News

1986 was a hugely important year in genre cinema—part of the five-year stretch between 1982 and 1987 that arguably makes up the best run of genre movies in history. Major studios and major filmmakers like Fox, James Cameron, David Cronenberg, and John Carpenter were turning out genre classics. New voices like Fred Dekker and John McTiernan were introducing themselves to audiences. Franchises like Friday the 13th, Star Trek, and Psycho were still going strong on the big screen. And in the middle of all this, America’s longest-running independent studio, Troma, cemented their very specific and wholly original cinematic voice with Class of Nuke ’Em High.

Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman had already been producing and directing films for over a decade—first art films and then a series of outrageous sex comedies like Waitress! and Stuck on You!—but it wasn’t until 1984’s The Toxic Avenger that Kaufman more or less established Troma’s house style.

The first wave of 88 Films’ Slasher Classics Collection hasn’t even hit stores yet and the company have released details of “wave 2″ – including four worldwide Blu-ray premieres, each debuting with new HD scans from the original materials approved by the directors themselves!

Check out the press release below, as well as the awesome – if temporary – artwork (click to enlarge):

First up is 1984’s Splatter University. Unavailable in the UK since the glory gory days of VHS tapes, this satirical campus-set sickie is one of the bloodiest and barmiest slasher-shockers ever made. Headlining the feisty Forbes Riley as a teacher trying to work out why her classes are featuring increasingly less students, Splatter University picks up the pace with a succession of superb sanguine-packed massacre-moments. A maniacal murder-mystery that is not afraid to crack out the crimson, Splatter University turns up the suspense en route to an outrageous conclusion. From...

New distribution company FilmRise has added a crop of cult horror titles to their quickly growing list of horror acquisitions for home video release in DVD and digital formats.     Their latest acquisitions include several films helmed by Class of Nuke 'Em High director Richard W. Haines, including the goofy 1984 slasher Splatter University, psycho-thriller Head Games and his most recent feature What Really Frightens You? Also in the lineup is the campy cannibal flick Flesh Eating Mothers and monster-kid opus The Suckling.   The new titles join previous FilmRise horror pickups that include Wes Craven's occult obscurity Deadly Blessing (starring Sharon Stone), TV movie Grave Secrets (starring Patty Duke) and SyFy series Deals from the Darkside. They also recently picked up the digital distribution rights to John Landis's 1981 classic An American Werewolf in London.    Check out their full catalog at their official site.

Tiff’s Midnight Madness program turned 25 this year, and for two and half decades, the hardworking programers have gathered some of the strangest, most terrifying, wild, intriguing and downright entertaining films from around the world. From dark comedies to Japanese gore-fests and indie horror gems, the Midnight Madness program hasn’t lost its edge as one the leading showcases of genre cinema. In its 25-year history, Midnight Madness has introduced adventurous late-night moviegoers to such cult faves as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. But what separates Midnight Madness from, say, Montreal’s three and half week long genre festival Fantasia, is that Tiff selects only ten films to make the cut. In other words, these programmers don’t mess around. Last week I decided that I would post reviews of my personal favourite films that screened in past years. And just like the Tiff programmers,...

Following last week’s release of The Players, with Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) co-starring in the lead, we have a handful of new international films reaching the shelves this week, with three more films from France and two from Asia leading the pack.

We’ve also got a few excellent films to add to Play.com’s exclusive new Blu-ray Steelbook releases, in tandem with Universal’s 100th Anniversary, so with that in mind:

My picks of the week:

Shion Sono’s Himizu & David and Stéphane Foenkinos’ Delicacy

With the Blu-ray Steelbook re-release of Serenity a must-buy for fans/collectors.

Himizu Iframe Embed for Youtube

DVD and Blu-ray

Debuting at the Venice Film Festival last year, where it came away with the Marcello Mastroianni Award, Shion Sono’s Himizu has been receiving critical acclaim ever since in its film festivals tour ever since. The film was given a limited...

Class Of Nuke ‘Em High

Stars: Janelle Brady, Gil Brenton, Robert Prichard, Pat Ryan, James Nugent Vernon, Brad Dunker, Gary Schneider, Théo Cohan, Gary Rosenblatt | Written by Richard W. Haines, Mark Rudnitsky, Lloyd Kaufman, Stuart Strutin | Directed by Richard W. Haines, Lloyd Kaufman

I’m not sure whether it’s through good or bad luck but I’ve managed to see Class of Nuke ‘Em High on the big screen (35mm) and on Blu-ray in the last few months and both times enjoyed it. There is something about Troma films, especially the ones that are higher quality; they are often bad but strangely enjoyable. It could be that I’m biased I don’t know, I tend to love Troma they’ve done a lot for not only cult movies but for the independent side of film making too. When it comes to their own films though there is no defending them,...

[1] Troma Entertainment may be famous for its low-budget, independent approach to filmmaking, but the B-movie house isn't averse to the big-money kind, either. Last year saw the Fantastic Fest premiere of the Brett Ratner-produced Mother's Day remake [2], as well as the announcement of a Toxic Avenger reimaginging [3] by to be produced by Akiva Goldsman and directed by Steven Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine). Now comes news that the studio is interested in doing still more remakes, and is currently in negotiations to sell the rights to Class of Nuke 'Em High and Poultrygeist. Read more after the jump. For those who aren't familiar with Troma's works (or just need a reminder), here's the synopsis for Class of Nuke 'Em High via Troma's press release: The original Class of Nuke 'Em High, directed by Richard W. Haines and Troma President Lloyd Kaufman in 1986, tells how a radioactive leak in the...

