More Than ‘The Toxic Avenger’ – A Brief History of Troma Entertainment
In the mood for raunchy horror that takes nothing seriously? Here’s a brief history of Troma Entertainment and some films to start off with.
It looks like the infamous studio is aiming for a big-screen comeback with a star-studded reboot of The Toxic Avenger. Horror and cult fans are very familiar with the studio’s style – it’s as recognizable Hammer. Their movies are midnight showing darlings and helped kick off VHS as a format. They filled the late night hours of fledgling cable networks like HBO and Cinemax.
Not familiar? Well, this is the explainer and jump-start for you!
via troma.com
A Brief History of Troma Entertainment
Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz founded the studio and distribution company in 1974. It’s known for low-budget and shock-sploitatitive Z-movies filled with nudity, violence, gore, anarchistic humor, and social commentary. As an aside, we might not have Louis Malle’s My Dinner With Andre without Troma. They weren’t all about exploitation movies.
They started funding the studio by producing raunchy sex comedies and handing distribution for low-budget movies like Astro-Zombies and I Spit On Your Corpse in the 1970s, but they really didn’t hit their stride till the mid-1980s. In 1985 Troma released their first major hit – the horror-comedy/superhero movie The Toxic Avenger. It became their most successful movie to date, spawning sequels, video games, and an animated show. Toxie became the company’s mascot and overall fan favorite.
They followed up The Toxic Avenger with a series of movies set at Nuke ‘Em High. The first became the highest-selling VHS release for the studio. With that success, Kaufman wanted to do something a little more serious. He wrote and directed Troma’s War, a criticism of the Reagan administration that bombed at the box office. It was downhill from there. Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. forced the studio to downsize considerably in order to survive. Their signature style just wasn’t hitting with theater audiences anymore.
Troma got a bit of a resurgence in the mid-1990s. Kaufman produced a loose parody of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet called Tromeo and Juliet. They also released slasher Terror Firmer and a fourth Toxic Avenger movie. The studio stumbled again after fronting $250,000 for unusable footage, which was followed by a lawsuit.
via Troma
Troma Now
Even while it’s under financial stress company distributes and funds indie movies like Trey Parker’s Cannibal: The Musical. You can still find Troma’s movies on VHS, DVD, and digital. Sometimes you can catch them at the rare midnight showing in indie theaters. And there’s a musical by David Bryan (aka Bon Jovi’s keyboardist) roaming the streets that you might be able to see locally.
Beyond distribution, Troma helped launch some big careers. They distributed Chopper Chicks in Zombietown starring Billy Bob Thornton, The First Turn-On! starring a young Vincent D’Onofrio, and J.J. Abrams did the music for Nightbeast. The studio also regularly backed James Gunn in his early work – he starred in Tromeo and Juliet.
via Troma
A Brief History of Troma – Movies to Watch
Watch a 98-pound weakling become a superhero. The Toxic Avenger is a classic and really defines what the Troma style is. It’s this mess of satire, splatter horror, and raunchy comedy with just the right level of special effects. It is a gem and a must for any cult movie fan.
Class Of Nuke ‘Em High
The follow-up to The Toxic Avenger. It’s slime-soaked and has some amazing cheap ass practical effects. Plus some ’80s high fashion. It’s Troma doing what they do best.
Terror Firmer
Lloyd Kaufman was still pushing the limits of decency in 1999. A horror movie production is terrorized by a serial killer. The cast and crew must work together to survive. There’s a guy in a cow suit and a good amount of Troma meta. You can watch the NSFW trailer here.
via Troma
The Children
Something is terrifyingly wrong with the children of Ravenback. Troma added The Children to their distribution list after having to track down rare prints and creating a new digital transfer. One of the many examples of saving exploitation movies that major studios would rather forget.
Screamplay
Rufus Butler Seder directs and stars in this movie about making it in Hollywood and killing people. It’s shot in grainy black and white and pays tribute to German expressionism. It’s a bit of a deep cut, but it shows how outside the lines Kaufman and Herz went when it came to funding others’ work.
