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[Blu-ray Review] Arrow Gives ‘Hell Comes To Frogtown’ A Fine LE Release!

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The Film: I’ve always been a huge fan of John Carpenter’s brilliant sci-fi actioner They Live starring one of my favorite WWE superstars from my youth, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. It’s one of my personal standouts from Carpenter’s rich filmography. They Live’s provocative social commentary, Piper’s surprisingly authentic everyman performance and the infamous alleyway brawl between our hero and the always good Keith David are just a few of the elements that make this cult classic every bit as enjoyable and vital today. In the same year of its release but with much smaller fanfare came another Piper-starring sci-fier, Hell Comes to Frogtown. For some reason, I’ve never sat through the movie in its entirety until now; Arrow Video’s recently released Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD combo. The film is pretty much what you’d expect from a low budget post-apocalyptic film with a former wrestling legend, scantily clad women and a bunch of mutant frogs. Much to my surprise, Hell Comes to Frogtown packs a little something extra along with its B entertainment value.In a post-nuclear war landscape where the human race is bordering on extinction, ex-con Sam Hell (Piper) happens to be one of the last few fertile men on the planet. He is captured by a group of women who happen to be the closest thing resembling a government and is sent on a mission to rescue a group of fertile ladies from a gang of mutant frogs. If this all sounds rather silly, it’s because it is. Somehow though, Hell Comes to Frogtown manages to works due to the filmmakers striking the right tone; mixing a bit of social commentary, along with not taking its B-movie roots too seriously. Clocking less than 90 minutes, Hell Comes to Frogtownnever overstays its welcome. It’s breezy, quick-footed fun throughout.The casting of Piper is easily the film’s best attribute. He brings an oddly affecting and easy-going charm to Sam Hell, much in the same way he brought to They Live’s Nada. There is a grounded honesty to Piper that none of his wrestling counterparts have managed to inject into their film roles to date. It adds a share of heart to all the silliness which I’m not sure Hell Comes to Frogtown would have worked as successfully without. On a technical level, the film is competent enough. The standout being the mutant frogs by effects whiz Steve Wang (Director of The Guyver flicks and the criminally underseen 1997 action/comedy Drive) which still looks shockingly good after all these years. Hell Comes to Frogtown is far more enjoyable than it probably deserves to be. After finally getting the opportunity to view it, I now realize how the movie has earned its loyal following 26 years since its release. 3/5 Skulls

The A/V: I’m pleased to announce that the dark, murky appearance that’s plagued Hell Comes to Frogtown in previous home video incarnations is now a thing of the past. This HD video is brighter, revealing details previously unseen. Colors look far more natural to the eye. The image is soft but that has to do with how the film was shot than the transfer itself. The print is also in far better shape than I was expecting. The original 2.0 stereo PCM mix is as good as this film will ever sound. This is one major upgrade. 4/5 Skulls

The Supplements: The commentary by Director Donald G. Jackson and Writer Randall Frakes from the Anchor Bay DVD is unfortunately not here. However Arrow Video gives us 51 minutes worth of fine, new featurettes for our enjoyment. “Grappling with Green Gargantuans” (22 mins) is an entertaining interview with Rowdy Roddy Piper. As per usual, he’s honest, humble and engaging as he reminisces on his experiences during the production. “Amphibian Armageddon” (14 mins) is a chat with Commander Toty himself Brian Frank and “Creature Feature Creator” deals with Wang’s still impressive contributions. An extended scene and original trailer is included, as wells as a reversible sleeve featuring original and a newly commissioned artwork by Jeff Zornow (which is very cool), a booklet featuring new piece by author and critic Calum Waddell. 3.5/5 Skulls

Overall: Hell Comes to Frogtown is goofy fun yet with just enough smarts with its satirical underbelly to make it a cut above most B pictures. Arrow Video gives it more love than a title of this kind is generally accustomed to. The special features, not to mention the far superior A/V makes this purchase a no-brainer for fans. Hell Comes to Frogtown is limited to a run of just a 1000 copies so act today if this sort of thing strikes your fancy. It’s well worth a spot in your collection.

Note: This Blu-ray is Region 2-locked so you’ll need a Region-Free Blu-ray Player in order to enjoy this.

Home Video

‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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