SGT. KABUKIMAN N.Y.P.D. (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

SGT. KABUKIMAN N.Y.P.D. (1990) 

Label: Troma Entertainment
Duration: 105 Minutes
Region Code: Region-Free
Audio: English  Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.77:1)
Directors: Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz
Cast: Rick Gianasi, Susan Byun, Bill Weeden, Thomas Crnkovich, Noble Lee Lester, Brick Bronsky, Larry Robinson, Pamela Alster, Shaler McClure, Fumio Furuya

When it comes to Troma movies I am down for the classic Nuke 'Em High and the Toxic Avenger movies for the most part. I am also a fan of a few of the movies they've picked-up but have not necessarily produced themselves, I am thinking of Buddy Giovinazzo's Combat Shock, Astron 6's Father's Day and Drew Rosas' slasher Blood Junkie in particular. A few others like Mother's Day get a pass but if I am honest with you I don't care all that much for the Troma aesthetic, which is why I never sought out Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.. 

The corny action-comedy concerns the largely inept Sergeant Detective Harry Griswold (Rick Gianasi) of the N.Y.P.D. whom while attending a Kabuki play at the the theatre is accidentally is imbued with the ancient Kabukiman powers from a dying old man who kisses him with his last breath. This happens much to the chagrin of the old man's granddaughter Lotus (Susan Byun), who had hoped she would inherit the power of the Kabukiman. The movie pretty much plays out with the befuddled Detective Griswold not understanding what's happening to him while he begins turning Japanese, craving sushi and wearing a kimono. 

With the help of Lotus the reticent Groswold comes to embrace his new found superpowers and begins to hone his skills as Kabukiman before facing off against the diabolical businessman Reginald Stuart (Bill Weeden) and a crooked man of the cloth named Reverend Snipes. The former looks like a comic mash-up of former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and director Joe Dante. Reginald holds the key to an ancient curse which threatens to unleash The Evil One upon the world, eventually the evil ancient force does arrive on the scene and Kabukiman must save the world. 

A few scenes here and there made me laugh, which is about par for Troma, but at the end of the day this is just a cornball action-comedy from Troma that did almost nothing for me. We have a few decent training montages and some silly action sequences with Kabukiman beginning to use his super powers, which consisted of throwing deadly chops sticks, turning people into human sushi rolls, tying criminals up with Asian-noodles, and using his Japanese hand fan to cause a powerful whirlwind, which was all a bit too corny for my tastes. I don't even know how to begin explaining how he turned someone into a pile of hot dogs!

Audio/Video: Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer framed in 1.77 widescreen, the image offers some decent detail in the close-ups but it does look like there's been some digital tinkering applied to it to remove excess grain, it's not the worst I've seen from Troma by any means, in comparison to Rabid Grannies this one looks okay. The colors are mostly vibrant with the reds and greens popping, the black levels are adequate and there's some decent  contrast. Troma again go with a lossy Dolby Digital audio option, the stereo track is nicely balanced, clean and free of distortion, no subtitles are provided. 

Onto the bonus features we an audio commentary from co-director Lloyd Kaufman who offers a detailed info track that touches on the origins of the movie and how they achieved certain shots with plenty of the self-effacing humor we've come to expect. There's also an interview with Sgt. Kabukiman actor Rick Gianiasi, a full episode of Kabukiman's Cocktail Corner featuring Brian Quinn of the TV show Impractical Jokers, a karaoke of the theme song for the movie and other Troma-centric extras. 

Special Features:
- New Intro by Lloyd Kaufman (6 Mins) HD 
- Interview with Sgt. Kabukiman Himself, Rick Gianiasi (7 Mins) HD 
- Kabukiman's Karaoka (3 Mins) HD 
- A Full episode of Kabukiman's Cocktail Corner featuring Brian Quinn (Impractical Jokers) (12 Mins) HD 
- Stupid Moments in Troma History (3 Mins) 
- Audio Commentary by Lloyd Kaufman
- Trailer (4 Mins) 
- Tromadance 2015 Highlight (5 Mins) HD 

I know this is a beloved Troma movie with a large fan base but I do not count myself among them. I found the comedy dull and the movie to be overlong, but I am not a Troma fan either so there's that working against it. The disc from Troma looks decent and there are some good extras, but for me this is only notable as the original source of the infamously recycled scene of the car flipping over and exploding which seems to have been reused any many time since. 2/5

EXTREME JUKEBOX (2013)

EXTREME JUKEBOX (2013)

Label: Troma
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 80 Minutes
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen 
Director: Alberto Bogo, Andrea Lionetti
Cast: Alessio Cherubini, Elisabetta Loi, Pino Scotto, Maurizio Lastrico

Synopsis: “Welcome to Nova Springs, a rock and roll metropolis chock-full of rising stars. You’ll meet Jessie, a charismatic rocker, and his groupie girlfriend, Chloe. After unearthing a mysterious LP in the abandoned estate of legendary 80s superstar David Crystal, these young lovers unleash a bloodthirsty spirit…the infamous “Killer of the Woods.” As the bodies pile up, it’s up to Jessie, Chloe, and rock’n’roll priest Father Zappa (Italian heavy-metal pioneer Pino Scotto) to set things right. It’s LORDS OF SALEM by way of ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL, with a side of spaghetti!”

This had a very good premise, an Italian horror film about a dead rocker, a cursed record and a masked-killer on the loose murdering people... it sounded like a good time and even started off with a fun intro scene that of a woman at the gym showering alone, afterward she begins to walk home alone and is pursued by a weird masked-killer who chases her around a running track, definitely played for comedy as her jumps over the ridiculously low hurdles set along the track, so you know right away this is meant to be a comedy, he then proceeds to stuff a mic in her mouth while he cracks a joke about karaoke. 

From here it descends into tedium pretty quickly as we focus on a upcoming rock star named Jessie Cake who is obsessed with a cursed record from singer David Crystal, an electro-pop star from the eighties who disappeared over twenty years ago, which sort of has the flavor of eighties rock n' roll classic Trick Or Treat, but he execution of the story is amateur hour, which is not always a drag, but the pace of this movie sent me to snoreland more than one, it was a chore to sit through. 

The highlight for me other than the fun opening scene is a dream sequence where the dead rocker David Crystal explains the power of the cursed record and how it contains pure evil, it has a fun Alice in Wonderland psychedelic vibe about it, and a few interstitial scenes of scenesters shopping for records were fun, but overall he film is so poorly executed and disjointed, even more so than the standard Troma fare.  

Special Features: 
- Intro from Lloyd Kaufman (2 Mins) HD 
- Behind The Scenes Documentary (54 Mins) HD 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1 Mins) HD 
- Rainbow Projects (3 Mins) HD 
- Photo Gallery (44 Images) (2 Mins) 
- Tromatic Extras 

Extreme Jukebox is a complete waste of a perfectly good rock n roll horror idea, on paper this is sounds right up there with Back Roses and Trick Or Treat, in execution its just dull and boring, which is too bad, aside from the promising kernel of an idea the hard rock soundtrack is pretty decent. 1.5/5

TROMA'S WAR (1988)

TROMA'S WAR (1988) 

Label: Troma
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen
Director: Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz
Cast: Carolyn Beauchamp, Sean Bowen, Rick Washburn

Synopsis: Before there was "American Sniper" and "Lost" there was TROMA'S WAR! A tropical vacation turns deadly when a passenger plane full of American tourists crash-lands on a remote Caribbean island! Those who manage to survive the flaming wreckage band together in search of safety, only to discover their island is home to a vicious terrorist organization. Bullets fly and flames light up the jungle as the survivors are hunted, captured, and pushed to the limits of human endurance…until they decide it’s time to declare WAR! Gloriously restored in explosive HD, TROMA’S WAR is Troma at its loudest, biggest, and most action-packed! 

A commercial jet airliner originating out of Tromaville crashes on an uncharted island somewhere  in the Indian Ocean, most of the passengers perish in the fiery crash but a small group of survivors crawl from the wreckage and regroup, soon discovering they've crashed on some covert terrorist training camp where all the anti-American groups of the world seem to have converged. You have the usual assortment of Islamic bombers, some neo-Nazis and even a pig-faced American among them. The group of survivors is lead by a 'Nam vet turned car salesman, sporting a loud Hawaiian shirt, the guy is pure nuts, but just maybe nuts enough to lead the band of survivors against a horde of American-hating terrorist. 

Troma's War is an insanely violent and fun movie, loaded with corny comedy and sorely stereotyped characters with plenty of nude women, which is sort of what Troma all about. On top of that there are lots of crude 80s practical special effects providing no shortage of gore and plenty of bloody squibs, exploding boobies and genital harm, this is ferocious good fun, just be prepared for the usual Troma cheapness, there's no escaping it, though this apparently cost three-million to make, which is A LOT for a Troma movie.

The cast is fun but the acting is predictably awful, though some of the dialogue is priceless stuff, the delivery might be a bit off but the writing is super silly and fun, this is a slice of trash cinema gold right here. Of course Troma never fears to go the completely tasteless route and this time offer a the character "Señor Sida" (Mr. AIDS), a terrorist with unsightly lesions over his face and body who leads a brigade of AIDS-infected soldiers in hopes of spreading the terrible disease throughout the US, at one point raping a young woman and infecting her, played for comedic effect, of course. I would hesitate to call this - or any other Troma movie - a classic of 80s film, but its certainly a fun, trashy actioner from Troma that's worth a watch if you love 80s cheese and that trashy Troma aesthetic. 

Audio/Video: The film arrives on Blu-ray from Troma for the first-time in widescreen, the image looks pretty decent out of the gate with some minor print damage and a few scratches, nothing too egregious and sporting a layer of natural looking film grain. Then when the action sequences kick in you really notice some compression artifacts, the macr0-blocking begins to overwhelm the action sequences, it is rather unsightly and yet another issue with a Troma Blu-ray, which is unfortunate, I wish they would just have someone like Vinegar Syndrome handle the transfers for all their vintage titles, VS have been doing a great job with titles they've licensed from Troma, such as Graduation Day and Sugar Cookies, both of which received phenomenal HD transfers without any unsightly glitches. Audio comes by way of an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track that sounds well balanced and clean, no issues other than Troma still refusing to go the lossless audio route in the year 2015. 

Onto the extras we have quite a bit of cool stuff, beginning with an audio commentary with writer/director Lloyd Kaufman who goes into quite a bit of detail about the production of the movie and the various New York locations and the ensuing battle with the MPAA and the cuts they were required to make to get the R-rating. 

There are various cast and crew interviews, beginning with 'Post War Reflections' with Kaufman briefly interviewing stars Sean Bowen, Joe Fleishaker and Jessica Dublin, and then into 'Veteran’s Day: A Post-Tromatic Reunion' with director Pericles Lewness and Joe Fleishaker reminiscing about their time making the film. There's also an interview with Weapons Coordinator/Actor Rick Washburn who played the 'Nam Vet car salesman Parker in the movie. New and exckusive to this Blu-ray edition is a new intro from Lloyd Kaufman featuring the Toxic Avenger, plus a 20-minute conversation with Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz whom reflect on the making of the movie, the low-budget challenges and dealing with the MPAA. 

Special Features:
- New Intro with writer/director Lloyd Kaufman (3 Mins) HD 
- Director’s Commentary with Lloyd Kaufman
- War Memories with Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz (20 Mins) HD 
- London’s War (1 Mins) 
- Post War Reflections with Sean Bowen, Joe Fleishaker and Jessica Dublin (5 Mins) 
- Interview with Weapons Coordinator/Actor Rick Washburn (3 Mins) 
- Veteran’s Day: A Post-Tromatic Reunion with Pericles Lewness, Joe Fleishaker (10 Mins) 
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3 Mins) 
- Troma Trailers: Retunr to Nuke 'Em Hight Vol. 1 (3 Mins) , Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol. 2 (2 Mins), The Toxic Avenger (3 Mins) 

Troma's War is a lot of corny Reagan-era action fun, it was a time of extreme American jingoism and Kaufman and crew put together quite a fun and bloody companion piece of sorts to the action movies that were coming out at the time, just way cheaper, cornier and with loads of boobies. The Blu-ray is a nice upgrade from the previous DVD versions but the compression issues that plague the transfer are gonna problematic for a lot of folks, you have been warned. 2.5/5

RABID GRANNIES (1988)

RABID GRANNIES (1988)

Label: Troma Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 68 Minutes 

Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 

Video: 1080i Widescreen 

Director: Emmanuel Kervyn

Cast: Danielle Daven, Anne Marie Fox, Jack Mayar, Elliot Lison, Francoise Moens

A pair of elderly old grannies invite their gold-digging family and friends to their mansion to celebrate the occasion of the aging duo's ninetieth birthday. During the party it becomes quite evident that the family members are just a bunch of gold-diggers who are only there to hopefully secure their inheritance once the grannies shuffle off this mortal coil. However, what they don't realize is that these feisty grannies will be out living most of them before the night is through. As birthday cake is being served the grannies open a gift sent via a creepy courier from their estranged nephew, the black sheep of the family who is known to dabble in the occult and for this reason was not invited. The gift is an ornate wood-carved box that appears to be empty, but is actually filled with demonic spirit which quickly possesses the grannies and transforms them into long-clawed, toothy demons with a hunger for human flesh.

The story does not rise above the simple and novel premise of demonic grannies savaging numerous party guests but I must say that the numerous scenes of gruesome gore are especially fantastic and quite a bit of fun, delivering vintage '80s practical effects and vomitous gore-gags in quick succession. While it's strong on gore the film is troubled when it comes to the areas of character development and storytelling, not that many of the characters are around long enough to merit any sort of arc.  

Rabid Grannies is not some classic or even underrated slice of '80s horror cinema but it is a fun and brainless splatter film sort of along the lines of a dumbed down version of Lamberto Bava's Demons or Peter Jackson's Brain Dead, and that's not such bad company to keep in my opinion. 

Audio/Video: The Troma Blu-ray of Rabid Grannies is quite a mess beginning with a 1080i transfer framed in a doctored scope aspect ratio that cuts information from both the top and bottom of the image. Not sure what the source material was but it would appear to have been a VHS with from the looks of it. Murky scenes that alternate between a yellow patina and a blue infusion with rampant softness and no fine detail whatsoever. Truly a disaster of a botched transfer from Troma. The English-dubbed Dolby Digital Stereo audio option is muddied and muffled with some of the poorly dubbed dialogue being quite a chore to decipher.

Onto the extras on the Blu-ray disc we begin with the main feature, which is advertised on the box as an 89 minute run time but the actual duration is an abbreviated sixty-eight minute cut of the film, one that favors the gore scenes but removes twenty plus minutes storytelling, such as it is. Given the nature of this gore-film its arguable that you are not missing much but fans of the film deserve the longest most complete version available to date and that is not what we have here. 

On the Blu-ray there is an option to watch the "Producer's Cut" of the film, which seems to be an early April Fools joke from the Troma team. It's the exact same version of the film only with the addition two minutes of black screen before the movie starts. Extras on the Blu-ray include 8 minutes of deleted scenes, an brief interview with the producer Johan Vandewoestijne, and a typically silly interview with one of the Rabid Grannies.

Onto the DVD we begin with a longer eighty-nine minute version of the film presented in the full screen aspect ratio that contains more story but less of the gore, you just cannot win with this release. The colors are more natural looking and are not marred by the sepia tone and blue tinting of the Blu-ray, which is both sadly confounding and a minor bonus. While it may be full screen at least it's not the bastardized scope aspect ratio of the Blu-ray which is poorly cropped and ugly all the way around

Extras on the DVD include a wealth of junky Tromatic extras that have nothing to do with the film, plus an audio commentary from director Emmanuel Kervyn, which is absent from the Blu-ray. Additionally, there are outtakes, more gory footage, and the interview with the producer.

