.
But something is amiss. Huge groups of frogs are showing up
on the island, enough so their noise at night keeps some awake. One of the
servants has gone missing and Milland asks Elliot to see if he can find him. He
does so only to discover his body covered in snakes and bitten by them. He
reports back but holds the information from the rest. While they don’t pay
attention we get to keep an eye on the fact that more and more animals are
gathering on the island. A combination of snakes, lizards, frogs and spiders
work together to take down several of the family members in various locations. As
each one disappears the rest begin to realize that something is happening.
This clueless bunch is so money hungry that they don’t seem
to notice much of anything. For some it might be a weakness in the script but
for the rest of us who cares? It’s a drive in movie kids and no one pays
attention to things like this! It’s the same reason we don’t pay attention to
the over acting of some and the solid performances of others.
The movie has developed a cult following over the years with
many seeking out and collecting the poster featuring the oversized frog dead
center. It has been released on DVD but never blu-ray to my knowledge and fans
will want to add this one to their collection. The fact that it comes as a
double feature with a few extras will make it even more treasured by those
collectors.
Neither picture is brain surgery but both are tremendous
amounts of fun for fans of drive in and low budget films. The picture delivered
is as clear and clean as you will get with the sources provided and make for a
decent night’s entertainment. Pop some corn, take a few cans of soda, set up
your TV in the window and sit on the back porch under the stars and you can
pretend you’re back at the drive in with these two movies. Just remember,
automobile back seats are not included.
Click here to order.
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