The Shakespeare of Splatter: Troma’s 50-Year Legacy

Given Troma Entertainment’s fifty-year history of titles like Nuke ’Em High and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, it may come as a shock that founder Lloyd Kaufman is a die-hard Shakespeare devotee. According to writer, Kaufman confidant, and event host,

Mathew Klickstein, “He’s [Kaufman] always bringing up Shakespeare and how Shakespeare was very much for the people, for the rabble, for the groundlings.  Lloyd is very sincere in his admiration for not just Shakespeare’s work, but the way he put it together and got it out there.”

What if the secret to cinematic longevity isn’t prestige, but a Shakespearean knack for populist chaos? Yellow Scene Magazine sat down with Klickstein to learn how Troma has leveraged its signature brand of low budget, madcap violence, and nudity to remain the oldest standing independent studio in the industry for over 50 years and counting.

One part of that success is their clear sense of vision.   As an independent studio, you can only do so many  second takes for big stunts.  That’s why Klickstein notes that Kaufman, “is extremely intentional in everything that he does, and you have to be because it takes a lot of preparation for something that feels so chaotic, particularly when things are low budget.”

Mathew Klickstein (pictured left) and Lloyd Kaufman (pictured right)

Another pillar of Troma’s success has been its fearlessness of tackling the topics other big studios were afraid of touching.

When discussing Troma’s campy comedy film Squeeze Play, Klickstein notes, “[the film] on one level is this goofy, late night, teen sex comedy film of girls playing softball against their boyfriends. […] But, it does deal, implicitly and explicitly, with some pretty heavy topics that other films wouldn’t talk about until years later.”

Troma’s culture has attracted a wide range of talent including Spawn actor Michael Jai White, and even South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker who got their big breaks with Troma.

The ideology that guided Troma films has created a community, sometimes referred to as the Troma Army, of people who appreciate the movies’ bizarre flair. Klickstein has experienced this underground network firsthand, noting that the Troma label acts as a universal passport:

“There have been times where I have been able to stay at someone’s house, or hangout with a group of people, or be able to find my tribe because they are the local Troma people who are part of the local Troma community, and I’ve been all over the country.”  

On this occasion, Troma is inviting the Troma community and the Troma curious is to come and celebrate perhaps the most successful of Kaufman’s creations, The Toxic Avenger.  The film showcases all the hallmarks of a Troma feature: low-budget, bizarre, extreme violent, gratuitously sexual all while expressing a sincere social commentary. 

To see how the reboot modernizes for a new generation, catch the double feature of the original film and the new reimagining at the International Film Series at CU.  Lloyd Kaufman will be present virtually to provide an  introduction and will be available for a remote Q&A. Mark Togel who played Melvin, the titular Toxic Avenger, in the original film will also be present. The event will be hosted by Mathew Klickstein.  Trident Booksellers will be selling books, in addition to other surprises. 

The event will be held Saturday April 4, 7:30 PM, Muenzinger Auditorium.   

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