True story: Rowdy Roddy Piper once put me in a choke hold (at my request - doh!) and damn near snapped my head off. It's a good job I didn't let him know what I thought about Hell Comes To Frogtown: he might have finished the job.

The basic concept for Hell Comes To Frogtown sounds like B-movie heaven: Sam Hell (Piper), one of the few virile men in a post-apocalyptic world, is forced to take part in a mission to rescue a group of fertile women from Frogtown, which is controlled by an amphibious mutant called Commander Toty (Brian Frank) and his army of frog-men. Steve Wang's remarkably cool creatures make the film worth a watch for fans of practical special effects, but they are really deserving of a much better film, the script for this cheeze-fest not nearly as crazy, as inventive, or as entertaining as it should have been.

Piper gets in poorly choreographed fist-fights, as does Sandahl Bergman, who plays Spangle, the Medtech agent assigned to ensure that Hell plays his part. There are lacklustre gunfights, a few explosions, some cheesy one-liners, and a bit of nudity (from Cec Verrell as Corporal Centinella), plus the rather unique sight of a one-eyed humanoid frog chainsawing off our hero's explosive chastity belt. Sadly, it's all so flatly directed by Donald G. Jackson and R.J. Kizer that it actually proves rather tedious for much of the time. It doesn't help matters that the bulk of the budget was clearly spent on the frog make-up and animatronics, which means that the rest of the film has a distinct air of cheapness about it (Frogtown is a derelict factory with a population of about twenty, and the climactic pursuit of our heroes involves just two vehicles).

As if to emphasise the general lack of inspiration, the action culminates at that popular sci-fi movie location, the Vasquez Rocks, as seen in every other low-budget straight-to-video flick of the '80s.

5/10. Passable nonsense, but not deserving of its cult status.

I can only assume that the makers of Super Mario Bros saw this and thought: We can do this! And they sort of did that ... so let's be clear! This is bad! It is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination or any points that can be made to categorize it.

Having said that, Roddy Piper with his non performance, makes this quite the experience. He admits himself he didn't know the first thing about acting. I think the movie is really helped by that. It is bonkers, from the set design, to the jokes, to the "costumes", to the story ... but I still think it is quite enjoyable! Have not seen the sequel nor the maybe lightly based spin offs with a character named Max Hell (sounds related to Roddy Pipers character), just so you know

Smartaleck Sam Hell (a lively and engaging performance by wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper) is one of the few potent men left in the wake of a nuclear holocaust. He's recruited by uptight doctor Spangle (Sandahl Bergman in top two-fisted form) to impregnate as many fertile women as possible in order to restore mankind's status as the dominant species in a barren wasteland ruled by mutant humanoid frogs. Directors Donald G. Jackson and R.J. Kizer, working from a pleasingly wiggy'n'witty script by Randall Frakes, relate the lovably loopy story at a snappy pace, maintain a winningly zany tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and milk the amusing sense of cheerfully lowbrow humor for all it's worth. The zesty acting by the enthusiastic cast keeps the movie humming: Cec Verrell as fierce'n'foxy soldier Centinella, Kristi Somers as sassy saloon gal Arabella, Nicholas Worth as brutish "greener" Bull, Brian Frank as evil frog leader Commander Toty, and Cliff Bemis as suave club owner Leroy. Better yet, we've got colorful supporting parts for dependable veterans Big Bill Smith as the surly Captain Devlin and Rory Calhoun as amiable old prospector Looney Tunes. Moreover, there are a lot of cracking hilarious lines, with the sparky rat-a-tat-tat banter between Hell and Spangler providing the biggest belly laughs. Spangler's scorching hot dance number for Commander Toty rates as a definite highlight. David Shapiro's robust score hits the spirited spot. Jackson's sunny cinematography makes the most out of the desolate desert locations. A total hoot.