Troma's War (1988)

A group of assorted Americans survive a plane crash in a Caribbean island, and discover it is infested with crawling snakes and other venomous beasts. Even worse, terrorists are preparing a full out war on America with a biological weapon.

Directors:

Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman (as Samuel Weil)

Writers:

Lloyd Kaufman (story), Mitchell Dana (screenplay)

Stars:

Carolyn Beauchamp, Sean Bowen, Rick Washburn

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carolyn Beauchamp	...	Lydia
Sean Bowen	...	Taylor
Rick Washburn	...	Parker (as Michael Ryder)
Patrick Weathers	...	Kirkland
Jessica Dublin	...	Dottie
Steven Crossley	...	Marshall
Lorayn DeLuca	...	Maria (as Lorayn Lane Deluca)
Charles Kay-Hune	...	Hardwick (as Charles Kay Hune)
Ara Romanoff	...	Cooney
Brenda Brock	...	Kim
Lisbeth Kaufman	...	Jingoistic Baby
Lisa Petruno	...	Jennifer (as Lisa Patruno)
Alex Cserhart	...	Sean
Aleida Harris	...	Nancy
Mary Yorio	...	Laurie

Storyline

A small group of typical Tromaville citizens find themselves in the path of a terrorist army controlled by the power elite. The freedom of Tromaville and the world is at stake! Troma's War creates new kinds of heroes. A used car salesman, a handsome environmentalist, an obese junk-food gourmand, a seventy-year-old housewife, some sensational young women, a year old jingoistic baby and more sensational women all become deadly soldiers...

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Plot Keywords:

parody | blood splatter | war veteran | kicked in the crotch | social satire | 

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Taglines:

There's nothing like a good war to make heroes of us all.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lloyd Kaufman planned for the film to be rated R for theatrical cult status: "It was our answer to Rambo, Reaganomics, to the new interest in war. We based the violence in the movie on 'Die Hard' and 'RoboCop.' Michael didn't think there would be one cut from MPAA. But the end result was the movie was totally disemboweled, totally disemboweled, to the point where bullet hits were removed, men on fire were removed, Siamese twins were removed. In order to get an R rating, the movie was rendered unwatchable." Following the film's poor critical and financial performance, Troma experienced financial hardship and jettisoned the company from the Hollywood mainstream.

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Goofs

The blood around the black soldier's mouth disappears, before he gets blown up.

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Quotes

Marshall: [after Marshall stabbed a terrorist in the stomach] Now... Let's see if you got any guts, not pretty much it seems.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, the frame unfreezes as the survivors walk away, then all the cast, including the dead bodies strewn all over the place, turn to the camera, smile and wave.

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Alternate Versions

The R-Rated VHS by Troma has only been censored by approximately forty seconds:

• the tongue pulling scene.
• the scene where Nancy separates the Siamese twins with a sword.

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Connections

Referenced in Something to Scream About (2003)

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Soundtracks

Storm
Written by Christopher De Marco

User Reviews

A good time for all (Especially for those with a twisted sense of humor)!

One of the BEST exploitation films ever made! This movie has everything a B-movie lover could want: Shootings, explosions, a multifarious cast, action, violence, thrills, mayhem, and romance! One of the finest pieces of opus ever embraced by the human being.

Essentially, TROMA'S WAR is a spoof of the action and war genres. The film's contrived plot concerns a bunch of incompetent plane crash survivors on an island. They've encountered a conspiracy that will not only endanger the United States, but will place the whole world in jeopardy! Eventually, this leads to all sorts of scenes of random silliness...not to mention moments of bloodshed. Will the survivors beat the odds, or will the world spell doom?

TROMA'S WAR is a fine amalgram of the features expected in a comedy, horror, and action mixture. Unlike most Troma films, this satricial flick offers caustic political commentary about biological warfare and fascist terrorism. The black humor in TROMA'S WAR is subtle at times, conspiciously sleazy during most other parts of this movie. The explosive intensity in this film is buoyed by great one-liners and a feeling of tons of guilty pleasure. Also, the delightfully amateurish cast in Troma's War also must receive approbation for having lots of fun with this movie. Highly recommended movie to all connoiseurs of fun, low budget films. A movie treat guaranteed to provide an entertaining time with lots of friends.

RATING: ***1/2 out of ****.

Details

Official Sites:

Troma

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Spanish

Release Date:

18 November 1989 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

1,000 Ways to Die

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Troma Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min (director's cut) 87 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1