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"Time is a matter of discussion, an argument you couldn't win"
Writer/Director Maria Estela Paiso’s short film, It’s Raining Frogs Outside, was both grotesque and strangely insightful. And also very enigmatic, leaving much of the film’s interpretation up to the viewer.
Maya contemplates her life in the face of an ongoing onslaught of raining frogs. Trapped alone in her familial home, with every day the same and no human contact, dark nights of the soul begin to turn her inside out. Is she alone in the world?
Paiso used Maya’s childhood memories and body horror to tap into the human mind and how external and internal forces can cause it to unravel. Much like Ito Takashi, Paiso applied special effects to make her storytelling more hallucinatory and psychedelic. The steady thud of frogs hitting the ground brought home the apocalyptic nature of the film. The 2021 release date also brought to mind for me, the isolation and chaos instilled in the early days of the pandemic which pushed many people to a fragile mental edge. Raining frogs conjured images of biblical plagues and punishment, not a comforting setting.
When trapped inside with no connection to others, monotony and inevitability setting in, how does one maintain their identity? In a house full of memories, loneliness and isolation twisted those moments conflating them with what Maya feared was her physical deterioration and transformation. In the face of disaster, did it matter if one’s identity was maintained or was it more important than ever? So, whether it was the end of the world for everyone or just for her, reality exploded more than the frogs leading to a rather surreal metamorphosis.
8 October 2026
Trigger warnings: A creepy cockroach scene. And a disturbing body transformation.
Maya contemplates her life in the face of an ongoing onslaught of raining frogs. Trapped alone in her familial home, with every day the same and no human contact, dark nights of the soul begin to turn her inside out. Is she alone in the world?
Paiso used Maya’s childhood memories and body horror to tap into the human mind and how external and internal forces can cause it to unravel. Much like Ito Takashi, Paiso applied special effects to make her storytelling more hallucinatory and psychedelic. The steady thud of frogs hitting the ground brought home the apocalyptic nature of the film. The 2021 release date also brought to mind for me, the isolation and chaos instilled in the early days of the pandemic which pushed many people to a fragile mental edge. Raining frogs conjured images of biblical plagues and punishment, not a comforting setting.
When trapped inside with no connection to others, monotony and inevitability setting in, how does one maintain their identity? In a house full of memories, loneliness and isolation twisted those moments conflating them with what Maya feared was her physical deterioration and transformation. In the face of disaster, did it matter if one’s identity was maintained or was it more important than ever? So, whether it was the end of the world for everyone or just for her, reality exploded more than the frogs leading to a rather surreal metamorphosis.
8 October 2026
Trigger warnings: A creepy cockroach scene. And a disturbing body transformation.
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