On it's own merits Rabid Grannies is a trashy gore-film with plenty of splatter and a story that is at least decent enough to set-up a series of grisly scenes as the demonic grannies tear into the flesh of gathered friends and family. Tonally this one is along the lines of Peter Jackson's Brain Dead without the wit, but still a satisfyingly gruesome viewing for the gore-hounds.  However, the sub-par Blu-ray is a true Tromatic turd from top to bottom, and not one I cannot recommend in good faith, this film deserves better than this, you deserve better than this.  

GRADUATION DAY (1981)

GRADUATION DAY (1981) 

Label: Vinegar Syndrome

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 96 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono 

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Herb Freed

Cast: Christopher George, Ruth Ann Llorens, Michael Pataki, Vanna White, Patch McKenzie, Linnea Quigley 

Ann Ramstead (Patch McKenzie) is a young woman in the armed forced who returns to the small California town where she was raised to bury her younger sister Laura (Ruth Ann Llorens), who promptly dropped dead after winning a high school track meet. George Michaels (Christopher George) is the over-driven track and field coach an he draws some criticism for pushing Laura, and the other student athletes, a bit too hard to win. With senior graduation fast approaching the student and staff try to carry on but when someone donning a fencing sword and mask arrives on the scene and starts bumping off the track team the week leading up to graduation is marked with the bodies of dead teens.  

The film doesn't stray far from the tried and true slasher formula of the era, we have a group of teens and a demented masked killer murdering them for reasons unknown, with no shortage of suspects to choose from. Could it be the hard-driving coach, Principal Guglioni (Michael Pataki), the creepy truancy officer or maybe even the older sibling of the fallen track star... or maybe someone far more obvious!

The high school setting is pretty great and feels plenty authentic with rowdy track meets, a rollicking roller skate party, plus horny teens and a rocking soundtrack with plenty of hard driving eighties cheesiness from the band Felony, you just gotta love that twin-neck guitar! 

Sure, the story is a bit hackneyed but we do have a great cast, which includes the venerable Christopher George (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD) as the track coach and he chews up the scenery quite nicely. Patch McKenzie as the older sibling is quite capable too but disappears for a large stretch before returning for the final moments for a damn decent final stretch. Her scenes at home with her grieving mom and asshole stepfather are fun to watch, the dad is a complete and total jackass - the whole thing reminded me of the Strode family dynamic from HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS. 

Being a slasher film the kills are pretty important, and they are fun but the execution is not the greatest, though I do give the crew high marks for creativity, a few of the deaths involve a fencing sword and my favorite would be the football tipped with the fencing sword and thrown for a touch down in the death zone, that was awesome, but just know going in that the deaths are a bit tame. 

B-movie queen Linnea Quigley (THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) shows up in a small role as a teen who lusts for a goofy lounge-lizard music teacher, her inclusion provides some fun nudity during a pretty great stalk and slash scenario. She's not the only one, there's also some fun nudity in the locker room. The film definitely musters up a a few tense moments and some decent atmosphere which make this cheesy slasher quite a bit of fun. 

The identity of the killer is not the best kept secret despite the plethora of red herrings thrown upon us, it's pretty much given away during the opening scene, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. Generic though it may be it won me over with the creative kills and general eighties goofiness. One thing that went a long way towards saving it for me was the unique style of editor Martin Sadoff who punched up a few of the sequences with some disorienting editing tricks. 

  

BLU-RAY

GRADUATION DAY (1981) has been afforded a new 4K restoration from 35mm elements from the cult-cinema archivist at Vinegar Syndrome and the end result is quite satisfying. Presented in the correct aspect ratio - for the first time - we can now enjoy this 80s slasher the way it was meant to be seen. The grain structure is nicely managed with accurate skin tones and vibrant color reproduction with a pleasing amount of depth clarity. There's some white speckling throughout but overall the 35mm answer print used for the restoration is in fantastic shape. 

The DTS-HD MA Mono does a decent job exporting the dialogue, score and effects of the film with some minimal hiss and pop, you will no doubt be rocking out to the sweet eighties sounds of rockers Felony all night long. No subtitles are provided.

Onto the extras we have the option of two commentaries, one with Producer David Baughn and a second with The Hysteria Continues Podcast crew who know a thing or two about slasher films. At this point I have only listened to the Hysteria Continues track and can conform that is both fun and informative and I highly recommend fans of slashers subscribe to their podcast. 

