The following are some of my reviews for the Troma movies I bought on DVD recently...
(Troma is a small, independent film company that makes low-budget ultraviolent horror movies.)
The Complete Toxic Avenger
The following is a quadruple review for all four movies in the "Toxic Avenger" series.
These might contain spoilers, justa headsup, so don't get angry if I give anything away.
Also in this review I'll be discussing the "Toxic Crusaders" ABC Saturday Morning cartoon.
The Toxic Avenger
Released in 1984, "The Toxic Avenger" is quite possibly the best independent, low-budget movies ever made. The plot is fairly simple: A nerdy guy named Melvin working at a health spa accidentally falls in a barrel of toxic waste, which transforms him into a a hideously hero with superhuman size and strength. He proceeds to hunt down, and punish criminals in the harshest ways possible (the Taco Bell scene springs to mind) and not only does he give the criminals their just deserts, he tortures and brutally maims them in the process, rightfully so. He is backed up by his friends who all support him and he has to do battle with virtually every criminal outside Manhattan, in the small town of Tromaville, until it all comes to a big climax fight with the corrupt mayor. All in all, it's a darn fine film, made by an incredibly talented director, Lloyd Kaufman, who I had the pleasure of meeting at a book signing at a local shopping mall. If you like gore, superheroes, Troma, be absolutely sure to check out "The Toxic Avenger!"
The Toxic Avenger II
My personal favorite in the series. The movie starts off with Toxie, five years after the events of "The Toxic Avenger," who is working at a community center for the blind, when he recieves a mysterious package, which turns out to be a bomb from an evil corporation known as "Apocalypse Inc," who want to take over the small burg of Tromaville. This is followed by an incredible explosion, which in turn is followed by one of the longest choreographed fight scenes I've ever seen in any medium, where Toxie fights off about twenty-five bad guys, one by one. I don't want to give too much away, but Toxie is lured to Japan, where he learns his long-lost father is living, he fights bad guys in Japan, and finds his father, who turns out not to be what he expected. One thing leads to another and Toxie comes home to America, where he has to fight even more bad guys and then there's this chase scene between a Taxi Cab driven by a disgruntled cabbie, in the backseat is Toxie, sandwiched between an equally disgruntled old married couple, and they chase a man on a motorcycle with nitroglycerin strapped to him, who is planning on blowing up City Hall. Again, I don't want to give too much away, but in my humble opinion, "The Toxic Avenger II" is the best in the series, it also ends on something of a cliffhanger. It's just a great, fun movie in general, so check it out if you liked the original.
The Toxic Avenger III: The Last Temptation Of Toxie
With one of the most brilliant opening scenes I've ever seen, "Toxic Avenger 3" is a bit of a letdown after the first twenty minutes or so. It has its moments, but for the most part, it tries too hard. This was actually the first Troma movie I ever saw, and I loved it at the time, but I had no idea that Troma made movies that were a hundred times better than this. Aside from the opening scene and the grand finale, this movie is kind of boring and repetitive. Picking up where "Toxic Avenger 2" left off, the chairman of Apocalypse Inc is trying to bring down Toxie in various ways, but he finally convinces Toxie to work for him for a huge sum of money which will pay for his (Toxie's) girlfriend's eye-replacement surgery, enabling her to see for the first time in her life. Not much else to it, other than it's unusual length for a Troma movie, I believe the running time is a little over two hours. It may be the weakest in the series, but that doesn't preventing me from loving it. But trust me when I say this one's for fans only.
The Toxic Avenger IV: Citizen Toxie
My least favorite in the series, like "Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown," I was heavily distracted when I watched this one, so it's hard for me to give it a fair review. It came out in 2000, boasting the tagline "The Real Sequel," which I thought was a little unfair because parts 2 and 3 weren't that bad. The plot follows Toxie, who gets mixed up with an evil counterpart known as "Noxie," who wreaks havoc on the good people of Tromaville. The one thing I did like about this movie is the fact that they brought back (who I think to be) the original 'voice' of Toxie, who has a much more booming, powerful and commanding voice than the guy from parts 2 and 3. Unfortunately, I didn't see as much in this movie as I did the others, and I feel Troma's place in the universe was really in the 80s and 90s, the year 2000 seemed to destroy a lot of good mediums, from movies to video games, it all went downhill by 2001. But I digress. There was one thing I really liked about this movie, and that was former pornstar Ron Jeremy as the mayor of Tromaville, who, despite being a pornstar, is actually a pretty good actor in general, and I see why they picked him for a few of their movies. All in all, this one is regarded by many as 'The Real Sequel,' and that might be so, but it just didn't hit the spot for me the way those first three did. Check it out, but approach with caution.
Toxic Crusaders
Though I haven't had a chance to watch all thirteen episodes yet, I have seen the first two, and will say that they're really the kind of cartoon I dig-- the late 80s, early 90s style that boasted lots of action and morals and happy endings to boot. For some reason, this show never made it into syndication, for the life of me, I don't know why; it's like "Captain Planet," but not as horribly preachy in it's environmental tone (which is actually very subtle). The animation resembles the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoons, which follow a similar plot. I feel privileged to be able to watch this show, it's like seeing a lost gem that was never put on proper display. Goofy as it may be, I really like what I've seen of this little cartoon and will keep on watching it. I think this one's only available in the "Complete Toxic Avenger" boxed set, which I bought, but I may be wrong, definitely check it out if you can find it.
Well, there you have it, my review for all four "Toxic Avenger" movies and the cartoon.
