“I should investigate. FAT CHANCE!”

Story: It’s finally summer break! A group of friends head out to a great house in the woods, owned by one of Our Gang’s friends. It’s got everything: lots of bedrooms, a great kitchen, a pond out back…and a killer prowling around. What’s that sound? *ribbit*

Scares: If you’re a lightweight, sure. This is mostly schlocky fun that winks at the audience.
Splat Factor:  Low budget “blood”, a decapitation in wide-shot, and some pretty cool flesh melting FX.

Subgenre: Troma-tastic Films
Year Released: 1991
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original. In fact, this is one of the first meta-horror comedies.

Trick or Treat?: Troma produced. Zero budget. Twenty year old Rolfe Kanefsky’s first film. If these things aren’t getting you salivating? Perhaps this one’s not for you. But for everybody else, it’s a sincere ode to horror tropes and clichés.

The use of characters who are in on the basic premise of slasher films sounds like Scream, right? But this movie came out five years before Wes Craven’s legendary film. But There’s middle-of-the-woods setting and goofy monster is definitely a different vibe. That the vicious killer is a frog (fine, frog-like alien that I will be calling Froggy)  adds a fun 50s monster mash spin to this horror comedy.

As the individual characters split between worried, skeptical, and horny, Froggy picks them off one by one. Expect lots of bright red “blood” and gooey slime, the hallmark of Troma. Like Scream, one of the group is a huge horror junkie, who’s paranoia about being out in the middle of nowhere is naturally proved to be true way too late. I know I should be calling these characters by name, but honestly? Names are barely mentioned, so I’m rolling with it.

There’s costuming, hair and makeup (basically the actors’ own stuff) shows that the early 90s were basically an 80s hangover. There’s 80s slasher levels of nudity, along with cheesy gore and goofy “laser beam” effects that feel like an amalgam of 80s horror. The obviously staged, cutaway way characters fly across the room is also an gag that had me laughing every time. And I couldn’t help but think that Froggy looks kinda like a reptilian Belial from Basket Case. But the best bit is when the horror buff is asked if they’re in a movie, and he looks directly at the screen for a moment. There’s even a spin on the Final Girl trope, which is refreshing.

This one might not be for everyone, and the pacing does drag now and then. But if you’re in the mood for zero budget camp? You’ll have a blast.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 pumpkins.