There are also thirty-minutes of interviews with director Herb Freed, actress Patch McKenzie, producer David Baughn and editor Martin Sardoff, plus the original theatrical trailer. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- BD/DVD Combo Pack
- 4K Restoration from the Editor’s 35mm Answer Print 

- Video interview with Director Herb Freed (12 Minutes) HD
- Video interview with Star Patch Mackenzie (9 Minutes) HD
- Video interview with Producer David Baughn (12 Minutes) HD
- Video interview with Editor Martin Sadoff (7 Minutes) HD
- Commentary track with Producer David Baughn moderated by Elijah Drenner (12 Minutes) HD
- Commentary track with The Hysteria Continues
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Minutes) 

VERDICT:

While there are quite a few better crafted slashers with gorier kills but this one is just so eighties and goofy I cannot help but love it, plus we have Christopher George classing it up. A fun high school slasher and recommend for fans of slasher whodunits. Vinegar Syndrome have done a great job cleaning this up and presenting it with some entertaining extras with superior audio and video - this is the definitive edition of this one. Great to see Vinegar Syndrome branching out from the vintage porn and restoring a few cult horror films. The Christmas cult-classic CHRISTMAS EVIL is available now and the b-movie masterpiece DON'T GO N THE WOOD in 2015. 

Blu-ray: CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH (1986)

CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH (1986) 

Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD

Label: Arrow Video
Region: ABC (Region-FREE)
Rating: 18
Duration: 85 mins
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 with Optional English SDH subtitles
Cast: Janelle Brady, Gil Brenton and Robert Prichard
Director: Richard W. Haines, Lloyd Kaufman
Tagline: It Rotted Their Bodies. It Corrupted Their Minds. And That's The Good News.

Synopsis: At Tromaville High School the kids are revolting. Literally. The irradiated marijuana they’ve been buying from The Cretins, a tough gang of ex-star pupils turned atomic punks, is turning them into freaks. Girls are giving birth to demon babies, the nerds are developing super strength and there’s a monster in the school basement that eats honor roll students for breakfast.

The Film: Troma is not a studio I followed in the 80's with any amount of relish honestly  I always thought their output looked cheap and schlocky and in the 80's  that's just not where I was at, I was looking for slashers though I did have a fondness for Full Moon Entertainment straight-to-video so I guess I did crave a certain amount of camp. I must admit I have never even seen Troma's flagship film The Toxic Avenger (1984)  to this day haven't seen Class of Nuke 'En High  since it's original VHS release in the 80's and from that viewing all I could remember was there's something about a giant nuclear-waste induced hallucination about a giant-boner, so let's see how it holds up....

I love it! Tromaville High-school is located in the shadow of the Tromaville Nuclear Power Pant when an accident at the plant sends toxic nuclear sludge into the water school's supply. A nerdy doofus named Dewey drinks some of the waste straight from a water fountain and attacks one of his classmates while spurting green foamy liquid from his ears before leaping out a window PCP style to his oozing death. The Nuclear power plant of course denies any waste has contaminated the ground water blaming the unfortunate death on the fact that the youth came from a home with two microwaves, gotta love the 80's microwave dangers which was right up there with the Satanic Panic scare of the era. 

The school is full of awesome 80's punk rockers including The Cretins, former debate team all-star turned mutant punkers, who sell classmates irradiated weed grown at the power plant which ends up being smoked by preppie high school couple, the virginal Chrissy (Janelle Brady) and the jocular Warren (Gil Brenton), the toxic-laced THC send Chrissy into a lusty fit and the two finally get it on. That night Warren hallucinates a tree sized erection while poor Chrissy finds herself impregnated with a mutant creature which she vomits into the toilet in the restroom, the toothy offspring ends up in the school basement into a drum of toxic waste where it grows into nightmare sized mutant miscarriage that terrorizes the school. 

Class of Nuke 'Em High us just a ton of 80's schlock awesomeness, we get neon punks, mutated cretins, gooey and dated practical effects,horny teens, some nudity, bizarre drug culture and adolescent comedy - it's everything and more you would expect of a Troma film and then some.   

Blu-ray: The first thing I noticed was how great the film looks in 1080p widescreen, there's some print damage but the neon-colors are vibrant, the nuclear waste slime really jumps out at you. The black levels are decent, maybe not inky black but very solid, aside from some occasional dirt this is a very strong transfer. Sadly the only audio option is LPCM 2.0, and while that's a disappointment it's satisfactory in a less that awesome sorta way.

Special features are pretty nifty, not having really viewed previous DVD editions I think mostly vintage stuff beginning with a audio commentary from co-director Lloyd Kaufman who is always entertaining, a born showman and his commentary is candid and witty as you would expect, fun stuff. The Interview with stars Robert and Jennifer Prichard (4:41) features the pair speaking of how they met on-set, Richard portrayed the leader of The Cretins, Spike  in the film. There's a funny retelling of a asthmatic stalker with a limp who perused Theo for a time and  a masturbatory sauna scene. We also get a vintage Troma Studios tour with Lloyd Kaufman (9:19) featuring Kabuki Man and a naked chic in a shower - a classic Tromatic extra. The other significant extra is Seven Deleted Scenes (7:03) that don't really add up to anything astonishing but are appreciated 

Special Features:

- High Definition Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD transfer of the unrated Director’s Cut of the film 

- Audio commentary with Troma Studios founder and Class of Nuke ‘em High co-director Lloyd Kaufman 

- Interview with stars Robert and Jennifer Prichard (4:41) 4x3

- Theo Pingarelli on the Making of the Nuclear Power Plant Effect (0:40) 4x3

- Troma Studios tour with Lloyd Kaufman (9:19) 4x3

- Public Service Announcement by Lemmy from Motörhead featuring Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park 

