Michael Herz Movies

Fifteen years after a failed clown viciously murdered his classmates at clown camp before vanishing without a trace, an attempt to reopen the camp yields predictably gruesome results. All Edwin ever wanted was to spread laughter and cheer to the masses, though upon graduating from clown camp he was so humiliated by his fellow classmates that something snapped deep inside, sending him on a blood-soaked rampage of bitter revenge. Now fifteen years have passed since that notorious night, and old man Bonzo is looking to get the get the camp reaccredited. But the old town drunk knows that Edwin's legend lives on, and wages a futile campaign change Bonzo's mind. As the new recruits waddle in and lessons begin, everything goes well until Sgt. Funnybone is found face down in a pool of blood and cream pie. Edwin is back, and he's disemboweling every red-nosed goofball that gets in his way. Should Edwin's trusty array of sharp implements fail in doing his victims in, his awful jokes will most certainly send them screaming into the hereafter. With the body count rising, the only one capable of protecting Bonzo's beloved granddaughter Valerie is Philbert, a friendly balloon-twister from Boston. Fleeing into the woods in hopes of cheating death, Valerie and Philbert discover that the worst is yet to come when they stumble directly into Edwin's lair, and learn the bloody truth about his diabolical plan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A group of campers fight for their lives against a ruthless killing machine in this independent shocker featuring scream queen Tiffany Shepis. When Mr. and Mrs. Krupp fail repeatedly to conceive a child of their own, they turn to an enigmatic woman who claims she can make their dreams of parenthood come true. Years later, the miracle child has become the stuff of urban legends, a powerful creature who lives amongst the trees, feasting on anyone foolish enough to venture into the forest. When a group of unsuspecting campers venture into the wilderness for a little weekend fun, they quickly discover that urban legends aren't restricted to the city limits. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

For anyone who has ever felt genuine fear while pondering what's really in that oddly shaped chicken nugget they're about to consume, director Lloyd Kaufman offers a simultaneously horrific and hilarious parody of the zombie genre that takes on the one thing scarier than the flesh-eating legions of the undead -- America's love affair with fast food. Arbie (Jason Yachanin) is a nostalgic romantic with little luck in romance and a bad case of puppy love. When Arbie's high-school sweetheart, Wendy (Kate Graham), returns home after her first year of college, the lovelorn teen attempts to win the object of his affections back by taking her to the site of their first romantic encounter. Unfortunately for Arbie, the ancient Tromahawk Tribe Indian burial grounds have been bulldozed to make way for an American Chicken Bunker restaurant, and Wendy has turned into a left-wing lesbian with a penchant for protesting.

Subsequently beaten to a pulp by Wendy's rough-and-tumble girlfriend, Micki (Allyson Sereboff), and in desperate need of a steady job, disgruntled Arbie applies at the Chicken Bunker despite the fact that Wendy and Micki have launched a tireless campaign against the restaurant. But something supernatural is stirring in this poultry paradise; the spirits of the dead are not pleased that their eternal slumber has been interrupted. As the employees of the American Chicken Bunker begin dying a series of increasingly gruesome deaths, restaurant owner General Lee Roy (Robin L. Watkins) does his best to cover up the scandal and keep his customers in the dark. Meanwhile, the restless demons of the Tromahawk tribe vow to take revenge on the fast-food-loving masses by infecting every last piece of genetically modified poultry that is served at the Chicken Bunker. Perhaps if Arbie can prevent their curse from reaching beyond the drive-through window, he can save the world from a fate worse than trans fat and finally win back the girl of his dreams. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

With the possible exception of John Waters, no one in contemporary American cinema has built a more remarkable career out of the concept of creative bad taste than the folks at Troma Team Pictures. Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz have been offering up a dizzying blend of sex, violence, and appallingly rude humor in dozens of ultra-low budget features since they opened up shop in 1971, scoring cult successes with films like The Toxic Avenger, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., and Terror Firmer. Now Lloyd Kaufman and partners in crime Sean McGrath and Gabriel Friedman have made a documentary about the Cannes Film Festival, which is both the world's most prestigious international film competition and the world's biggest independent film market, where producers from around the world come to sell their wares. All the Love You Cannes offers a look at the crassly commercial (and less widely examined) side of Cannes, offering friendly advice for novice producers looking to sell their product, as well as the skinny on how Troma have been able to pitch their wildly eccentric product to theaters and video markets all over the globe. The film also offers a look at the sleazy underbelly of the Cannes festival, as well as how Troma lost their suite at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Appropriately enough, All the Love You Cannes premiered (out of competition) at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A tabloid reporter teams with a Vatican secret agent to rip the lid off of an assassination conspiracy birthed in the very bowles of hell in slaphappy action effort from first-time filmmaker Michael J. Heagle. Dario Dare is a yellow journalist assigned to cover the arrival of Roman Catholic Cardinal GianCarlo Ponti, but his routine mission soon draws him into a dark assassination conspiracy targeting the very same man he's supposed to report on. Forced to team with Vatican secret agent Marion Tangle, Dario's assignment is complicated when his new partner is captured by two renegade Vatican agents who bear more than a passing resemblance to Elvis Presley and Andy Warhol. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Notorious schlock and psychotronic production company Troma (known for such classics as Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke 'Em High) hails Tromeo and Juliet, its contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's love tragedy, a "thrill-a-minute, body-piercing, computer sex, sapphic, car-crashing extravaganza." Set in New York City, the tale centers on the Ques and the Capulets. The bitter feud begins when father Capulet steals father Que's Silky Films production company. As enemies, the two warring clans are always doing horrible things to each other. Tromeo Que is a computer nerd who spends much time fondling himself in front of his favorite sexy CD-ROMs until he falls in love with lovely Juliet and proposes to her while she sits upon a toilet. The film, seemingly aimed at adolescent boys, features violence, considerable gore, profanity, vulgar situations (featuring buckets of fake vomit), and the graphic depiction of body piercing. (Of course, if it didn't, it wouldn't be a Troma film.) ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This low-budget Troma film makes fun of low-budget sword and sorcery movies. The story centers on the battle for the mythical Sword of Aktar and its kidnapped keeper Ulric. But for a few stop-motion prehistoric creatures, the special effects are less than stellar. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This comical sci-fi cop adventure is set in the future and follows the exploits of a New York detective who is given superhuman powers from a mysterious Kabuki. Suddenly he turns into a colorfully dressed, but still somewhat bungling crime fighter. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Upon temptation from Satan himself, Melvin Junko (aka the Toxic Avenger) has visions of yuppiedom dancing in his head when he begins working for an evil Japanese conglomerate which plans to destroy the world (including Melvin's hometown) with toxic waste. When he realizes what he is doing, he becomes the mutant superhero and begins, again, his heroic crime fighting. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

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, Rovi

This violent film follows the miserable life of a miserable Vietnam vet as it goes from awful, to disgusting, to almost ludicrous (the life and the film). First the vet helps slaughter the inhabitants of a village during the war and then he is captured and tortured for two years. After that scenario, he winds up in a low-life neighborhood in New York owing drug money, saddled with a chunky, nagging, ugly wife and a little baby who inherited his mother's genes. One gory scene follows another until the climax which is meant to be the shocker that caps it all. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi