History of Women's Torture (1976)

"History of Women's Torture" is a pretty rough and sleazy 'pinku-eiga' film, geared heavily towards vaginal abuse/mutilation. The version I saw didn't contain subtitles so I pretty much had to bite the bullet and interpret the plot as much as I could based on the visuals, as my comprehension of the Japanese language is limited. Suffice to say, there was enough going on to keep me more-or-less engaged.

In a sort of episodic fashion (this flick is essentially an anthology), different eras throughout Japanese history are shown; each revolving around a woman who is violently punished for her slutiness. Such disciplinary actions include lots of bamboo rod beatings, barrel-rolling torture, candle torture, and vag-biting - among others. Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary seems to happen until at one point in the film when two women are captured and raped by some ninjas out in a desert. I have no idea... but okay.

So this one's considerably straight-forward - though some scenes tread into more 'gruesome' territory; namely a scene with a guy chopping a woman's vaginal skin up with a pair of shears and another guy sticking his lit pipe in a chick's 'nethers'. I'd suggest checking this one out for these scenes and, of course, 'pinku' queen, Naomi Tani. It's a slightly above average piece of sleazy goodness if you dig this kinda stuff.

Metalhead (2013)

"Metalhead" is a film I've been interested in checking out for a while, seeing as how I'm a metal fan, myself, and it's cool coming across movies featuring characters and story-lines surrounding this genre.Unfortunately, I wasn't all that impressed with this one. "Metalhead" IS a well shot and acted coming-of-age film, though it totally - and inexcusably - falls apart somewhere around the midway point.

Since witnessing the tragic death of her brother, a teenage Icelandic farm girl adopts her deceased sibling's love for metal, which has made her a pariah within her tiny religious community. She combats her unaccepting environment by acting out - such as playing loud metal over the intercom at work, slam-dancing at a town social and drunkenly hijacking neighbors' tractors. Her pudgy, sort-of boyfriend, whose tastes come nowhere near hers, isn't quite rocking her world and she eventually develops a crush on the new young priest after finding out he's a genuine metal fanatic. When he shoots down her advances, however, this prompts her to commit a much larger and more severe act of rebellion; fashioned after a budding genre she recently discovered: black metal.

It may come down to personal preference, but this movie takes a turn around the start of the third act that I found to be a major cop-out and incredibly cornball. The outcome of this film is just so damn 'warm and fuzzy' and jovial all of a sudden that I was almost certain I had been duped into watching an After School Special. I hate to come across like a grump who hates upbeat endings - however, "Metalhead" nose dives into such an implausible, out-of-left-field finale that really packs NO punch, whatsoever. That said, the cinematography and performances are solid. Had it not been for the weak final portion of the film, I'd be giving this one a moderate rec. Hate to say - this one's a disappointment.

Black Mass of the Nazi Sex Wizard (2015)

I've covered Lucifer Valentine's other movies in the past and, considering that this one is no different than any of them, I'm going to keep this very brief.

Puke-loving hack 'edgelord', Valentine, pays more junkie whores to call him "master" and degrade themselves on camera in hotel rooms. Amidst the rapid editing and meaningless, distorted voice-overs (a common trait of his shit) are two-and-a-half minutes of disclaimers that kick things off - slowly read by one of his crackwhore 'subjects'. Then we get into chicks deep-throating dildos, puking in bathroom sinks, toilets and bathtubs. There's random clips of old, public domain Christmas cartoons, a cat on the sidewalk, girls cutting themselves, more puke, piss drinking and eyeball gouging/cranial mutilation.

Honestly, the gore effects started out okay, but the no-talent fucko, Valentine, goes and shows it way too long in close-ups to the point where it starts looking incredibly fake. As far as the rest, it's just another one of his "vomit gore" movies. Boring, completely UN-shocking and self-indulgent.

Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things (1971)

I'm not entirely sure how to tackle this one. We're talkin' some real oddball 'grindhouse', homo-hippie, crime/comedy/horror mash-up shit that I'm not even sure how to go about rating.

Having pulled off some murder/robbery in Baltimore, two criminals are holed up in a suburban Miami house with their stashed box of stolen jewellery. The one guy's 'cover' is dressing in drag and acting as the other guy's aunt. Their relationship seems to mainly involving the one - clearly more immature guy  getting bawled out like an unruly child for hanging out with doped up hippies and him panicking whenever a chick tries to get his pants off. This usually prompts "Aunt Martha" to murder these girls out of jealousy. The 'arc' kicks in when a junkie rents out a room in their house and starts nosing around for the stolen loot.