- Deleted Scenes (7:03) 4x3

- Aroma du Troma (2:05) 4x3

- Troma Studios Trailer Reel (14:09) 4x3

Verdict: Great to see Troma's Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986) get a region-FREE dual-format DVD/Blu-ray from Arrow Video in the UK. We get gore, mutants, nudity and 80's drug culture awesomeness, a trash cinema classic. On top of that it's a damn fine audio/video presentation with some cool extras, highly recommended. (3 outta 5) 

DVD Review: PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE (2011)

PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE! (2011)

2-Disc DVD Box-Set

LABEL: Troma Entertainment
REGION CODE: All NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 300 mins
VIDEO: 1.33:1 Fullframe
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0
DIRECTOR: Lloyd Kaufman
CAST: David Cronenberg, Roger Corman, Avi Lerner, Monte Hellman, Joe Dante, Ernest Dickerson, Steven Paul, Mick Garris, The Duplass Brothers, Caroline Baron, Herschell Gordon Lewis, James Gunn, Darren Lynn Bousman

SYNOPSIS: When it comes to producing, no one speaks with more authority than Lloyd Kaufman creator of The Toxic Avenger and founder of the longest –running independent film studio, Troma Entertainment. Over the years he has discovered talents such as Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park, The Book of Mormon,) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) to name a few. Candid interviews, tips, tricks and tidbits scattered throughout the DVD give filmmakers practical tools for getting a movie shoot off the ground, keeping it afloat and seeing it through to the end – Lloyd Kaufman shows you how it’s really done. (from the DVD box)

Say what you will about Lloyd Kaufman and the quality of the films released by Troma Entertainment throughout the years, I know that there's a ton of what some might generously call stinkers among them, but they've been doing it for over 35 years. The simple fact is they've made a successful business of producing and distributing no-budget trash cinema and cult b-movie mayhem, that's no small feat. While it may not be for all tastes but I'll tell yeah that more than just a few folks out there are tried and true Tromaholics, they are legion. Troma is the longest-running indie film studio still in business today. Proverbial stinkers aside there are in fact many gems amidst the dreck; THE TOXIC AVENGER, CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH, POULTREYGIEST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD, THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE and a handful of classic genre cinema titles they've only distributed under The Tromapiece Collection banner; COMBAT SHOCK, MAD DOG MORGAN, THE LAST HORROR FILM and a more recent entry, the very cool retro-80's slasher that I just can't say enough great things about, BLOOD JUNKIE.

What we have here is a companion piece to Lloyd Kaufman's best-selling book Produce Your Own Damn Movie! which is a sequel of the "how-to" book Make Your Own Damn Movie! and Direct Your Own Damn Movie!, each of those were followed with a DVD companion, too, but this is my first viewing of the series. This time out Lloyd sets out to answer the question of what exactly is a movie producer, how to raise money for a production, capitalizing resources, casting, securing locations and pre-selling your move among others.

PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE is parsed into two separate discs. Disc one is a series of behind-the-scene vignettes filmed on a hand held DV camcorder by Lloyd himself in true cine verite style as he appears in various cameo roles and speaks to the directors, filmmakers and producers on the set of backyard horror films, indie fright flicks and multi-million dollar productions.

Not in any order and possibly missing a few folks along the way we meet n' greet director Greg Lamberson (SLIME CITY) on the set of SLIME CITY MASSACRE while he shows us how to make our own damn inexpensive green screen. Lloyd visits The Godfather of Gore - Herschell Gordon Lewis (BLOOD FEAST) -  on the set of his film THE UH-OH SHOW in which our fearless moderator Lloyd cameos as a dapper pimp. Watching Herschell and his staff contemplate another term for dildo is priceless. Then onto visit to the set of SLITHER director and Troma alum Jame's Gunn's vigilante justice feature SUPER. Next up is Darren Lynn Bousman (SAW II) who's filming a remake of Troma's MOTHER'S DAY featuring cameos from both Lloyd and brother Charles, who directed the original film.

There are also behind-the-scenes set visits and cameos on Richard Griffin's NUN OF THAT, a low budget nunploitation flick from the director of Lovecraftian film BEYOND THE DUNWICH HORROR. in the film Lloyd cameo's as none other than his holiness the Pope whom delivers a Papal Pardon. Lloyd's cameos are classic Kaufman, fun, silly and terribly acted not unlike a lot of the Troma films really. Others sets visited include KILLED ON THE 4th OF JULY directed by a 16 year old named J.D. Lifshitz who was inspired by Lloyd's Direct Your Own Damn Movie!, Ted Moehring's indie Giallo BLOODBATH IN THE HOUSE OF KNIVES, a period horror film called UNDER THESE HILLS by young filmmaker Sam Bahre, Mike Huecks MIDNIGHT ORCHIDS in Berlin, Germany, behind-the-scenes on Jeff Burr's (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III) SURVIVAL (working title), on the set of BAD GIRLS BURN IN HELL with actress Devanny Pinn, a film in which Lloyd's head is blown up. The SF/X guy on the film didn't realize that Lloyd had a beard before hand so he has to improvise using some fur from a teddy bear, that's the wonderful improvisational nature and necessity of indie filmmaking right there. It's an interesting filmset located in a town that had been condemned by the state government for lead poisoning, not sure I would wanna be on that set. Lloyd is willing to risk life and lung for our entertainment, that's dedication.  There's also a nice segment of director William Instone  on the set of JON who instills upon us the value of treating your crew right and exploiting strip clubs, that's good advice for young filmmakers and young men in general.

