Usually around this time of year, a certain short is released that becomes a mandatory watch. These short films typically get more laughs than bigger horror comedies with much larger budgets. This film premiered at the 2003 “TromaDance” festival in Colorado, right across the street from the Sundance festival. The rules are simple for “TromaDance”, as all you need is a film to submit, you don’t even need to pay a fee and there are no special seats. You get treated the same if you’re a celebrity or a regular joe. The short in question today can be found on their 3rd volume of “The Best of TromaDance” and is called “SkunkApe!?”
In a cabin in Florida, a punk rock group called “Screaming Scab and the Herpes” is performing for a nerdy music fan named Charles (played by Chad Wheeler). The band is comprised of the nihilistic Scab (played by Jon Maiullo), his girlfriend who secretly hates punk named Skank (played by Brooke Volkert) and the violent and small-minded Pig (played by J. Scott). The old man who owns the cabin however, warns them that they shouldn’t be playing their music too loudly unless they want to awake a mighty beast. The group disregards this and continues to loudly play until the lights cut out and they quickly return to their van. However, they end up bringing an extra passenger by accident that seeks revenge against the band members.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable short for the fact that it’s completely silly and over the top. The style feels like a cartoon come to life. The actors all bring a strength to this film that could have been easy to mess up, and they all seem to know that this is a silly movie with a ridiculous premise. This also extends to the rest of the film as the story constantly tops itself.
This fits right in with the motto of Troma, which is to be completely over the top and gory. There are plenty of ridiculous things that constantly pop out in this short, like Scab wielding a harpoon. There is also a crime dog that pops up and talks with Charles at certain points in the short. Overall, this short is a very off the wall short that you have to see for yourself to experience the insanity within. It might be hard considering the DVD is out of print (which is the best way to see it) but it’s not expensive on Amazon and it can probably be found on Youtube.