Last update: November 12, 2000. Three reviews were added at the end of this page, all three very bad, even for Troma.

Here is my overall opinion of Troma DVDs.

Picture		Video	1.33:1, OAR
Sound		Audio	ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 1.0 or 2.0, all mono.
Story	See individual reviews	Subtitles	None
Features		Features	Plenty of trailers Commentary track Behind The Scenes sequences Tromaville Cafe Interviews Public Service Announcements (hotel porn, masturbation...) Troma office tour Radiation March Troma Intelligence Test (T.I.T. 1 or T.I.T. 2) And more!
Value		Final word	Give Lloyd Kaufman a bar of soap and he'll do anything for you.

Picture

Crap. All DVDs are presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with the possible exception of "Rabid Grannies".  I suspect that title's transfer is actually a pan&scan transfer made from a 1.85:1 aspect ratio print.

Sound/Subtitles

More crap.  Mono.  Troma can't afford to record more than one track of sound on any single movie.  There are a couple of exceptions to this rule but that's it.  And they happen to be movies made by people outside of the Troma family.

No subtitles, no alternate language tracks.  International linguistic crap.

Features

Overloaded!  And not all of it is crap!  All discs have at least half the features indicated in the rating chart.  The discs also have custom features designed for their particular subject matter.  Truly impressive and totally unexpected from a pair of bean counting, sick and twisted cheapskates!  Their support of the DVD format has put to shame many Hollywood studios!  Way to go Troma!

So what is Troma?

Troma is the brainchild of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.  These two slightly twisted individuals believed thirty years ago that they could make movies for a living.  What kind of movies?  The most disgusting slasher / head crushing / bone cracking movies / puss ladened / titalating mutant movies you've ever seen in your life!  What do you expect from movies such as "Redneck Zombies", "Rabid Grannies", "Blood Sucking Freaks"...

The production quality is almost as low as it can get and the acting talent is pretty much non-existent!  Blood and guts litter the screen and in some cases splatter the camera.  The MPAA is constantly on their backs for promoting senseless violence on a constant basis.  Troma's defense is that they make the kind of movies many Americans want to see.  It's even part of their slogan.  "Movies of the future".

Over the years, Troma has become one of the largest independent movie studios in North America.  How could a movie studio based out of New York City of all places accomplish such a cult status in thirty short years?  With the generous help of a loyal fan base.  Despite the low production values, there is a certain charm in the storylines.  And that's the surprise!  Many of these movies have highly respectable storylines!  So what if they are a bit off the beaten track.

The following individual ratings reflect the quality of the Troma title being reviewed and does not represent the kind of rating one would slap on a more "normal" movie.  The gross-out factor, plot twists and repulsive but logical storyline are the determining factors for each movie.

The Toxic Avenger

Melvin, a moron with no social skills whatsoever, is the prey of a bunch of child-crushing bullies at the local gym.  Following a cruel practical joke involving a sheep, Melvin falls in a vat of toxic waste.  Soon afterwards, Melvin transforms into a hideous creature with an instinct to destroy anyone who does wrong to the common man (and woman).

A love story develops between Melvin and Sarah, a blind blond (blond blind?) bombshell who doesn't care if Melvin suffers from a bit of "acne".  In the meantime, the corrupt Tromaville city mayor is trying to organize an armada to destroy the creature that's been destroying his racketeering, bribery, drug dealing and graft operations one by one.

This is the first Troma movie I've ever seen, and that was fifteen years ago.  The movie is considered today a Troma staple.  The monster affectionately known as Toxie is so popular that he is now a permanent part of the Troma studio logo.  If you don't have this movie in your Troma collection, you have a morality problem!  Who in their right mind would pass up the chance to watch burning people, dismemberments, head crushings, high speed chases, deep fried hands, head sundaes, sauna sacrifices, blind humor...

It's a great an unusual movie well worth the purchase price!

Troma's War

Following a plane crash, a bunch of passengers are taken hostage by rebels intent on destroying the American way of life by any means necessary.  Soon, the passengers escape and learn what it means to fight for their country.  They become Freedom Fighters intent on stopping the terrorists at all cost.

This is the movie Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz consider to be their masterpiece.  Unfortunately, it was never a commercial success.  In reality, this is actually a very good movie.  The film loses half a star because it still has a tendency to be more like a "regular" movie instead of a Troma movie.  Hollywood could have easily taken over this production.  My only real complaint is the music track.  It's a bit too repetitive.

Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD

Sgt. Griswald is a clumsy New York City cop who gets mixed up in a Japanese prophecy about to become reality.  The only defense against the upcoming "Evil One" (how original) is the superhero known as the Kabukiman.  Unfortunately, the original Kabukiman is shot up during a Japanese play and the only person close enough to accept the transfer of Kabuki powers happens to be Sgt. Griswald.  Now Griswald is erratically turning into Kabukiman and is unable to control his powers!  Lotus, a beautiful oriental bombshell born in the Kabuki family, trains Griswald in order to prepare him for his encounter with the Evil One and prevent the arrival of mass death and destruction.

