Frogs (1972)

Directed by:

George McGowan

Millionaire patriarch Jason Crockett (Ray Milland) and his extended family gather together at his private island mansion to celebrate the 4th of July and have much more to worry about than photographer and ecologist Pickett Smith (Sam Elliott) snooping around getting material for a magazine layout on pollution. You see, Pickett isn’t the only one who’s fed up with Milland’s environmental poisoning as a horde of frogs wisen up and lead their swampland buddies (alligators, snakes, lizards, turtles, birds, leeches, spiders and more) in a violent revolt. Thanks to the piercing sounds of Les Baxter’s score and the sheer variety of creepy crawlers on display, you are likely to cringe somewhere along the line in this enjoyably implausible, very silly and often awkwardly directed, but nonetheless entertaining, effort. How can you not love a movie where woman gets stuck in the mud and starts screaming her head off as a... turtle... slowly... approaches. Joan Van Ark, Adam Roarke and Judy Pace co-star.

★★1/2