Who knew that the little studio that could, Troma, would now find success outside of the horror and cult-movie loving community with Hollywood remakes of their movies? First we had the Brett Ratner remake of Mother’s Day starring Rebecca DeMornay and Jaime King, and there’s also a remake of The Toxic Avenger on the way too from producer Akiva Goldsman (Paranormal Activity 2 & 3, I Am Legend) and Hot Tub Time Machine director Steven Pink. And to top it all off, Troma have released a statement that say remakes of both Poultrygeist and my personal all-time favourite Troma flick Class of Nuke ‘Em High are planned as well!

Here’s the official press release from Troma, courtesy of Dread Central:

October 18, 2011 (New York,NY) – Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment’s theatrical classics, Class of Nuke ‘Em High and Poultrygeist, are now in negotiation to be remade as mainstream, big-budget productions,...

Remember those little Troma movies that cost next-to-nothing to make? Never let it be said that Lloyd Kaufman is not a genius because his little film company that could just might be looking at some giant dollar signs in the near future!

From the Press Release

Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment's theatrical classics Class of Nuke 'Em High and Poultrygeist are now in negotiation to be remade as mainstream, big-budget productions, following deals for the remake of The Toxic Avenger, which will be produced by Akiva Goldsman and directed by Steven Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), and Troma's Mother's Day, which has just been remade by Brett Ratner (X-Men, Tower Heist).

The original Class of Nuke 'Em High, directed by Richard W. Haines and Troma President Lloyd Kaufman in 1986, tells how a radioactive leak in the Tromaville Nuclear Plant contaminates the marijuana consumed by the students in Tromaville High School.

Yes indeed my good friends you read that title correctly. Legendary Indie label Troma are currently in negotiations over remakes of two of their most (in)famous movies. One of my personal favorites, the 1986 shocker Class of Nuke ‘em High, and the more recent Poultrygeist both look set to get the remake treatment. How these turn out, and what the fans response will be, remains to be seen but we will keep you posted on any further developments. One thing is for sure and that is more folk will no doubt check out the originals if and when these do get made.

October 18, 2011 (New York,NY) – Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment’s theatrical classics, Class of Nuke ‘Em High and Poultrygeist, are now in negotiation to be remade as mainstream, big-budget productions, following deals for the remake of The Toxic Avenger, which will be produced by Akiva Goldsman and directed...

Dropping temperatures and the tenth page of the calendar means it's October. October means Halloween and Halloween means scary movies. And while movies like The Thing and Paranormal Activity 3 are in theaters, this October there's even more news about horror movies coming in the future. After the jump, we've got into on the following: Troma will make their next movie, Class of Nuke 'Em High Part IV, in Spain and you can be a producer. Fellow movie blog Bloody Disgusting is now making movies and their next film is an anthology called V/H/S featuring segments by Adam Wingard (You're Next), Ti West (The Innkeepers) and more. A new trailer for Saw II-IV director Darren Lynn Bousman's upcoming horror film 11-11-11 (above) has been released and it will be out November 11. Staring with the Troma news, they recently sent out a press release announcing their next film,...

Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment, Inc. is proud to announce that Troma’s Class of Nuke ‘Em High franchise will have a new installment filmed in Spain with a Spanish cast and crew, produced by Mushnik’s Entertainment in collaboration with Chaparra Entertainment (both based in Barcelona).

The original Class of Nuke ‘Em High, directed by Richard W. Haines and Troma President Lloyd Kaufman in 1986, tells how a radioactive leak in the Tromaville Nuclear Plant contaminates the marijuana consumed by the students in Tromaville High School. It sold about 500,000 copies just in the Us, becoming a cult hit nearly as… More...

One of my absolute favorite Troma titles is Class Of Nuke ‘em High. I love post apocalyptic movies, and when you add the level of zany depravity that Troma brings to the table, you’ve got an instant cult classic. Though this isn’t the first sequel to “Nuke ‘em High”, it’s certainly the most surprising. It’s good to see Troma pumping out new original content. I’m glad they buy and distribute other filmmakers oddities, but this is a welcome turn of events.

October 13, 2011 – New York, NY – Greetings from Tromaville! Troma Entertainment, Inc. is proud to announce that Troma’s Class of Nuke ‘Em High franchise will have a new installment filmed in Spain with a Spanish cast and crew, produced by Mushnik’s Entertainment in collaboration with Chaparra Entertainment (both based in Barcelona).

The original Class of Nuke ‘Em High, directed by Richard W. Haines and...

Horror cinephiles, take notice: Fango has the news on a host of upcoming genre-film screenings, premieres and festivals, in both various United States and Britain, to keep you out of the sunlight this summer. The films range from silent classics to contemporary favorites and brand new indie fare.

• New York City’s Film Forum (209 West Houston Street) is presenting Tod Browning Monday Evenings starting next week. Every Monday from May 11-June 8 will see a different silent-movie double feature, spotlighting the work of pioneering horror director Browning and actor Lon Chaney, with select shows featuring live piano accompaniment. Better yet, each presentation boasts a two-for-one admission price.

May 11

Freaks (1932): 6 and 9 p.m.

The Unholy Three (1925): 7:35 p.m.

May 18

The Devil Doll (1936): 6:35 and 9:35 p.m.

Where East Is East (1929): 8:10 p.m.

May 25

The Unknown (1927): 7 and 9:40 p.m.

Fast Workers (1933): 8 p.m.