"Sometimes Aunt Martha..." is a goofy and mildly entertaining slice of '70s drive-in trash-cinema that could almost pass as a scaled back and sedated early John Waters film with a much more subdued and unconvincing transvestite lead. The relationship between the main characters almost has a sit-com vibe at times or some kind of dark, LSD-fueled remake of "Some Like It Hot". There's also clearly a gay subtext to the film; as these guys are shown to sleep in the same bed (though nothing else is 'explored' as far as that) and one guy angrily de-pantses and nuzzles the other during the films big 'climax' which seemed pretty 'open-and-shut' as far as I'm concerned. There's also an weird portion of the movie dedicated to the C-sectioning of an infant from a dead woman. In closing, this is a strange flick that I can't go so far as to recommend unless you find yourself in a particularly 'open' state-of-mind and are down for 'acid trip'-style flicks of this time period. I'd say it's worth a laugh just for how strange it is.

America's Deadliest Home Video (1993)

Here's a largely forgotten 'found-footage' flick that, according to record, pre-dates "Man Bites Dog" (1992) by a year based on when it was made. Both films are in relatively the same vein in being crime-comedy 'mock-docs' and neither of which being very good. Still, "America's Deadliest Home Video" is oddly interesting for the mere sake of it being a scrap of long discarded FF mediocrity - the likes of which, as we all know, became a Hollywood horror go-to a decade or so after.

 A dweeby schmo discovers his wife is cheating on him so he hits the road with his camcorder - keeping a video journal of his cross-country trip. While visiting a quarry, he's caught filming some people ditching a car over the edge and is forced into joining them in documenting their convenience store robbing crime spree. Along the way, the cameraman and the gang leader's chick start hitting it off and tensions rise...

Generally, I'm not at all a fan of the 'found-footage/mockumentary/faux snuff/etc.'-style of film-making, but I can definitely credit this one as being quite a bit ahead of its time. Hell, far weaker films of this type went on to gross unfathomable sums of box-office scratch ("Paranormal Activity"...), so this was clearly just a flick that was made at the wrong time and slipped into obscurity (until Camp Motion Pictures dredged it up). It's a pretty boring movie with mostly quick scenes of gas station hold-ups and a lot of motel room hang-outs. Strangely, Danny Bonaduce stars in this, which goes to show how far in the shitter his career was by this point. As for the plus side, a pretty sexy female character gets naked once or twice so there was that. Otherwise, there's no real noteworthy violence or gore. If you're hard-core into FF then you may want to check this out, but otherwise there's no need to pick this one up.

Fight for Your Life (1977)

Gotta give it up for this notoriously un-PC gem straight out of the good old days of true-blue 'exploitation' cinema.

A trio of convicts escape from their paddy wagon and car-jack their way to Upstate New York where they rob a liquor store and wind up holding a black family captive in their home. Things get heated between the apparent leader of the band of criminals - a prodigiously racist slack-jaw - and the father - a painfully passive minister as the family look for any conceivable ways to protect themselves from their unwanted guests.

Though not quite as down-n-dirty as some other films of its ilk, like "I Spit on Your Grave" and "House on the Edge of the Park" - there's certainly a lot of fun to be had with "Fight for Your Life". Of course, the racially-charged violence/indignity is a big 'theme' in the film - doled out by the main creep whose character is honestly as hilarious as he is hateable at times. Those who are irrevocably sensitive to racist language may disagree and that's fine. You also got a dash of kid killing, fairly harsh killings and some off-screen rape that sparks a violent showdown in the flick's climax that is nothing short of satisfying. In all, this one is very entertaining. There's a healthy dose of tension, nasty violence, adequately unpleasant antagonists and a nice revenge angle to bring everything together. "Fight for Your Life" may not be the greatest 'exploitation' joint out there, but there's enough fun, offensive shit here to sink your teeth into.

Rope and Breasts (1983)

Not a bad 'pinku-eiga' outing, though a little on the 'subdued' side for my liking; "Rope and Breasts" is a bit more sexy and story-driven than relying on a lot of violent sleaze.

A dysfunctional married couple perform in a traveling S&M show. They eventually land a private gig with another kinky couple who end up taking things a bit too far...

