Label: Troma
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 83 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (No Subtitles)
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Peter George
Cast: Gail Neely, Barry Brenner, Michael Sonye, Dawn Wildsmith
In the not-too-far distant future an earthquake leaves the Los Angeles coastline a devastated, lawless wasteland; the area is taken over by various gangs, including a band of neo-Nazis surfers led by the strangely charismatic Adolf (Barry Brenner, Maniac Cop), the self-proclaimed "Führer of the new beach".
We get some The Warriors-styled rival surfer gangs who fight to seize control of the beaches, but it seems Adolph and the surf-nazis have a pretty tight grip on the prime surfing real estate. However, when Adolph kills a black man named Leroy (Robert Harden, Overkill) his retiree mother, "Mama" Washington (Gail Neely, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear) sets aside her retiree lifestyle and vows revenge for her son's murders. After arming herself with a hand-cannon and grenades she sets out on a path of Death Wish styled vengeance against the the fascist surf fucks, culminating in a carnage filled speedboat chase that while stretching credulity is still plenty entertaining.
Brenner is pretty solid as the fascist-baddie with a leather cape and Hitler mustache, but even more appealing is Dawn Wildsmith (Alienator) as his lover Eva, and the demented Michael Sonye (aka Dukey Flyswatter, Sorority Babes in the Slimball Bowl-A-Rama) as his right-hand nazi Mengele. The scene stealer is bad-ass mama Gail Neely as the big-mama out for revenge, she steals every scene she appears in, though like everything else about this flick her vengeance steak is pretty humous stuff, not to be taken seriously.
Surf Nazi's Must Die! most fatal flaw is that it cannot live up to the super-cool title, its such a cool freakin' title, but the actually movie is a trashy low-rent flick that doesn't do the title justice, let alone live up to the original illustrated artwork. I remember seeing it on VHS as a kid and being pretty disappointed after it. Re-watching it now I appreciate how it plucks I spiration from stuff like A Clockwork Orange, The Warriors and Mad Max and throws it into a Tromatic Cuisinart with a splash of surfer-dude puree, but what it pours into your cup is not great but its pretty entertaining in a lo-fi trash sort of way, and not without its rough-hewn exploitation charms.
Audio/Video: Surf Nazi's Must Die (1987) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Troma in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85.1). The source is in fairly good shape with only a few blemishes, but it's a fairly compressed looking image with chunky grain levels and artifacting. Colors are pretty washed-out as well, though its quite watchable it leaves a lot to be desired. I have the region-fee 88 Films Blu-ray and the scans look identical, but the 88 Films release is better authored and features less compression.
The sole audio option is a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track without the benefit of subtitles, its serviceable with well-balanced dialogue, and the score from John McCallum (Miami Connection) sounds quite good, no issues with hiss or distortion. The 88 Films disc features an uncompressed stereo track that is more refined.
Extras include a bunch of archival non-related Troma extras, plus an new intro by Lloyd Kaufman, and archival interviews with Director Peter George (3 min) and Producer Robin Tinnell (2 min), plus 8-min of VHS tape sourced Deleted Scenes. The most substantial extras is an episode of The Projection Booth Podcast from 2013 featuring Peter George. It sort of serves as a commentary of sorts with plenty of info about George's career and anecdotes about the making of the flick. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork with a new illustration. Sadly, we do not get the original artwork for the film, its sort of iconic.
Special Features:
- Intro by Lloyd Kaufman (1 min)
- Exclusive Interview with Director Peter George (3 min)
- Hang 10 on Set! Interview With Producer Robin Tinnell (2 min)
- Deleted Scenes (8 min)
- The Projection Booth Podcast (Featuring special guest, Peter George!)
- Scenes From the Tromaville Café! (3 min)
- The “Soul of Troma” (2 min)
- Troma Promos: Radiation March (1 min) & Indie Artists vs. Cartels (10 min)
- Lloyd Kaufman's Autobiography (1 min)
- Troma Short: Latched (5 min)
- Troma's Edge TV (4 min)
- Troma Trailers: The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'EM High, Return to Nuke 'E, High Vol. 2, Poultrygeist, Mutant Blast, #shakespeareshitstorm
- Special Public Service Announcement from Troma #1 (4 min)
- Special Public Service Announcement from Troma #2 (2 min)
Screenshots from the Troma Blu-ray (2022):
