Gary Schneider Movies
- 1986
- R
Trash-movie moguls Lloyd Kauffman and Michael Herz -- the creative team (so to speak) behind distributor Troma Films and makers of The Toxic Avenger -- foist yet another epic of bad taste upon the viewing public with this melding of teenage sex-comedy and slime-oozing monster mayhem, described by the filmmakers as "like The Breakfast Club, only not as stupid, and really, really drunk." The story involves the student body of Tromaville High school, who resemble the usual group of slackers, stoners and surf punks who drift through the halls of academe... except this is Tromaville, and the dilapidated nuclear plant is busily churning out glowing green effluvia next door. Before long, the kids are glowing in the dark too, riding hell-bent through the hallowed halls on their choppers, shrieking obscene pseudo-songs and giving birth to slimy mutant offspring... pretty much business as usual. The only way to put this film into any kind of perspective would be to say it's never dull; fans of Troma product (the cinematic equivalent of head cheese) should be delighted. Followed by two sequels, subtitled respectively Subhumanoid Meltdown and The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janelle Brady, Gilbert Brenton, (more)
In a crazy spoof of heroic monster movies that spawned two sequels, The Toxic Avenger is about the transformation of a mild-mannered, scrawny janitor into a thundering, muscular hero out for justice, morality, and in one case, a bit of sex. Melvin (Mark Torgl) has a job as a custodian at a work-out club where his humiliating treatment by the musclebound reaches an ugly climax in which Melvin is forced to jump out of a window. He lands in a toxic waste truck, and by some miracle of modern pollution he is transformed into a pumped-up monster, heretofore known as the Toxic Avenger (Mitchell Cohen). From that moment on, TA saves damsels and others in distress by some pretty gory mauling and maiming but finds his moment of fulfillment too. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andree Maranda, Mitchell Cohen, (more)
This effort from exploitation auteur Jack Hill was a profitable early entry in one of the most beloved subgenres of sexploitation cinema, the cheerleader movie. The soap opera-styled premise focuses on the lives of a squad of cheerleaders at Mesa University. Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) is worried with trying to get her roving football player boyfriend, Buck, to settle down and marry her; Lisa (Rosanne Katon) is caught up an in an affair with the married Professor Torpe (Jason Sommers); and Andrea (Rainbeaux Smith) frets over whether or not to give her virginity up. There is also a new cheerleader named Kate (Jo Johnston), who is actually a journalism student using the experience to write a feminist-slanted paper for her thesis. Kate soon learns that the cheerleaders and football players deserve more respect than she gives them and also uncovers a secret gambling ring involving the coach, Professor Torpe, and Mary Ann's father. The narrative that results from these surprisingly involved plot threads delivers all the raciness the title promises, and, thanks to the gambling subplot, even a bit of action. The Swinging Cheerleaders is less inspired and kinetic than Hill's other exploitation fare, but it delivers the sexploitation goods and manages to work in a little subversive social commentary to boot. As a result, it became a drive-in hit and earned a cult following amongst fans of drive-in movies. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jo Johnston, Cheryl Smith, (more)