The opening scene and bondage-dungeon climax are heavy on the masochism and sex (complete with whippings, beatings, water-wheel torture, vag-shaving, enemas, ropes and pulleys, etc.) while much of the in between is the couple searching for their next paid performance and fighting. Nikkatsu SM goddess, Nami Matsukawa ("Slave Contract"), is incredibly sexy and keeps the arousal factor high in this one. In all, not the most memorable 'pinku' entry out there, but has a solid story execution and some fairly strong scenes of what the title suggests.

Dead Girl Walking (2004)

The second film in the "Hideshi Hino's Theater of Horror" series is incredibly solid - topping the previous entry, "The Boy from Hell".

This one follows a teenage girl whose heart suddenly stops one day, however, she still functions, much to the shock and confusion of her family. As time goes on and her body begins decomposing, her parents and younger sister become frustrated with the smell and sight of her and go about methods of putting her down for good - such as, injecting her with formaldehyde (which doesn't work) and setting her on fire, which motivates her to flee and take to the streets. There, she's eventually picked up by some sort of circus ringleader who uses her to entertain and disgust a room full of businessmen. Following this bizarre ordeal, she has a final 'showdown' with her maniacal parents who are still adamant on destroying her.

"Dead Girl Walking" has an eerily 'surreal', dream-like quality that suites the premise well. There's a pretty sad, downbeat mood that carries the film, as well as some properly nasty moments (a scene where her asshole pretty much falls out was definitely a nice touch...) - making for an effective watch. The final few minutes go full-blown 'artsy', but it gels well with the overall tone of the film, I thought. Highly recommended. A good, quick watch.

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

For me, personally, "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom" has always been a tough film to sufficiently relate my position on for the fact that I'm both torn between appreciating it for its audacious approach to human cruelty as well as finding it highly overrated. Each time I've visited this movie I come no closer to considering it a "masterpiece", nor do I agree with the popular sentiment that it ranks as one of the most "disturbing" films of all time. I've seen plenty of films that top this one in the 'shocking/disturbing' department and I have just never found the overall 'tone' of the movie eliciting a real 'disturbing' air for me. That said, it IS an interesting and tastefully shot movie.

The story begins in the mid-1940s with the capture of 16 teen boys and girls who are rounded up and brought to a villa, cohabitated by four middle-aged fascists and their armed boy-toy guards. Their objective is to sexually enslave these young people and use them to explore perverse and often psychotic fetishes. They are occasionally aided by two old whores who regale them with wanton personal stories, detailing childhood sex with old, perverted men.

This film has a real fly-on-the-wall feel, as we never really get to know any of the characters all that much. I guess, based on the director's reasoning behind the movies content, the 'point' was to use the debauchery and sexual dominance as symbolism for the fascist/Marxist movement of the depicted era. Aside from one girl, who keeps weeping for her mother who died trying to rescue her from capture to the point where she's mocked and forced to eat fresh human feces off the floor, many of the other subjects of abuse have bizarrely limited reactions to what's happening to them - some of whom even seem to enjoy their maltreatment from the get-go. For this, I find a strong disconnect with the characters in this movie and every act of cruelty inflicted upon them; as it is just treated as a series of forcibly 'offensive' spectacles that have minimal effect on me, overall. This is where I find the hype over this movie as being so balls-out 'shocking' immensely overstated. There are movies that derive a MUCH more innate reaction than "Salò", though I absolutely believe this film deserves regard for the ornate way it's filmed and for definitely breaking some taboos for the time. I don't see it as a movie that is deeply effective as far as evoking much feeling in the viewer, but quite the opposite. It's one that may very well leave you feeling empty, as that's what the movie seems to capture.

Naked Massacre (1976)

"Naked Massacre" is a pretty average Euro-'exploitation' flick, based on the real life Richard Speck murders. Not a bad watch, by any means, but there's nothing all that special about it.

A Vietnam vet is bumming around Ireland, broke and trying to make his way home to the U.S. when he catches sight of a house full of young nurses. His overwhelming hatred for the female kind - compounded by general insanity - prompts him to break into the house and hold the 8 women captive for the night; torturing, debasing and murdering them one-by-one.

The 'feel' of this one IS downright sleazy and dirty with a good amount of female degradation and mean-spiritedness. A particular scene involving an aging, haggard prostitute being forced to dance to a harmonica is actually pretty funny (in a sorta fucked up kinda way) and the war-torn setting added some nice character to the film. The major drawback with the movie, however, is just the lack of on-screen violence. Much of the movie is way too tame and uneventful as we don't really get to see a whole lot of what's going on when the dude selects a victim. Still, I gotta give "Naked Massacre" a moderate recommendation for sleaze-hounds. It's no "Maniac", but it's worth a look.