Why does this movie sound a bit like "The Fifth Element"?

This movie's funding comes mainly from the video game manufacturer Namco, the makers of Pac Man.  The Japanese believed they were investing in a Hollywood style production.  What they got was a very silly Japanese-culture-oriented low budget Superhero comedy which didn't do as well as anyone hoped.  Troma never heard from the Japanese again -- at least not until Toxic Avenger II came along.

The movie is funny in it's own way.  Just like a visit to the dentist can be funny.  There are no true dismemberments in this movie.  But we do have plenty of slightly twisted comedy, totally screwed Japanese folklore, car crashes, killings, worms, sticky Evil Creatures, monkeys, raw fish...

It's a different movie compared with the kind of movies Troma normally produces.  But with time, even Sgt. Kabukiman became a powerful Troma symbol.  Only the Penis Monster from "Tromeo & Juliet" is a worthy competitor for the #2 job.  But he often "blows up" at the slightest sign of provocation and creates quite a mess...

Rabid Grannies

A couple of old women are celebrating a birthday.  The family is invited along for the party.  One family member who couldn't make it still took the time to send a gift.  A vapour comes out of the gift and the two sweet old women become -- RABID GRANNIES!!!  They start going after the family one member at a time!  And I do mean one "member" at a time!

There are very decent horrible and gory sequences in this movie.  Unfortunately they are mostly rehashes from other slasher pictures.  The action becomes a bit repetitive after the first half hour.  If you haven't seen gory slasher pictures before, you could enjoy this one as an introduction to the "art" of slasher filmmaking.

Beware!  Children at Play!

The children of a God fearing village are disappearing.  The townsfolk believe their children are being possessed by Satan and want to get rid of them.  A couple from the "reasonable big city" try to convince the townsfolk that Satan has nothing to do with the disappearances.  There must be a more logical explanation for what is happening.

Shit acting by the kids, a religious stereotype replayed ad nauseum, and a badly balanced story line.  Most of the action takes place during the last ten minutes of the movie and rarely occurs at any other time in the movie.  You end up asking yourself when something will actually happen on the screen.  When it finally does, you're greatly disappointed.

Beware!  Stay away from "Beware!  Children at Play"!

Tromeo & Juliet

An alternate version of Romeo & Juliet.  Since the original material is in the public domain, Troma "borrowed" it willingly!  The story is roughly the same with a few "adaptations" added for good measure.  Tromeo has the attitude of a New York slacker.  Juliet is an abused mock-lesbian.  The Capulets live in an upscale New York City townhouse while the Ques live in a slum.  The Ques and the Capulets used to be partners in a movie studio until for some unexplained reason Monty Que signed his entire half of the company over to Cappy Capulet.  The feud has been going on constantly since that very day.

There is some modest gore and a bit of steamy sex.  More importantly, we have an excellent story and a very respectable script written in the traditional Troma style.  The story is easy to follow and the extra elements thrown in by the Troma Team makes this twisted version of Shakespeare work extremely well.

Troma's attempt to add some culture in their repertoire has succeeded wonderfully!  And yet we know we're still watching a very good Troma movie especially with the introduction of the Penis Monster.

By the way, is there such a thing as a steel-plated condom?

Class of Nukem High

One of Troma's first attempts in the field of gory mutant high school flicks.  The radioactive leaks from a nearby nuclear power plant are contaminating the local high school.  The honor roll has turned into mutant hooligans!  Clean-cut students are giving birth to weird little worms!  The power plant claims not to be responsible for the "coincidences".  Tell that to the students driving motorcycles down the hallways!

It's a nice effort.  The movie is fun to watch and is a nice piece of entertainment.  I also strongly recommend the trailer for the Nukem High Part II sequel.  It's a very entertaining music video!  But it ain't the kind of music video that will get any kind of play time on MTV or MuchMusic!

Redneck Zombies

Based in the Deep South, a bunch of dumb-ass southern moonshine makers find a barrel of military-grade toxic waste and decide to use it as the base for their latest batch of "shine".  These rednecks and their clients don't remain normal for very long (assuming they were "normal" to begin with) and start going after a few "normal" victims' brains which includes a few tourists from out of town!

This movie was actually made on video instead of film.  The effects are okay (the eyeball gouging is one of the highlights) but there are a few too many holes in the plot.  It's as if the filmmakers started making the movie before they figured out all the plot twists.  Still, the movie gets an average rating for the effort.

Cannibal!  The Musical

Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone before South park became a success.  In fact, Troma was the only studio that would distribute the movie.  And no video store would buy it.  At least until South Park became a hit.  Suddenly, demand for the video skyrocketed.

The movie is not really about cannibalism.  It's more about how bad a guide Alfred Packer turned out to be.  All he and his group had to do was reach a town in the Colorado territory.  Instead, they simply became hopelessly lost for months.  And of course, there's no better way to cope with the situation than by breaking into a song!  Alfred Packer, being the only survivor of the ill-fated trek, is accused of having eaten the other members to stay alive.

