Lloyd Kaufman Movies

Veteran Saw franchise helmer Darren Lynn Bousman continues his foray into the macabre with this remake of the 1989 Troma B-film classic Mother's Day. The revamp will still center on a demented mother (Rebecca De Mornay) and her two sons, but will focus on them terrorizing a couple that is residing in their old home rather than the original's theme of a group of hikers being tortured in the woods. Jaime King, Shawn Ashmore, Briana Evigan, and Deborah Ann Woll topline the cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A lonely, socially maladjusted young man attempting to recover from the recent loss of his parents finds his already tenuous grip on reality steadily beginning to slip in director/star Kim Sønderholm's paranoid psychological thriller. His parents having recently died in a tragic fire, Craig clings to his childhood friend Cliff after losing the only people he ever loved in one devastating blow. But Cliff has his own problems to contend with, and when Craig loses his Lithium, his sanity quickly follows. Now, as the voices in Craig's head call on him to seek violent retribution against the women he believes have wronged him in life, the unstable loner finds himself powerless to resist their dark demands. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A bachelor party planner learns that nothing comes for free after gaining access to a posh Hamptons bungalow and preparing to celebrate his best buddy's marriage with a wild weekend of drugs and debauchery. Chuck is about to get married, but before that happens, Sammy is going to make sure he has the time of his life. In order to gain access to the ultimate party pad, however, Sammy is obligated to invite prude yet sexually ambiguous caretaker Gordon to take part in the festivities. When the three sexy strippers Sammy hired show up on their doorstep, it appears that the evening has gotten off to the perfect start. But no one expected Chuck's fiancée to show up, too, and when that happens, all hell breaks loose as the children of the damned come out to play. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Tony Todd Tiffany Shepis, Daniel Roebuck, and George Wendt star in this thriller inspired by the true story of a well-known Arizona cult. Small town therapist Jonathan has recently formed a strange fixation on a local cult that worships a mythological figure who was brutally murdered. With every step that Jonathan takes towards understanding the true inner-workings of the dangerous cult, his chances of escaping with his belief system intact diminishes. Perhaps Jonathan was destined to become yet another covert to this warped belief system from the very beginning. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

Flesh fuses with cannabis to create the most potent pot man has ever known in the tale of a southern ganja plantation with a deadly secret. For smokers of the herb, Meatweed Manor is a heaven on earth. A remote paradise where farmers utilize human flesh in producing pot that makes Acapulco Gold look like Ohio Brown, Meatweed Manor is a name known to quality-minded smokers the world over. Forget about the munchies, because the maryjane grown at Meatwood Manor sends any woman who smokes it into a sex-fueled frenzy known to the locals as "MeatWeed Madness." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Aspiring genre filmmakers and horror fans alike will want to check out director Christopher P. Garetano documentary exploring the colorful world of independent fright cinema. With subjects including Wisconsin-based auteur Mark Borchardt, Las Vegas-based "method director" Ron Atkins, and New York drive-in junkie David Stagnari, Garetano shows how, with a vivid imagination, a dash of innovation, and some staunch determination, even filmmakers who lack adequate funds and resources can create compelling and entertaining horror films. Additional appearances by iconic horror figures Joe Bob Briggs and Herschell Gordon Lewis drive home Garetano's point by highlighting precisely how low-budget horror take the kind of risks needed to keep the genre fresh and exciting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For those who find Lars von Trier's film movement Dogma 95 too highbrow, the folks at Troma films created Dogpile 95. Tales from the Crapper, the first production to wear the Dogpile label, stars softcore queen Julie Strain in a frenetic omnibus of gore and nudity. Allegedly shot over three years with six directors and 15 writers, the film is hosted by Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman and also features fat guys, talking penises, lesbian love scenes, vampires, UFOs, and appearances by infamous porn star Ron Jeremy and rockers New Found Glory. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A wealthy couple attempts to give back to their community by handing out giant lollipops to the local homeless population in the mockumentary-style directorial debut of The Office star Jenna Fischer. On the surface, James and Jenna (real-life husband and wife team James Gunn and Jenna Fischer) couldn't be more charitable, but a closer look at their newfound philanthropy points to a more self-serving motivation. Beneath their shallow veneer, all James and Jenna care about is using their preposterous new charity to mix in with the jet set and keep themselves in the public eye. As desperate James attempts to get his mediocre art to the masses by using it to wrap the lollipops and self-absorbed Jenna tries to land the funding needed to drive her outlandish endeavor, the would-be charitable couple's inherent inability to truly connect with those who they claim to be helping grows increasingly obvious to everyone except themselves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

New Jersey's leading mutant superhero (unless Jon Bon Jovi counts) rises from the sludge to defend truth, justice, and radioactive waste once again in the third sequel to the 1985 cult sensation The Toxic Avenger. There's trouble brewing in the sleepy town of Tromaville when the Diaper Mafia, a group of inept but dangerous criminals, attempt an armed takeover of Tromaville's School for the Very Special for reasons best not contemplated. With the students held hostage, the Toxic Avenger (David Mattey) is called in to save the day, but a freak accident (as if there were any other kind in this movie) leads to an accident that creates an evil mirror version of Tromaville called Amortville; what's worse, heroic Toxie finds himself trapped in Amortville, while Tromaville is cursed with his wicked counterpart, Noxie. Can Toxie make it back to Tromaville and vanquish the villainous Noxie? Will the Diaper Mafia emerge triumphant? And who knew that the Supreme Being was a foul-mouthed dwarf? Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV boasts one of Troma Team Pictures' typically eccentric supporting casts, including Corey Feldman, Ron Jeremy, Lisa Gaye, Hugh M. Hefner, Al Goldstein, Taylor Mead, Debbie Rochon, and Hank the Angry Dwarf. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Troma Team Pictures, the company that brought you such classics as The Toxic Avenger, When Nature Calls and Class Of Nuke 'Em High, takes a look inside the making of a "typical" Troma release with Terror Firmer, directed and co-written by Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, who also appears as the director of the film-within-the film. Here, Kaufman (whose character is blind, which would explain a lot about Troma's product) and his crew are making a willfully sleazy horror flick, complete with monsters, gore, gratuitous nudity and loud rock 'n' roll, when a serial killer appears who doesn't happen to be in the script. Terror Firmer is based in part on Kaufman's 1998 book about his career with Troma, All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, and includes a plug for the upcoming Jane Austen's Schlock and Schlockability (possibly a follow-up to 1996's Shakespeare variant Tromeo and Juliet). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide