SURF NAZIS MUST DIE (1987)
Label: Troma Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 82 Minutes 16 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: HDR10 2160p 4K Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85;1)
Director: Peter George
Cast: Gail Neely, Barry Brenner, Michael Sonye, Dawn Wildsmith, Hile, Gene Mitchell, Tom Shell, Ted Prior, Brian Krutoff, Robert Harden
In the Troma classic Surf Nazis Must Doe (1987), directed by Peter George (Young Goodman Brown), it's the not-too-far distant future and an earthquake has left the Los Angeles coastline a devastated and 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", who rules over the beaches with his scummy minions Hook (Joel Hile, Deadly Friend), Brutus (Gene Mitchell, The Forbidden Dance), and Smeg (Tom Shell, Evil Laugh).
We get some The Warriors-styled rival surfer gangs who fight to seize control of the beaches, including the Samurai Surfers, the Designer Wave, and the Pipeliners, the latter of which includes Ted Prior (Deadliest Prey) a well-coiffed surfer named Blow who hangs around with other well-coiffed surfer dudes Dry, and Curl (Brian Krutoff, Hider in the House). Despite the competition and occasional turf incursion Adolph and the surf-nazis have a pretty tight grip on the prime surfing real estate. However, when Adolph kills a do-gooder "Beachy" 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 a couple of hand grenades she sets out on a path of Death Wish-styled vengeance against the fascist surf fucks, culminating in a carnage filled finale featuring a motorcycle chase and then a "trollin' for surfers" speedboat pursuit, that while stretching credulity is still plenty fucking entertaining. The film also has some choice quotes like Adolph's "I was an economics major, don't fuck with me!" and Mama's delicious one-liner "Taste some of Mama's home cooking' Adolf!" before she blows him away!
Brenner is pretty solid as the leather-caped fascist-baddie and a Hitler mustache. Even more appealing is Dawn Wildsmith (Alienator) as Adolph's nasty-bitch lover Eva, and the the demented Michael Sonye (aka Dukey Flyswatter from horror-band Haunted Garage, Sorority Babes in the Slimball Bowl-A-Rama) as his right-hand Nazi Mengele. The scene stealer here 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 streak is pretty humorous stuff, not to be taken too seriously. As a huge fan of Mausoleum (1983) I was also excited to see Bobby Breese show up as Smeg's concerned mother, who does not approve of his Nazi pals.
Arguably Surf Nazi's Must Die! most fatal flaw is that it cannot live up to the super-cool exploitative title, its such a cool freakin' title. It has some terrific exploitative moments but the trashy low-rent flick struggles to live up to the original illustrated artwork, which when I was a teenager caught my attention on with a quickness. I remember seeing it on VHS as a kid and being pretty disappointed after having watched it, but I must say that having re-watched this probably three time in the past ten years, and now in gorgeous 4K UHD, I do sort of love it. I appreciate how it low-rent plucks inspiration 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, and the end result is a pretty entertaining slice of lo-fi trash that is certainly flawed, but not without its rough-hewn exploitation charms.
Audio/Video: Surf Nazi's Must Die (1987) arrives on region-free 4K UHD from Troma in 2160p HD widescreen (1.85.1) with HDR10 color-grade. The source looks terrific, there are some white specks other minor blemishes, like the occasional vertical scratches, but I found them very minor. This is quite an upgrade over the 2022 Blu-ray, clarity and depth are much improved, grain much better resolved, and colors are better saturated and more accurate looking, the colors really shine, losing the washed-out yellow pallor of past releases, reds actually appear red instead of orange for a change, and we get crisper looking white's, and much deeper blacks. Skin tones look natural, and the sky is actually blue, Notably, the accompanying Blu-ray is not merely a port of the previous 2022 Blu-ray, it also features the same new restoration with all it's improvements in 1080p without the benefit of the HDR color-grade, but still looking terrific, as you can see by the screenshots comparison at the bottom oft his review.
The sole audio option is a uncompressed DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, offering well-balanced dialogue and highlighting the surprisingly excellent synth score from John McCallum (Miami Connection) without any hiss or distortion. I found the roar of the Nazi-van is quite beefy, as were the sounds of crashing waves.
Troma carry-over all the archival extras from past release plus offer a new 9-min 'Who Controls The Beaches?!?” An Interview With Peter George moderated by Lloyd Kaufman and also featuring George's daughter Melissa. She reels a fun tale about her co-worker discovering that her father directed Surf Nazi's Must Die, and highlighting how pioneering the the film was with a black heroine, noting that having a black woman kill Nazi's was pretty transgressive for its era. Other topics discussed include keeping the title secret during the shoot so no one would steal it, and best and worst moments while shooting, key participants, how it was received.
Archival extras include a 2-min Original Blu-Ray Intro by Lloyd Kaufman, the 53-sec Original DVD Intro by Lloyd Kaufman, 3-min Original Theatrical Trailer, 1-min Introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, 3-min Archival interview with Director Peter George and a 2-min Interview with Producer Robin Tinnell, plus 8-min of silent VHS tape sourced Deleted Scenes. The most substantial of the archival extras in my opinion is the 71-min episode of The Projection Booth Podcast from 2013 featuring director Peter George, which sort of serves as an audio commentary of sorts with plenty of info about George's career and anecdotes about the making of the flick.
Of course we get a ton of Tromatic Extras, too that have nothing to do with the film, including the 10-min Independent Artists VS. Corrupt Cartels, 53-sec Radiation March, 2-min Soul Of Troma, 2-min “INNARDS” Music Video, 1-min The Toxic Avenger In Ukraine, the 2-min Troma Sleepover, and a selection of Troma Trailers.
The 2-disc UHD/BD release arrives in a black keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original artwork for the film by Zimic. The previous Troma Blu-ray omitted the original artwork in favor of what appeared to be a new illustration, which I did not hate, and sort of wished they had included as a reversible art option n this release, but it's god and proper to have the original artwork re-instated here. The first pressing also includes a Slipcover O-Card with it's own unique artwork by John McCallum.
Special Features:
Disc 1 - 4K UHD:70:
- Surf Nazis Must Die Theatrical Trailer (2:57)
- Projection Booth Podcast Audio Interview Featuring special guest, Peter George! (71:28)
- 'Who Controls The Beaches?!?” An Interview With Peter George (8:56)
Disc 2 - Blu-ray:
- Original Blu-Ray Intro (1:46)
- Original DVD Intro (0:53)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:57)
- Projection Booth Podcast Audio Interview Featuring special guest, Peter George! (71:28)
- 'Who Controls The Beaches?!?” An Interview With Peter George (8:56)
- Scenes From The Tromaville Cafe (3:29)
- Waves Are A War Zone: Interview with Director Peter George (3:36) & Interview with Producer Robert Tinnell (1:53)
- Deleted Scenes (7:09) silent footage from the list directors cut with commentary by director Peter George
- Independent Artists VS. Corrupt Cartels (9:36)
- Radiation March (0:53)
- Soul Of Troma (2:00)
- “INNARDS” Music Video (1:50)
- The Toxic Avenger In Ukraine (1:01)
- Troma Sleepover (2:06)
- Troma Trailers: The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'Em High, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., #Shakespeare's Shitstorm, Rise of the Super Tromettes, Eating Miss Campbell, Curse of the Weredeer, Kill Dolly Kill
Blu-ray Screenshots Comparison:
Top: Troma Blu-ray (2022)
Bottom: Troma Blu-ray (2026)
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