Return to Nuk'em High vol. 1: 40 years of Tromatic goodness still coming

Troma is a company that's no stranger to the A&E section of this paper. Every year around October, one of their films is highlighted for its over the top antics.  Walmart is currently selling their films, which you normally wouldn't expect them to touch with a ten-foot pole. Somehow, there's a feeling that this won't be staying on their shelves for too long and you should pick it up while you can.

Return to Nuk'em High Vol. 1is the fourth installment of a series starting with Class of Nuke'em High in 1986.  The series involves a high school called "Troma High" that deals with radioactive situations. However, the radiation in this film is a little different. Instead of a power plant in the previous films, the source has been replaced with an organic wholesome food provider called "Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate". The radiation from this company transforms the geeky Glee club into murderous cretins.

There are, however, two people that stand in the monsters' way; a nice rich girl named Lauren (Catherine Corcoran) and environmentalist suspicious blogger Chrissy (Asta Paredes). Can these two possibly stand in the way of these powerful cretins on their own? Maybe not, but with the help of some radiation they can.

This marks the fortieth year that Troma has been in business and it appears that they're showing no signs of stopping.  This film, in terms of gore and sex, fits right up there with classics like The Toxic Avenger and the more recent, Poultrygeist. Considering one of the stand out scenes involves the Cretin Glee club singing a cappella while beating up a woman, it still has the irreverent comedy we've come to expect.

The acting from everyone is over the top as always, but there's a feeling that maybe some of the characters aren't trying enough. It feels like some of the background actors didn't quite get the memo of what kind of movie they're in.  Also there's Babette Bombshell (yes, that's his real name) who plays the Principal of the school. There's a feeling that he's trying, but he isn't nearly over the top enough for the movie. He really could have played up his creepy factor considering the hair they gave him.

However, there's one thing that just doesn't sit right and that's the fact that this film has been split into two parts. One would guess that the first part of the story would have an ending. However after 85 minutes there's an abrupt cue card that says, "To Be Continued".  Looking at the behind the scenes footage, it appears that the split was suggested by Quentin Tarantino due to the fact that there was a lot of footage left.

This doesn't seem like too much of a complaint considering the movie is only $9.96, but there isn't a release date yet for the second one, which leaves one waiting for a conclusion. Overall, this should belong in any Troma collection. Troma hasn't lost any of their teeth over time, and while some of the acting is iffy and the second part won't be out for a while, this is a fun romp.