Victims (1985)

"Victims" is a completely standard 'rape/revenge' flick in pretty much every sense, but doesn't disappoint if mean-spirited misogyny is what you're after.

Four bimbos are out on a desert camping trip when a pair of criminal creepos show up and start tormenting and defiling them...

Much of the lead-in to the movie (after an oddly - yet enjoyably - gory opening...) is pretty drawn out and the ending is really muddled - due mainly to mostly unintelligible sound recording (this movie as a whole is poorly made). The crux of the film, however, is aptly sleazy and nasty - for instance, two girls are forced to strip at gun point and perform oral sex on each other. The aggressors are sold on the notion that these girls were 'asking for it', thus deserve what they're getting which lends to this flick's comparatively harsh tone. It's nothing great, but those looking into obscure 'exploit' material may wanna give it a look.

Blow Job (1980)

"Blow Job" started out decent enough but ultimately degenerated into a weak and overly wordy and 'deep' third act that killed it for me in the end.

A young couple get out of paying for their hotel room after the chick on the floor above them wigs out and jumps to her death from the window so they head to the race track. There, the guy meets a mysterious woman who promises she can predict the winning horse for him if he can help her through a 'gate'. He quickly agrees and, sure enough, they win big so they give her a ride back to her estate where her and her creepy butler start doing shit to get the boyfriend out of the picture so the new woman can dyke-out' with his girlfriend. Eventually, the rich woman throws an "Eyes Wide Shut" party for the girlfriend while the guy meets some chick that looks like Rhoda who tells him a bunch of nonsensical, witchy shit and that pretty much leads us through the weird, drawn-out "climax"...

First off, I'm not sure why this movie is titled the way it is, as it's not at all pornographic, but more of just a surreal Euro-exploit/horror film of an only moderately 'erotic' nature. It actually had an intriguing enough lead-up with some lesbo-voodoo and shady fuckers wandering around, but it just ends up going nowhere with it and becomes incredibly dull in the final stretch that it was a chore to get through. Definitely a miss.

My Friend Dahmer (2017)

Obviously, there's a lot more on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to explore than just the murder, cannibalism and necrophilic antics he is most known for. With the '90s film, "The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer", we got a more straight-forward cinematic depiction of his 'methods' during the height of his slaughter spree. Then, with 2002's, "Dahmer", we got a more subdued, though powerfully acted and hugely effective slice-of-life glimpse at the dude, in between his rounding up of man-meat. With "My Friend Dahmer", we get a take on how he was before he committed his first murder - based on first-hand accounts published in graphic novel form by a former friend and classmate of Dahmer's.

The film takes us through Dahmer's later high school years - from his quiet, roadkill-obsessed loner phase, to his bizarre, out-of-nowhere class clown larks that earned him a more popular status as a lovable 'spazz'. Also explored is Dahmer's home life - dealing with his emotionally beaten down father and basket case mom, as well as his infatuation with the jogger that ran by his house, weekly, that stirred up some sexual urges that seemed to ultimately steer him in an obsessive, volatile direction...

Make no mistake - there's no gore or murder in this movie, obviously, as it ends right as he meets his first victim. So, if you're one of those who hated the '02 flick with Jeremy Renner, than you'll surely hate this even MORE bloodless biopic on the famed serial killer. As far as my personal thoughts on "My Friend Dahmer" - it's a well shot and acted movie; plucking an actor off the Disney Channel and casting him in the lead, which he pulls off pretty damn well. This is obviously not the most interesting period in the Dahmer timeline, at least, as far as I'm concerned, however, it does get into some fairly interesting 'key' points that surly guided him down the path he eventually took. Those with an interest in the life and times of Jeffrey Dahmer should enjoy this one, while, of course, bearing in mind, beforehand, that it's not at all graphic or disturbing, but, overall, a 'lighter' look at the guy. I'd rank it as my least favorite of the Dahmer movies I've mentioned here, but it's worth a look. Maybe eventually we'll get a Dahmer-in-prison movie...

Hellraiser: Judgment (2018)

Will there ever be another good "Hellraiser" movie? It doesn't look like it. The tenth installment in the long stagnated franchise is as bland and listless as one would come to expect at this point.

Pinhead is now hanging out in a dilapidated house with another cenobite character named, 'The Auditor', where they are coaxing sinners to confess their misdoings before being subjected to some savage blood/puke rituals. Meanwhile, a team of detectives are gathering up clues from a string of mysterious murders that lead one of them to the house and the movie pretty much goes completely nowhere from there...

