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.