These movies are really good and are very creative, they're awesome in every way.
Like I said, if you like Troma, superheroes or blood and guts, be sure to check them out!
The Class Of Nuke 'Em High Trilogy
I recently purchased the entire trilogy of films known as the 'Class of Nuke' Em High,' on DVD.
They're all from Troma Films, an independent production company based out of New Jersey.
Here is a review of each movie, in chronological order, they might contain spoilers, FYI.
Class of Nuke 'Em High
Unleashed in 1986, the original Class of Nuke 'Em High is, for me at least, the weakest in the trilogy. The plot revolves around Tromaville High School, which is known as 'Nuke 'Em High,' due to the fact that it's within spitting distance of a high-profile Nuclear Power Plant. Somewhere along the line, a meltdown occurs and infects the water supply of the local school. The regular students slowly become vicious, violent cretins, part of the Cretin Biker Gang, who wreak havoc on the school and around Tromaville. Warren and Christie, two young lovers are the main characters, who start to suspect something fishy after smoking a radioactive joint that causes them to hallucinate. The rest is the students versus the cretins versus the nuclear power plant versus the townspeople. If you like low-grade Z-movies, this is will tickle your fancy.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown
Released five years after the original, Subhumanoid Meltdown follows the story of Roger Smith, who goes to Tromaville University, which is slowly being overtaken by cretins and a race of mutants known as 'subhumanoids,' who are being manufactured by the people working in the (you guessed it) nearby nuclear power plant. I wasn't really paying attention when I watched this one, I'd been having a rough day and was falling asleep, so it's hard for me to review that which I don't understand very well. As far as I can tell, it focuses around Roger, played by Brick Bronsky, who gets tangled up in a government program to cross-breed humans and subhumanoids. He falls in love with a subhumanoid and then tragedy strikes when a rogue squirrel finds some tasty-looking radioactive material, gets infected by it and becomes Tromie, the eighty-foot radioactive squirrel from Hell! Tromie wreaks havoc on students and cretins alike, and the movie ends rather abruptly. Personally, I liked this one better than the first.
Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good The Bad And The Subhumanoid
The final (?) chapter in the trilogy of Class of Nuke 'Em High movies, The Good The Bad And The Subhumanoid is easily the best in the trilogy. It follows Adlai Smith, third-generation subhumanoid son of Roger Smith and the subhumanoid he fell in love with in the second movie. Adlai is played by Brick Bronsky, who also plays Adlai's evil twin, Dick, and his own father, Roger, from part two, who is now the mayor of Tromaville. There's an evil mastermind, known as Doctor Slag (PHD) who wants to use Adlai's long lost twin separated at birth, Dick, to wreak havoc on the town, then turn it into a nuclear wasteland. The exact reasoning behind wanting to do this escapes me, but the movie was just such a blast to watch in general you won't really care. It's a fun movie, your typical good-versus-evil z-movie fare, but fun nonetheless. The 'glowing hand' bit is hilarious, too. This is Brick Bronsky in his most versatile role. I really enjoyed it, it's only available on DVD through the boxed-set, though, which is unfortunate, because the boxed-set sells for upwards of ninety dollars in various places. I got mine new for twenty bucks due to good circumstance, but if you can find it, check it out! You probably won't regret it.
And there you have it, my awesome triple-review of the whole "Class of Nuke 'Em High" trilogy.
If you haven't seen 'em, and you're a fan of Troma, check them out, it's awesome to the max.
If you're looking for sexiness or just a bit of the old ultra-violence, then this is for you!
Redneck Zombies
I knew I liked this movie before I even saw it.
The title "Redneck Zombies," is exactly what the movie is about, a recruit driving a jeep down a long stretch of country road has a barrel of toxic waste with him. He loses it when it falls off the truck and a redneck steals it from him, the recruit leaves after being threatened, and then the redneck who takes it has it stolen from him by another four rednecks, who turn it into moonshine, the one redneck son, Ellie-May, takes a whole batch of it into town to deliver it to friends while his two brothers and dad stay behind and drink it, which turns them into flesh-hungry zombies. They're pretty much your basic Romero-zombies, however they seem to be killed not only by a shot to the head, but also by a bug spray containing a certain chemical, thought I can't remember what. The movie is pretty much your standard zombie-fare, with rednecks all over the place in "the backwoods of Maryland."
It should also be noted that the movie is notoriously humorous, the scene with Loren the Gay Soldier sticks out, and the zombie who is completely mindless except for the fact that he knows how to use a Polaroid camera. The whole movie really reminded me of the original 'Evil Dead,' for some reason, but with a lot more ridiculous humor and slapstick. Another interesting factoid is that this movie was shot entirely on video in 1986, with VHS camcorders, and it looks fantastic. Usually shot-on-video movies look bad, but this one really stuck out well because they had good actors, a good director and great makeup effects that, true to the tagline, "makes Dawn of the Dead look like Mary Poppins." I bought the 20th Anniversary Edition, which comes with a color-corrected, digitally remastered version of the movie as well as the soundtrack on the second disk, which, for such an obscure movie, is actually pretty good music. Troma did a great job with the release of the DVD, and I have to say it was worth the twenty dollars I spent for it. I have yet to check out the special features on the DVD.
If you like zombies, or Troma, or rednecks, check out Redneck Zombies!
...so there you have some of my reviews for the DVDs I bought recently.
Troma isn't for everyone, but they do make some highly creative trash.
