What I’m watching: two drive-in movies from the 1980s

Feb. 19, 2020 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

A scene from Hell Comes to Frogtown.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo.

What I’m watching: gloriously deranged 1980s movies.

On Blu-ray: Hell Comes to Frogtown, The Vineyard

The good folks at Vinegar Syndrome have recently released deluxe restored versions of these two 1980s drive-in movies and both of them offer a cornucopia of low-budget delights.

As usual for this Bridgeport, CT-based company, both films look as good if not better than they did when they were first released theatrically.

Standard disclaimer for this periodic column: many times I find filmmakers who work in the low budget independent realm to have interesting ideas that they present in innovative ways. I appreciate their dedication to their projects, which are often quite personal. The stakes are frequently higher than with “A” productions, both personally and professionally.

“Hell Comes to Frogtown” is definitely the better of the two moves. Set in a post-nuclear world, Sam Hell (wrestling superstar Roddy Piper) is recruited by a group of warrior nurses to help rescue a group of kidnapped women who are able to have children – a rarity in this new world. The goal of these nurses is to repopulate the earth after the apocalypse.

Hell, by the way, is your classic drifter character who has little interest in the venture.

The hostages are in the hands of a mutant frog community, Frogtown. We’re talking about six-foot-tall frogs who walk, talk and hang out in a bar in the town. The leader of Frogtown has nefarious plans for the women.

Hell sets out on his journey across the wastelands accompanied by two of the nurse-warriors: Spangle (Sandhal Bergman) and Centinella (Cec Verrell). The two women keep Hell in line with a bomb attached to his waste that will detonate if he leaves them.

Is this film silly? Yes, of course, but the cast seems to go along with it and Piper clearly enjoys himself in his first film role. He would later make the cult classic “They Live” for director John Carpenter.

Directors Donald G. Jackson and R.J Kizer manage to give the film a professional polish while maintaining a fun tongue-in-cheek attitude.

In the lengthy interview in the extras, co-producer and co-writer Randall Frakes tells the story behind the film, which had many twists and turns as so many low budget productions have.

Jackson went on to direct quite a number of low budget films, including two sequels to this film.  None of his work received quite as much attention as this film did.

“The Vineyard” is not as cohesive as film story-wise as “Hell Comes to Frogtown,” but serves as an example for a low-budget film determined to be viable commercially in the marketplace.

This film stars the great Chinese-American character actor James Hong. Don’t known his name? He played Lo Pan, the villain in John Carpenter’s “Big Trouble in Little China,” as well as dozens and dozens of other roles in movies and television.

In the interview accompanying this film, Hong, now 90 and still working, explained that he couldn’t find many leading roles in films and decided to make a film of his own. It was decided he would not only star, but also co-write it, and co-direct the film.

He wanted a commercial film and decided to make a horror film and pulled out all of the stops with a story of an ancient Chinese warrior who is now posing as a wine producer. He is seeking a way to immortality and needs fresh young blood so he invites a group of young people to his island estate.

Hong tosses in wine production, martial arts, Chinese mythology, zombies and much more into the mix. The result is a dizzying effort to produce a very commercial film for the late 1980s.

Again, the story behind the film truly adds to the appreciation of the film itself.

If these kinds of films intrigue you and if you have a Roku or other streaming device sign up – if free – for the Shout Factor service and check out a new series they are running called “Cult-tastic: Tales from the Trenches with Roger and Julie Corman.” This series of interviews with the legendary independent producers provide great insight into the creation of low budget films. Corman is quite funny, honest and insightful. By the way, at age 93, he is still active in the business.

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