A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

In my mind this is the same film as Driller Killer.

Yeah, I wasn't saying the problem was with you.
Like I said, I do like the movie, particularly because I think it punches WAY above its weight, but I have no problem admitting it has its flaws.

Ha! I know what you mean.

I liked it too---as per my rating---and I think it does a lot more than many of its peers ("peers" in the sense of rape-revenge films and the kind of low-budget/early-80s ilk).

Most of my disappointment is just that: disappointment. It starts off as something incredibly insightful and unexpected, and then morphs into the kind of fantasy that so clearly came out of a dude's head. (And, yeah, it's a really well-realized fantasy!). Even the strong parts of the final act only serve to highlight that it feels like a missed opportunity to make something truly mold-breaking and iconic.

There's also something I didn't write up in my review, but that I've been turning over in my head about the role of language in the film and the way that we repeatedly see the other women in the movie use language as a kind of defense.

I think of it as probably the best rape-revenge film (at least of the first and second generations). But the genre is inherently flawed. It's a man telling a very woman story. I feel like Ferrara did pretty good for his day but it's still a man telling a woman story.

I don't think it has to be flawed, which is part of my exasperation here.

I think that the problem arises when a man is telling a woman's story, but then allows what he wants from that woman in an objectifying sense (ie sexy nun outfit) to take precedence over what he has provided to that character as a human being.

And of course most movies objectify their lead actors (male or female) to some degree. But when a big part of your story is ostensibly a critique of sexual exploitation and objectification, well, it's an extra bad look.

It's not a genre I watch very often, but I did really like some of the things that the recent Revenge did in terms of the formula.

Well, I didn't mean the concept was inherently flawed, I really meant that the genre itself, in its time of the 70s and 80s, was flawed because exactly what you're talking about tends to happen even when the intentions are "good". Men of that time still could not seem to help but exploit a lil even if they didn't really mean to. The whole notion of, "Well, of course she would then use sex as a weapon, so now she has to look sexy" thing was, really, about the best you could hope for in those days... versus just straight up, "she should be naked a lot".

I mean, I think a lot of that is still true. But, yeah, I take your point. Though I'm not sure how unintentional the exploitation was.

I'll have to rewatch it. My memory is that it would fit in with the narrative of "well it would make sense she would dress sexy and try to seduce" that was about the best you could do then, but it's been a couple years it could certainly be less deserving of charity than I'm currently giving it.

Are there any fans of Troma here? Over the weekend I watched The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke 'Em High, which I understand are Troma's crown jewels, but I gotta say, I was left pretty cold on the whole. Something about the sense of humour did not win me over. Felt a little too broad and almost unwaveringly in one register.


The Toxic Avenger was a bit better, in that it seemed to have a bit of downtime and some sort of arc, but Class of Nuke 'Em High felt like I was being shouted at for an hour and a half. Fun bits here and there, but exhausting on the whole.


Are there any worthwhile Troma movies? I enjoyed the genuine nuttiness of Nightmare Weekend, and have warmed up over time to the dumbassed attempted nihilism of Combat Shock, but I'm getting the sense that those are outliers. I see Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD is on Tubi, might give that a shot next.

__________________

Haven't seen Class of Nuke 'Em High.

I like The Toxic Avenger quite a bit, but I think it loses some steam after the first act as the style of humor changes somewhat after Melvin gets his superpowers. Melvin and the quartet of bullies were my favorite characters due to how cartoonishly exaggerated they were and, after the first act, Melvin's personality changes and the bullies appear in far less of the film. It's still pretty good though.

__________________
IMDb
Letterboxd

I liked some of the early comedy in theory, but found the actor playing Melvin so unappealing that him turning into the Toxic Avenger was an undeniable upgrade.

Class of Nuke 'Em High is shit.


I like Toxic Avenger a lot, but it's a rare example of Troma type humor and shitty movie making almost sort of working for me.

I watched Romancing the Stone. Never seen it before. It’s not good. The leads are woefully miscast and fail at having any charm, humor or chemistry. Danny Devito is the only one who feels at home in his role but unfortunately he doesn’t have much to do. The story and character development are underwritten to the point where I was wondering if parts of the movie were missing. And it’s kinda racist towards Colombia. Uninspired is the best way I can put it the experience as a whole.

Fun fact it came out the same year as Temple of Doom and shares some of the same gags. Though the Indy flick is much, much better.

I haven't seen RTS yet, but is it a Horror movie, or something? Because if it is, then it's been very inaccurately marketed over the years...

Not a fan overall but I did like Class Of Nuke 'Em High a good bit.

Ouch.
I've loved this movie (not that I think it's the world's greatest movie, but love it) for like 35 years.

Aw, I love that movie.

__________________
A hundred percent death proof.

Tomato Necromancy - now with Vitamin R!
https://www.movieforums.com/communit...ad.php?t=65140

I haven't delved very deeply but I'm usually uninterested in the "deliberately making a bad movie" aesthetic. I'm not even sure that's what they're doing, so I'm willing to be proven wrong. I have seen Combat Shock, though, and will refrain from posting pics of the baby.

__________________
Captain's Log
My Collection

Shit this was supposed to be in the Rate the Movie thread.