SHANNON’S DRIVE-IN: FROGS

Shannon watches the creature feature Frogs, a “ribbeting” film from the “when animals attack” trend of the ‘70’s.

A wealthy southern family hosting a celebration is terrorized by a collection of critters out of revenge.

Director: George McCowan

Writer: Robert Hutchinson, Peter Thomas

Stars: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark, Adam Roarke

The cover art to both the VHS and DVD boxes for the 1972 creature feature Frogs is unforgettable: a giant frog, sitting in his swamp, with a human hand reaching out of its mouth, draws you in with a promise of a monster movie featuring giant frogs chowing down on human beings, with the fantastic tagline above it, “Today — the pond, tomorrow — the world!”

In reality, the cover art lies; there are no giant frogs in Frogs, only dozens of realistically-sized ones. There’s also the rest of the menagerie, including lizards, tegus, alligators, tarantulas, snakes, and even, at one point, birds, so you’re still getting your money’s worth in creatures for the creature feature.

Also, a lot of the “frogs” featured are toads, but for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to refer to both amphibians as “frogs.”

The frogs don’t really do anything other than terrorize the wealthy southern family near their swamp; their incessant croaking keeps them awake at night (they also stare intensely at the humans while croaking, oh the terror). It’s everything else in the swamp the family has to watch out for as so many dangerous animals are out there wanting revenge.

Photographer Pickett Smith (Sam Elliott) is canoeing through the swamp when, through a boating accident, he meets the Crocketts, a family full of drama and southern hospitality. Upon their insistence, he sticks around to celebrate Jason Crockett’s (Ray Milland) birthday, the angry old patriarch who also brags about how it’s also 4^th of July (it’s a holiday movie!) and the family gets together every year, while the family is so over all of this already.

As the croaking outside grows and the animals start acting strange, Frogs tries to get going. For the first forty minutes, the story is all about the family dynamics as we get to know each Crockett; some are likeable, some less so. Once Frogs gets going though, we’re treated to amazing close-up shots of all the animals, trying to make them look as intimidating as possible, but failing as the audience stares into the unblinking eyes of the critters.

It’s a silly movie with a message: the Crockett family is causing the pollution in the swamp, so the animals revolt. It’s an early example of eco-horror, the trend gaining legs throughout the ‘70’s with animals rioting when they’ve been done wrong. In one scene, the Crocketts converse about how they’re not just rich, but “ugly rich,” leading to one character complaining about the environmental restrictions on their paper mill. The frogs never actually “eat the rich” as the cover art suggests. Instead they’re the cheerleaders, croaking the other animals on and providing the energetic spirit needed for an animal revolt. Everyone has a role in the swamp creature revolution, no matter how small.

Reports say that Oscar winner Ray Milland was not happy with his involvement in this movie, but overall his performance of the cantankerous and demanding grandpa of the family is rather good. I imagine it was actual crankiness at being in a movie called Frogs that brought it out in him. The only other thing I have to say about the cast is that there’s the double-whammy of seeing Sam Elliott without his moustache (which is always bizarre), and seeing him as a topless young hunk. He plays Smith as someone who’s there to be both handsome and the voice of reason in the craziness of the situation.

Overall, there are way better creature features out there, but Frogs has a charm about it that can’t be dismissed. Maybe it’s director George McCowan’s dedication to trying to make the animals scary by constantly zooming in on them. It doesn’t work, but the footage is beautiful nonetheless, though what Frogs really could have used was just one giant frog, eating humans and making that original cover art come to life.

Shannon Grant is a writer, performer, adventurer, and horned cryptid living in the wilds of upstate New York. Her work can be found in many small press anthologies such as A Guide to Useless Sidekicks, Catskill Chaos, and The Lizzie Borden House Anthology. She is currently at work on a vampire novella. When not writing, she can be found haunting drive-in movie theaters, karaoke bars, and looking for ghosts in the woods.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.