From what little I remember about the previous film in the series, "Revelations", this one is slightly better, but still a colossal bore with an incredibly weak script, dull, lifeless characters, shitty effects... This one has it all. The make-up job on 'The Auditor' was awful, rubbery shit to the point where his mouth barely moved and a certain character that is seemingly mutilated to all hell (just off-screen) appears in the next shot surprisingly intact, though covered in blood. Needless to say, they copped out heavily with the gore in this one. Of course, they don't bring Doug Bradley back as Pinhead (because that may somewhat appeal to genre fans and we can't have that...) and the character may very well be the LEAST imposing he's ever been in the franchise. His minuscule screen-time is mostly spent sitting in a chair, facing a wall, and during the anti-climactic bullshit ending he in no way comes across as otherworldly or intimidating. He just talks in a non-threatening, British accent. That's enough on this one. Don't bother with it.

Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid (1994)

Here and there, I've been making my way through the "Class of Nuke 'Em High" series and just recently had seen 'part 2' ("Subhumanoid Meltdown"), which I actually had some fun watching. Maybe I should have let a little more time elapse in between viewing that and this third installment in the series seeing as how I liked this one considerably less even though it's basically the same movie.

The 'hero' from the previous movie and his subhumanoid girlfriend reproduce twin half-breeds, though, as she dies during child birth, the tall-haired, female professor from before - along with her cronies - snatch up one of the babies. So one is raised to be good and the other bad and a lot of silly shit happens...

This one just felt LONG (and actually WAS - clocking in with a run-time of over 100 minutes...) and extremely 'phoned-in'. The star of the first film plays about 4 or 5 different characters, which, in typical Troma-style, they call attention to by listing his name no less than 20 times in the end credits. There's far less effects and entertainment value this time around - the only saving grace I found being the abundance of T&A. I know it's pretty redundant to criticize a Troma Production for not hitting the mark, as I'm sure they'd be the first to agree, but I was just bored and not into this one. Gonna check out the recent "Return to Nuke 'Em High" stuff soon...

The Boy from Hell (2004)

The first film in the "Hideshi Hino's Horror Theater" series - based on the manga artist's grotesque tales - is "The Boy from Hell"; a grim and oddly stylish film.

Following the sudden, violent death of her young son, a surgeon is approached at her son's grave by a witchy old woman who offers up a way to resurrect the boy. This entails spilling the blood of another, similarly aged boy, on her child's grave, which she does... However, he returns completely different: evil and monstrous looking. His mother isn't willing to throw in the towel, though, and begins plucking terminally ill children from the hospital where she works in order to perform brain transplants on her devilish, flesh-eating 'son', but her methods to curb his appetite for human consumption aren't that successful...

I'm not all that familiar with Hideshi Hino (aside from his role in the Guinea Pig entry, "Flower of Flesh and Blood"), as I don't typically read manga or comics in general (which I know is ironic, considering I've made several, myself...). That said, based on what I've seen of this series of films so far, I'm fairly impressed, overall. "The Boy from Hell" definitely has a strange 'tone' to it in using superimposed back-drops that add a dream-like, comic book-style 'vibe' and bright, neon colors at times. Some of the effects infer obvious budget constraints - such as the make-up job on the boy-creature, which looks kinda silly, but it's not horrible enough to drag the film down too much. In all, I enjoyed this one as a quick (hour or so long), entertaining, occasionally gory watch.

Creep 2 (2017)

The "Creep" saga continues with our amiable, potentially gay, schizoid nutjob soliciting a new amateur film-maker for more one-on-one mind-fuckery. I actually liked this sequel a little more than the first film, which I enjoyed as well, but I felt this one came out a bit more 'solid' and consistent in its direction.

A young, struggling female documentarian with an unpopular web series where she showcases disturbed shut-ins, receives an invitation to meet up with a stranger in a posh cabin in the woods. Feeling she has nothing to lose and is desperate for an intriguing subject for her failing show, she accepts the offer and - who does it turn out to be? Why, Joseph from the previous movie - now going by the name Aaron (name presumably stolen from the former victim). He proceeds to nonchalantly admit to being a prolific serial killer and - because she doesn't seem to totally believe him and is getting higher quality footage - she continues hanging with him and they develop a weird, non-sexual, freak-o friendship. However, shit starts getting a little too 'real' for the film-maker when her 'star' begins goading her into murdering him and he eventually makes it clear that he has some devious plans in store for her.

