Class of Nuke'Em High (1986)

Readin', writin' and radiation fill the schooldays of Tromaville High in this riotous sci-fi hyper-action big budget ambitious comedy. When the honor society turns on to some nuclear reefer, they transform into mutated punkers who just cannot seem to play well with other students! After a highly successful theatrical release, and two decades of cult fanaticism, Class of Nuke ‘Em high makes it’s premiere on DVD in a fully uncut and uncensored presentation, featuring an audio-commentary from co-director Lloyd Kaufman! Where crunching action, gooey gore, beautiful babes and subhumanoid mutations make the grade, Class of Nuke ‘Em High passes with flying, glowing colors! Features a special appearance by the Smithereens!

Nuke'em High

There are a few things in this world that are essential to well-being of mankind. The making of this film is one of those things. February 15, 2008

Well, It's Troma

Oh boy, Class Of Nuke Em High. How do you defend a movie like this(or any Troma film for that matter)? As anyone knows, Troma is not for all tastes, and sometimes can even test the will of the most hardcore cult film fan. I can surely stand by that statement considering I've seen a few Troma films that should have never slimed their way out of the dump. I have a special place in my heart for this one considering I saw it when it came out and it made a helluvan impression on such a young kid. I still watch it every now and again when the mood hits(and lets face it, you have to be in the right mood for Troma). Class tried to duplicate the success of The Toxic Avenger, and depending on who you ask, either succeeded or failed miserably. It does remain one of the most famous of their films however. Plotwise it concerns a leak at a power plant infiltrating a high school. This results in the usual Troma shenanigans including preppies turned into murderous punks, people oozing and melting, and a radioactive monster in the basement. Naturally all this is carried out in the name of humor, and as we all know, in the world of Troma this is very hit and miss. Alot of jokes are very predictable and some are downright groaners. Some work quite well though. There are of course extremely irritating characters(like the friends of the hero) and memorable ones(like Spike, the leader of the gang, and Gonzo, the biker with the ring in his nose). Like most Troma film, nobody acts like a normal human being. A good example is when a student starts spewing nuclear waste from his mouth and ears, jumps from a window and melts on the sidewalk, and the other students just kinda brush it off as, "oh well". This movie isn't packed with the kind of gore like Troma's later films, not even as much as The Toxic Avenger for that matter. It has moments though. Though the box says Unrated Director's Cut, there is no difference in this version than the vhs that came out way back in the day. The bonus features have some deleted scenes, but these aren't anything to shout about. There are also some short interviews with a few cast members. And of course the usual extras that are on all Troma discs. Did anyone else have a hell of a time with this disc's menus? Anyhow, The Troma name will probably determine whether you check this out or turn and run for your life, so judge accordingly. January 13, 2008

Troma Shoots and Scores

Made for a fraction of the cost of most MTV videos, there are plenty of cheaps laughs and gross out gags for the fan of B-movie horror/comedies.
Nicely paced and well crafted, Team Troma throws the gags around but keeps a semi-horror flick going simultaneously.
Funny characters, hyper dialogue and decent effects make this a great watch in the right mood. September 27, 2007

Too much fallout...

I dunno how those Troma guys do it, but somehow they manage to rope me into watching their cheeseball flicks. Well, actually I DO know how they do it: they put together some really good promo trailers. Whenever I see a promising-looking trailer for a Troma flick, I usually end up rushin' out to the rental store to pick that particular title up. And almost invariably, I find the movie a bit of a disappointment (the two exceptions so far: "Toxic Avenger" and "Cannibal! The Musical"). Which is exactly what happened after I saw "Class of Nuke 'Em High". I saw a promo for it on the "Surf Nazis Must Die!" tape I rented the day before (another disappointment, BTW), and found its minute-long depiction of over-the-top weirdness and just plain cheesiness a promising preview of what I could expect from the movie proper.

Sure enough, "Nuke `Em High" had all the appropriately crude special & visual effects, gross-out moments of bizarre ultraviolence (none of which included the Troma-staple head-crushing scene, oddly enough), and ludicrously over-the-top characters I've come to know and love in most cult/trash-cinema "classics" I've viewed. But for some reason these elements when put together in this production didn't quite do it for me. Maybe the lack of a head-crushin' scene was the big difference? One can only wonder...

But while the movie itself may have been somethin' of a wash, there was one fairly entertaining thing about it: Lloyd Kaufman's commentary track. Whenever I take my ear to one of these, I can never tell if the guy's bein' serious or not. He throws out his usual assertion of the collusion between government and big business to make as big a profit as they can at the detriment of the little guy, which is symbolized by the defective nuclear power plant that gets the ball rollin' in this flick. Then he talks about how many of the flick's scenes are based on actual events "ripped from the headlines", which are satirized to such a ludicrous level that it's d@mn near impossible for ya to see the real-life event in the satire. Well, d@mn near impossible without Mr. Kaufman actually spellin' it out for ya in the commentary track that is...

Kaufman also brings up the various staples & themes contained in Troma flicks, like the combining of hot babes and "himbos" with some of the nerdiest losers and the weirdest freakos you'll ever see in low-budget cult cinema. Then there's the blurring of gender identity, which is driven home in one scene where one of the bad guys... er, bad girls uses a urinal in the high school men's room. And another bad guy wearin' lipstick, falsies, and a darling blouse (who, according to Kaufman, was supposed to look a bit more androgynous, but the limited budget wouldn't allow it).

But the most unusual bit of commentary is Kaufman's rambling thoughts on the "Tromettes", AKA the bad@$$ hotties you see in Troma flicks who take no guff from nobody. He talks about the influence Troma chicks have had in the movie industry, and... well, ya gotta listen to it to believe it. This piece was the point where I couldn't tell if Kaufman was takin' his labor of love all too seriously, or if he was just pretending to take his movie all too seriously as a goof. In either case, Kaufman's track makes the "Class of Nuke `Em High" DVD worth a rental...

`Late February 18, 2005

one of troma's best

This is a awsome movie that is about a group of high schoolers who smoke some raidoactive weed a flip out. It was very good and the gore was above average. The toxic avenger 1 and 4 are better though..... But all arounf this is a great movie!!! November 22, 2004

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