It's okay.  Just don't expect lavish barbecues.  Even the "inebriated" commentary track was only slightly above average.  The commentary track in Kevin Smith's movie "Clerks" had a higher alcohol and drug content than this commentary track.

Cry Uncle

A bawdy comedy about private dick investigating a millionaire being blackmailed for murder.  There's a lot of sex during the course of the investigation.  Surprisingly there is also a murder mystery in this movie.  Unfortunately, I was "distracted" a bit to pay full attention to it.

The funny part is listening to the stars talk about the movie today.  They sound more like dirty old men!

Killer Condom

A German movie filmed in New York City.  It's about male dismemberment by carnivorous prophylactics.  Ouch!  Detective Luigi Mackeroni is hot on the case when one of these rubber bastards runs off with his right testicle.  Ouch!  But who or what created these rolled-up monsters?  Is it a natural phenomena?  Is there someone behind all of this?  Is there a conspiracy?  Can anyone stop the carnage before the Killer Condoms make eunuchs out of all the men of New York City?  Ouch!  Ouch!  Ouch!

Presented in German with English subtitles, the question one would ask is why Troma didn't think of it first.  Troma is in reality the American distributor of the movie and didn't really have anything to do with it's creation.  Still, there is a Troma mentality present in this movie and it's well deserved.

Blood Sucking Freaks

Sex, violence, torture and cannibalism are all presented as part of Sardu's Theatre of the Macabre.  The plot thickens like blood when a theater critic and a ballerina are kidnapped for Sardu's pleasure.  The boyfriend football player and a detective try to uncover what has happened to these two people.  But Sardu has "special" plans for his "victims"...

This is sick!  Sucking a victim's brains through a straw?  Bum dart boards?  Guillotines?  Conditioning with the help of 500 volts?  Demented midgets?  Even for die-hard Troma fans, this is stretching it!  Kaufman and Herz would pass on distributing this movie today, but this was one of the first movies their young company could distribute at the time of it's foundation.  So they took what they could get.

This movie is a test of your sanity.  Survive one viewing and you can go on living normally.  Survive two viewings and you're a true unbalanced Troma fan.  Survive three viewings and you could work for Troma!

Teenage Catgirls In Heat

An ancient Egyptian force has re-awaken and needs to rebuild her powers.  To do this, the cats in town must sacrifice themselves in order to reincarnate into teenage vixens.  The fact they start out their new lives butt naked is not the main focus of the story.  But the fact these teenage catgirls must mate with a human male is!  The only catch is that after "mating", the catgirls have a tendency to... well... claw their male partners to death.

A hitchhiker stumbles into town and encounters one of these "converted pussies" not realizing the danger that awaits him.  The local cat finder is already aware that something is very wrong.  Then again, he always thinks something is wrong even when everything is normal.  Nevertheless, the two of them work together to uncover the truth and save the town from a horrendous fate.

This is more of a comedy than a horror movie.  Unfortunately, it's a very detached and highly uncoordinated feature that although started out with a lot of potential, blows it in the overall package.  Rather disappointing.

Surf Nazis Must Die!

California has been devastated by "The Big One", the major earthquake that was awaited for a very long time.  Security forces have been rendered useless, the crime rate is at an all-time high, and vicious surfer gangs have taken over the California beaches.  As these gangs battle each other for surf supremacy, innocent people are robbed, injured and even killed by these vicious gangs.

One of the victims is Leroy, an oil rig inspector who in the process of trying to help an old lady, is killed by the Surf Nazis.  His momma who is so distraught by this tragic loss decides to wage war against these vicious gangs by herself!  And she goes after them armed to the teeth!

The movie takes way too much time to set up the storyline, taking almost an hour just to reach the main body of the movie.  And the woman playing Leroy's momma, despite having the right look, does not show enough rage against the Surf Nazis.  It's as if she lacked a certain amount of inspiration.  It all makes for a very weak and unbalanced package.

A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell

Nuclear War has finally arrived.  And in the destruction of civilization, the dinosaurs are reborn.  Through all this, only one woman has survived the destruction.  She is the last woman on Earth.  And every man on the planet wants her including this one real ugly dude with bad teeth!  But through all of this, she gets help from this one guy who treats her very well.  Together they try to get away from this nightmare.  But the ugly guy and his henchmen (also very ugly) have other ideas in mind!

At least that's what I think is going on in this movie.  There's a lot of mutant chases, dinosaur footage à la Ray Harryhausen, but very little in terms of plot.  The nymphoid barbarian looks too much like she just came out of a beauty salon.  In Dinosaur Hell?  I think not.

The three last movies were all very disappointing.  They all had interesting concepts, but they never developed into decent storylines.  So what we have here is three ninety minute movies that seem to last three hours each.  Not good.