The second is stuffed with on-camera interviews with a variety of known and lesser known directors, producers and filmmakers. Of the two formats I prefer this one, I've always preferred interviews to behind-the-scenes special features and this entire film is one gigantic bonus features. Joe Dante (PIRANHA) speaks on GREMLINS and how the studio practically begged him to make the sequel, about the opportunities he was lucky enough to have had in the industry and the dismal future of filmmaking, it's not very uplifting in my opinion. Dante is someone so informed, so enthusiastic about filmmaking that I wish the entire disc had been filled with his recollections and insight, great stuff.

The Duplass Brothers, directors of BAGHEAD and THE PUFFY CHAIR, speak about making short films and the opportunities afforded to them after being accepted into the Sundance film festival. Producer Steven Paul (DOOMSDAY) gives a from the ground-up perspective on obtaining the rights to Marvel's GHOST RIDER on through finishing the film while Avi Lerner (THE BLACK DAHLIA) similarly recollects ramping up production on Stallone's RAMBO. The DP on Spike Lee's DO THE RIGHT THING, Ernest Dickerson, speaks about the nebulous nature of the producer's role, the do's the don'ts, the benefits of being a producer versus a director and the availability of funding from outsider sources; shipping magnates, realtors and such.

Monte Hellman director of TWO LANE BLACKTOP and some notable acid westrens speaks of producing Quentin Tarentino's RESERVOIR DOGS, what makes a good producer and pointing out that by his standards Lloyd's iron-fisted producer model would be unacceptable, feeling producers should be hands off, a facilitator not a creator. He also speaks about the importance of pre-selling films to foreign markets, all of this is spoken of while he toils away in his kitchen preparing a morning ritual of coffee, pancakes and eggs, it's all very Zen. CAPOTE producer Caroline Baron, who started her career as a production manager on Troma's TOXIC AVENGER, drives home the point that Troma's legacy truly is anyone can make a film. Her own career a prime example of someone who came into the industry with no experience and worked their way up through the ranks through trial and error. There's a nice nostalgic segment as she finds the original Toxic Avenger production diary in her office, it's a pretty fascinating look back, even Lloyd seemed mesmerized by it.

Creator and producer of Showtime's MASTERS OF HORROR Mick Garris reminisces about breaking into the business as a writer and catching the notice of Spielberg circa AMAZING STORIES, and working his way up to a point where he doesn't have to chew on turds anymore (obviously he doesn't watch his own films). There's a fun bit with yet another Troma alum Trent Haaga (CITIZEN TOXIE) that opens with a staged masturbatory intro that is very Tromatic. Haaga goes onto discuss a script he penned called POOR THINGS that got picked up by some novice producers. The script gained some notice and was cast with Shirley McClaine, Channing Tatum and Lindsay Lohan in the leads until it fell victim to the producer's avarice and Lohan's drug bust, completely derailing the project. He also speaks to the value of a good location contract following a bad experience with DEAD GIRL which he wrote and expounds on what he considers the good and bad of Troma's business model.

Of course what good would PRODUCE YOUR OWN DAMN MOVIE! be if it did not feature the American king of schlock films, Roger Corman. The Cormster looks back at producing independent cinema for so many years (and still going strong), the differences between then and now, producing CYCLOPS for the Syfy channel and what his current business model is, it's a bit dry as Corman sometimes is but still a good watch.

VERDICT: Coming to this is a non-filmmaker I still found it quite fascinating from the perspective of a special features enthusiast and film nut. If you're a young filmmaker I can't say this is THE answer to all your questions about producing a film but it does pose many useful tidbits worth pondering, and it's quite inspiring seeing these filmmakers toil under sometimes adverse conditions to put forth their vision on film for the masses. Lloyd is a great host of course, he's smart and funny, he hits on the young ladies and pokes fun at himself at every turn, fun stuff.

DVD REVIEW: There's Nothing Out There (1992) Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition

THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE (1992)

Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition

LABEL: Troma
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 91 Min.
REGION CODE:  All
DIRECTOR: Roffe Kanefsky
CAST: Craig Peck, Wendy Bednarz, Marl Collver, Bonnie Bowers
TAGLINE: A Horror Film of Comic Proportions

PLOT: We don’t need a Maury Povich paternity test to prove what we’re talking about! THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE is the original, self-referential, horror-comedy cult classic that planted the seed in Kevin Williamson’s egg-head for SCREAM! Rockin’ social stereotypes like they’re going out of style, seven teens take off to a lake house for spring break and drive into a horror film. With fellow teen Mike, the dorky horror movie buff to guide them, they know what is coming – they just can’t avoid it! One-by-one they are hunted down by a horny taco-shaped alien determined to mate with all the girls and annihilate all the boys! (from Troma.com)

Rolfe Kanefsky's THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE  opens in a VHS rental shop. We get some great shots of classic VHS cover art for GRIZZLY, RATS and EVIL DEAD as the young woman is attacked by an assailant. She ends up wrapped in a mess of 3/4" VHS tape only to awaken - it's only a nightmare. The problem is she awakens to find she's fallen asleep behind the wheel of her car and careens off the roadway into a wooded area just as a green glowing orb descends from the sky and lands in a puddle of water right next to her car. Is it the Loc-Nar from HEAVY METAL (1981)? No, it's an amphibious alien creature that looks like a vicious green-skinned Angler fish with two limp tentacles. It's definitely a Troma-riffic prop, that's for sure. The chic sees that something has landed aside her car and exclaims "Oh my God, a falling cloud!". Oh yeah. she's gonna die. Cue the opening credits and a score that recalled John Carpenter performing the Dr. Who theme.