Of course, with this one - if you've seen the first one - you pretty much know what's going on from the start and what the outcome will be, more or less, so the 'creep's' intentions are never a mystery. That said, this follow-up works well as far as pacing and establishing an interesting dynamic between these two characters - such as having the female co-lead see her demented subject with sympathetic eyes instead of presenting her as another dubious sap. And, once again, Mark Duplass as the 'creep' pulls his role off incredibly well. He's the same guy but is just different enough this time around for his character to work and make you feel pretty uncomfortable with his unpredictable antics and often subtle delivery. Like I said in my review for the first movie - he's the driving force behind these, though I think too many future sequels may make his character, as well as the format and theme of these movies, get a bit stale. I'm interested to see what they do with the third installment.

The Necro Files 2 (2003)

"The Necro Files 2" is pretty much a rehash of the first one with slightly less gore, yet more nudity. It also seemed to have somewhat of a more serious tone, hence, no flying demon babies this time around.

The brother of the serial-necro rapist/killer from the first flick is following in his sibling's footsteps by brutally murdering women, fucking and cannibalizing them. The same cops from before are back and are noticing similarities between the killing sprees so they're on the hunt for the culprit. Meanwhile, the killer puking and pissing on his bro's grave somehow resurrects the big-dicked zombie rapist who picks up where HE left off - slinging his monstrous donger at any bitches who happen to cross his path.

Like I said - not much new going on in this one. The budget is still clearly minimal and there's no shortage of chicks stripping down and providing wanton vag-shots. That's all good, so this flick isn't a total wash, though it's safe to say, for what it's worth, the first one is more entertaining.

Creep (2014)

I don't believe I got as big a 'kick' out of "Creep" as a lot of people seemed too, though I can safely say it's one of the better 'found-footage/mock-doc' type of films I've seen as of late. Unfortunately, I felt like it kinda tapped out a little prematurely, as far as its more effective material a little past the midway point.

A documentary film-maker is hired by a man claiming to be terminally ill to record a father-to-son video for his currently unborn child. Immediately, the 'subject' of the film comes across as an awkward and bizarre whack-job, having his videographer record him bathing, going in search of a 'magic' watering hole, dancing in a rubber werewolf mask and eventually confessing to kinky shit he pulled with his old lady. When the cameraman becomes fully unnerved by his client's behavior and wants to leave, things take a violent turn which carries over into the cameraman's home-life...

I enjoyed "Creep" a good deal up until the film shifted over to the film-maker at home, receiving cryptic packages from his obsessive stalker. At this point, the 'mystique' had pretty much worn off and I felt they were just sorta coasting toward a relatively weak ending. The bulk of the movie, however, is pretty solid - due, mainly, to the performances (there's literally only two people in the entire movie), specifically the guy who plays the 'creep' who brings a strong, unnerving dynamic to the film. In all, "Creep" is an interesting take on the 'found-footage' style - of which I definitely try to avoid for the most part these days - though it CAN be done reasonably well once in a blue moon. The final 'act' fell a little flat, I thought, but it's worth a watch, overall.

Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown (1991)

The follow-up to "Class of Nuke 'Em High" definitely amps up the indiscriminate lunacy one might more attribute to a Troma Team Production. As off-the-wall as the first film was, this one makes it look like a dramatic 'masterwork' in comparison and, I must say, that's no slight against this one. I kind of enjoyed it.

Proceeding the events of the first movie, a new nuclear facility and school are built and it's business as usual in Tromaville, despite living amongst toxic contamination. Things get screwy when a professor starts conducting experiments in order to create subserviant subhumanoids out of students and they start going haywire and literally melting. One particularly unpopular student falls in love with a sexy subhumanoid girl and is determined to off-set her impending 'meltdown'...

There is not one frame of this movie in which it's taking itself at all seriously. Case and point, we're presented with mouths where belly buttons should be (a distinctive trait of the subhumanoids), a gang called The Squirrels (replacing the previous and more memorable Tromaville High terrorizors, The Cretins), the Toxic Avenger crashing the set of the film at one point, constant bad dubbing and bikini-clad bimbos and a radioactive squirrel rampaging on campus (not entirely sure what the squirrel 'theme' was all about in this flick...). It's fun stuff and will definitely satiate any Troma fans' hankering for totally juvenile retardation. Honestly, I dug this one a tad more than the original just shamelessly imbecilic they went with it.