CineNiche

Retro Flashback presents: Hell Comes To Frogtown  Welcome to Retro Flashback. Today we take a trip into a post-apocalyptic future as seen by low-budget filmmakers in the late eighties. Our study will begin with the creator of Frogtown , Donald G. Jackson, and his unique vision of filmmaking. We will also study the career of Frogtown's leading man, the late great Roddy Piper. Hell Comes To Frogtown may not be a particularly good film, but does it still warrant a place in your genre education? Lets dive into the ballad of Commander Toty. In the beginning... Donald G. Jackson was born in Mississippi but grew up in Michigan. He worked at an automotive factory where he met his friend and future co-director Jerry Younkins. The two of them had a plan to make a feature film but could not put together any funds. Fate then stepped in. Jerry got into an accident at work that left him without a few fingers. The insurance check came through and they were in business. With Jerry...

When the original Night Of The Demons premiered in 1988 it was considered the best of B-Horror and created a franchise that lasted two sequels. It is still the only Kevin Tenney film that highlights his ongoing terrible reel – with possible exception to Witchboard made before Demons. The ’88 version gives us gore, bad acting, ridiculous scripting, and a non-sequitur ending. These were elements every 80’s slasher film wanted the perfect combination of. To remake a great trash film does not give you license to try to make it modern cinema. Adam Gierasch, the director of the updated version, does not provide his audience with anything more than a revamping over-sexualized depiction of a once innovative concept. Cineniche does not blame Gierasch, we believe he did the best with what the studio gave him. He is just another young filmmaker that wishes to create horror again – but unfortunately the American horror film is dying. Here is where we’ve decided to rant on remakes ...