We have a group teens on their way to a cabin in the woods by the lake for spring break. The cabin belongs to the parents of the preppy Nick who's brought along his girlfriend Stacy. They are joined by his nerdy companion David and his Russian exchange student girlfriend Janet, jocko-erectus Jim and his blonde girlfriend Doreen and our main guy, the ultimate horror-geek Mike (Craig Peck). En route they pass the scene of the accident from the prologue as police and paramedics search for the body of the young woman. Right away Mike recognizes that this is what is known as the warning stage in every horror film. Upon arriving at the cabin the group are settling in when a group of heavy metal stoners show up in a minivan and take to the lake for some skinny dipping. They pull up and immediately take of their clothes and splash around the water, gratuitous nudity right from the start. The film doesn't skimp on the nudity either and there are some nice 80's ladies here. Nick confronts the group who explain that they thought this was the lake by the camp, perhaps a reference to Friday the 13th, hmmmmm. Once again Mike sees this as foreshadowing as the stoners are prime candidates for death in a slasher film. The teens proceed to do pretty much everything you're not supposed to do in a horror film; skinny dipping and going for walks in the woods and they of course end up being picked-off one by one by the alien creature as Mike dispenses useful but largely ignored warnings. As people start to disappear and it becomes quite clear that there is something out there Mike arms himself with ...shaving cream , cuz after all not even an alien wants a mouthful of shaving cream, right? The character of Mike as played by Craig Peck made the film for me, I truly enjoyed his witty dialogue, comedic delivery and riffs on the horror genre, good stuff. The goofiness works against it at certain points but overall a fun watch.

The film is definitely of modest means. It's from a then first time director (nineteen at the time of filming) and it sufferes a bit for it but it. The creature design and effects are pretty shit throughout including a green hypno-beam that emminates from it's eye which render victim subject to it's control. Thankfully, the film is less about the creature than about the character of Mike, the ultimate horror nerd who comes to actually realize he's in a horror film. At one point a character uses a visible boom mic to swing to safety. Obviously more a comedic send-up of the horror genre than an actual horror film this was a lot of fun. It's cheesey, campy and very tongue-in-cheek. It's been said that this film may have been the inspiration for Kevin Williamson's SCREAM screenplay. I can definitely see it but what Williamson improved upon was to provide a better villian. Here Kanefsky crams in a ton of slasher cliches but tosses us an alien insteads of a masked killer and storywise and given the budget I think it could've been better.

DVD: Rolfe Kanefsky's THERE'S NOTHING OUT THERE (1990) gets a deluxe 2-disc edition from Troma, and it's quite a package. The film is presented in a 16x9 enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio with a Dolby Digital stereo mix. The image is soft and lacks fine detail but this is probably the best the film has ever looked. There's great array of bonus features including a fun short starring scream queen Tiffany Shepis called MOOD BOOBS wherein a woman inadvertently wishes for problematic magical breasts. A lot of the features have intros by director Rolfe Kanefsky. Obviously a man in love with the genre he recounts giving a copy of the film to the son of Wes Craven whom a few years later would hit it big with a similarly self aware slasher film you may have heard of called SCREAM.

SPECIAL FEATURES: DISC 1
- New Introduction by Lloyd Kaufman (5:13)
- New Introduction by Rolfe Kanefsky (1:13)
- Original Director's Commentary with director Rolde Kanefsky, editor Victor Kanesfy, actors Craig Peck and Mark Colver, and crew members.
- New 20th Anniversary Director's Commentary with Rolfe Kanefsky 


SPECIAL FEATURES: DISC 2
- There's Nothing Out There Music Video with Intro (5:15)
- Behind-the-scenes with writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky
- Rolfe Kanefsky's short film MOOD BOOBS starring Tiffany Shepis with Intro (19:36)
- Rolfe Kanefsku short film JUST LISTEN with Intro (14;36)
- Behind-the-Scenes of Mood Boobs (16:07)
- Screen Tests Original Cast Auditions with optional commentary (11:59)
- Pre-Production Footage and Storyboards with optional subtitles (7:11)
- Rehearsal Footage and Bloopers(10:38)
- Animation Test Footage and Deleted Scenes with optional commentary (3:26)
- Production Stills Gallery with optional commentary (4:17)


VERDICT: This is a fun little horror film. Director Kanefsky's love for the genre is abundantly clear, he gets it and this send-up of horror cliches and tropes is an endearing love letter to the genre. Did SCREAM rip-off this film? Well,  it's sense of irony and self-referential humor is very similar without a doubt. I don't think it out and out ripped it off but There's Nothing Out There is most assuredly a proto-ironic slasher and many films in it's wake shared similar qualities. I give the a definite recommend and good on Troma for giving it the deluxe treatment.
**1/2 (2.5 out of 5 stars)

www.troma.com