Troma

Let us now sing the praises (with a faint damning) of Troma. Many of the movies they make (or just distribute) are utter crap, but they have got energy and enthusiasm to burn. And some of their titles and tag-lines are hilarious. Something about "tobacco chewin', gut stompin', cannibal kin-folk from hell" comes to mind.
My first introduction to Troma was years ago... "The Toxic Avenger", of course. And eversince, I've been interested in what these guys are doing. I even have the movie posters for "Surf Nazis Must Die" and "Class of Nuke 'em High". Although neither one is displayed on a wall. Even I have to draw the line somewhere.

Troma flicks remind me a lot of Full Moon in that both studios had a hayday that neither have been able to recreate despite how much they try to.

For Troma, that period was the mid to late 80's when Toxic Avenger, Surf Nazis, Class of Nuke 'Em High, War, Rabid Grannies, and many other classics came out. Then sequels began to take a hold, followed by crappy foreign pick-ups and it was all down hill from there.

Sure, there was a few bright spots since (Cannibal the Musical, Tromeo and Juliet) but for the most part their films suck ass these days.

Same goes for Full Moon which had it's golden era between Puppet Master 2 and Doctor Mordrid...

[This message has been edited by Django (edited 12-20-2000).]

Troma vs. Full Moon

Full Moon actually has a deal with Blockbuster video and a lot of other places to distribute their films, so Full Moon's slate is a LOT fuller than Troma's. Troma makes about one or two movies a year and then distributes a few others (like Argento's "Stendahl Syndrome," I believe).

Full Moon, on the other hand, doesn't even bother going theatrical anymore ("Citizen Toxie" will be in some theaters) and just churns out movie after movie on $200,000 (or less) budgets. Yeah, they're starting to do urban flicks like "The Horrible Dr. Bones," "Ragdoll," and "Killjoy," but other than "The Dead Hate the Living," Full Moon really doesn't have the passion of Troma.

Troma's TV show over in England is apparently just nutso. I'd like to believe that Troma really stands for something that Full Moon doesn't anymore - that radical desire to stay on the edge. While yeah, there are only a few Troma Team releases I'll watch more than once, they get gold stars for trying every time they go out.

And hey, with Troma launching his career, there wouldn't be the James Gunn "Scooby Doo" script. Thank you, Unca Troma!

I've always had a love/hate feeling for Troma but I am in agreement that they certainly try their best and sometimes come up with a few gems (recently Tromeo & Juliet and IMHO Sucker The Vampire was damned amusing). Their classics will always be classic. And after readig Lloyd Kaufman's book "Everything I Needed to Know About Filmmaking I Learned From the Toxic Avenger" (or some other similar title) I have even more fondness for Troma and Lloyd K. who's one funny bastard as well as pretty crafty when it comes to making his movies. And the guy just went/goes through alot from what I learned in the book. I was quite pleased last year when Troma's website had the .25 DVD sale, I bought almost all of their DVD's but alas, the idea proved a bit overwhelming and I didn't get them all due to them all being out of stock indefinitely, but my collection is pretty impressive

Full Moon is just scary, though I keep renting their movies, it's a sick pleasure or something. Either that or I just long for the rocky vistas and grey skies of Romania, who knows. The Dead Hate the Living was just distributed by FM or am I wrong? I thought that was the only reason it was so good....

Well, now they're doing Trancers 6 and the much talked about Puppet Master Versus the Demonic Toys.

So I guess I'll be renting at least two of their films in the future...

Well, lesse...I bought Cannibal: The Musical the moment I saw it, and it's the best video purchase I've ever made (and at $5, no less). That flick never lets me down.

Dad rented Troma videos for my brother and I when we were younger, because...because...hell, I dunno.

In the morning hours of this past year's Dragon*Con, while waiting (in a sleep-deprived daze) for the CHUD gang to arrive, I noticed Lloyd Kaufman (and his bowtie) and his Troma posse posing for photos. I was stunned and amazed, but too out of it to form a comprehensible sentence. I just sorta followed him for a while (from a distance), saying "dude...dude."

I also managed to miss photographing Brad Dourif three times, but...that is a tale for another time...