Reviews by Brian M. Sammons
This is a multi-review for two new multi-pack from the always entertaining Scream Factory. The reason I’m doing them together is (A) they are very similar (B) Each release has a movie based on a H.G. Wells story on out and (C) They come out the same day. So come with me, but be wary of any angry or excessively large critters, and let’s take a look at four fright flicks about animals with attitude.
First up it’s the one-two punch of Food of the Gods and Frogs.
Food of the Gods
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker
This movie, based on a story by sci-fi superstar H.G. Wells, is probably my favorite of the bunch. It’s the one about a hunting trip on a remote Canadian island who get attacked by giant wasps. They look for help in an old barn only to find more ginormous animals like chickens and worms. The worst of the lot are the super-sized rats, who mobilize and attack en masse like a marauding army. This is the typical story of science gone amok and what happens then, but it is a load of fun watching the characters do battle with forced perspective vermin, and while the special effects are a bit cheesy now, there is an honest quality to them that I can’t help but like.
The special features for this release include a director’s commentary, an interview with actress Belinda Balaski that runs eleven and a half minutes, a trailer, radio spot, and photo gallery. Not bad for a cult classic flick that’s sold as a two-pack. Most double features are light on the extras. Let’s see if the second flick on this disc is treated as well.
Frogs
Director: George McCowan
Cast: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark
Despite its title, this is not a killer frog movie. Not really. It does have a very young, and moustache-less (yeah, that’s just weird) Sam Elliott as a wildlife photographer taking pics down in the swamp. He gets mixed up with upper-class southern family during a get-together. Everything is fine until unruly animals decide to crash the party. Now while frogs are part of this horde, they are not alone. It seems as if all of nature is out to get some payback for how mankind has been polluting their natural habitat. Snakes, spiders, birds, lizards, and even butterflies (and yes, frogs) all come together to punish the people for the sins of their species.
While Frogs does have bigger name cast, with Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, and Joan Van Ark in the top spots, it’s just not as fun as the other movie on this disc. That’s not to say that it’s bad, it’s got an undeniable goofy charm all its own, and well worth a watch for fans of animal attack flicks. But of the two, I’ll take giant rats over angry frogs any day.
Furthermore, there haven’t been as much love shown to this movie in the extras department as was shown to the previous film. No, it’s not bare bones, just noticeably less. There is an interview with actress Joan Van Ark that runs ten minutes. A theatrical trailer, radio spot, and photo gallery are also found here.
Still with me? Those killer critters didn’t get you? Well good, let’s take a look at the next double pack from Scream Factory: Empire of the Ants and Jaws of Satan.
Empire of the Ants
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Joan Collins, Robert Lansing, John David Carson
This disc starts off like the other one: an H.G. Wells adaptation directed by Bert I. Gordon. It’s also about giant vermin and science messing with Mother Nature. Well that old gal doesn’t like that one bit, and the end result is ants growing to giant size thanks to nuclear waste on an island. To this island comes Joan Collins looking to sell some condos, and her would-be clientele. Enter the super-imposed giant ants to ruin this picnic, and you could guess where things go from there. You could guess, but you would be wrong, as this movie takes a turn into left field with the ants using pheromones to mind control people into doing their bidding. Yeah, really. Yeah, it’s sort of goofy, but it’s still fun. It’s no Them! but it is the next best giant ant movie after that, so that’s something, right?
As for the extras for this movie, there is a commentary track with director Gordon, a trailer, radio spot, and photo gallery.
Jaws of Satan
Director: Bob Claver
Cast: Fritz Weaver, Gretchen Corbett, Jon Korkes
This was the one movie of the four that I had not seen before getting these discs in for review. It is the most recent movie, as the others were 70s films, and this one was made in 1981. It also has a supernatural element, where the others were all about mankind/science playing the culprit. Here, it’s a priest’s forefathers who upset some druids, St. Patrick is thrown in there somehow, and now there is a multi-generational curse where Satan takes the form of a huge king cobra every so often and looks for some payback. For good measure, Satan snake controls other serpents and pretty soon a town in under siege for the fearsome fanged ones. And in case this movie’s title was just a “subtle” allusion to the movie, Jaws, it pretty much hits all the same beats, including a mayor that won’t warn the populace no matter how many people die in his town. This one might be the weakest of the four films, but there are still some good bits and a few laugh out loud moments. Whether the giggles were intentional or not, I’ll leave up to you to decide.
As you might expect for the least known movie in this bunch, there extras are few and far between here. The sole special feature being a theatrical trailer. Yep, that’s kind of disappointing. The trailer is under the movie’s alternate title: King Cobra, so yay for that, I guess.
If you are a fan of animal attack movies, or when little critters get big and go on a rampage, then these two new Blu-rays are for you. Sure, they are campy, but it’s honest camp, and I adore the hell out of that. If you do too, you can get both of these two-packs when they come out May 26th.
