Can The Films Of Troma Studios Be Considered True Exploitation?

Matt Richardson
3rd Year BA (Hon) Film And Media Studies,
Manchester Metropolitan University

This dissertation is presented in part fulfilment of the BA (Hons) Film And Media Studies, 2002

ABSTRACT

Within this dissertation I will attempting to answer the question as to whether or not the work of Troma studios truly fits into the tradition of exploitation filmmaking. To help answer this question I will be carefully studying what it is that defines a film as being exploitation and also looking at the different areas of exploitation film from throughout the history of the cinema. With this I will be looking at different areas of exploitation cinema from the early days and the work of roadshow operators, such as Dwain Esper and the Forty Theives, through the days of sexploitation and the drive in and the work of such figures as Russ Meyer and the glory days of American International Pictures, to the birth of gore with Herschell Gordon Lewis and all he inspired, up to right up to the eighties.

In conjunction with all of this I will also be looking very carefully at the history and the many different facets of Troma studios, from their early influences and inspirations to all areas and stages of their output from movies to marketing to merchandise, and especially how their work compares to, fits together with and draws inspiration from, the works of different filmmakers from the many different stages and eras of exploitation filmmaking.

Hopefully by the end of this dissertation there should be a clear picture of where Troma fits into the weird, wild and outrageous world of exploitation filmmaking and whether it is really carrying on the tradition or even whether it has transcended the label altogether.

Introduction

Within my dissertation I will be focusing on the works of many exploitation film makers, from the very early days of cinema up to today including the films of Dwain Esper, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Roger Corman, Russ Meyer and Lloyd Kaufman, as well as directors such as Tobe Hoper and Wes Craven who, although now working well within the Hollywood system, started out making low budget exploitation films. The work that I will be looking at can be considered to be the most outlandish, crazy, sick, repulsive, funny, camp, cheap and over the top films ever produced, loved by some and loathed by others.

Today though the term “exploitation” is rarely used in conjunction with new films and there are various reasons why this might be including the decline of independent film making due to major studios buying up independent film companies and also exerting more and more control over film distribution, owning cinema’s, TV stations and chains of video rental shops. Also the funds available for independent filmmakers aren’t as plentiful as they once were and it seems to be getting harder to exist alongside, let alone compete with, the major Hollywood film studios.

Yet one company still seem to be not only surviving but also thriving as a true independent film studio. Troma studios and their co-founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz have been hailed as maverick film makers, providing a true alternative to the “bloodsucking megaconglomerates” [1] and Troma has a library of hundreds of low budget, independently produced films including such titles as “Terror Firmer”, “Class Of Nuke ‘Em High” and “The Toxic Avenger”, all in the grand tradition of classic exploitation film.

In this project I hope to be able to define exploitation film by looking at it through the various stages of it’s history, looking not only at production and content, but also distribution and marketing, audiences for and reactions to the films. I will then look at the films of Troma and their production, content, distribution, marketing, audiences and their reactions to see whether Troma can be considered to be true modern exploitation film.

A Brief History And Definition Of Exploitation Film

A lot of people have very different definitions of what constitutes an exploitation film and over the years there has been much debate on the subject. For some any film that is slightly out of the ordinary, or any film that deals with subjects rarely found in the mainstream would be considered exploitation. Others use the word to describe films that contain “an obvious cheap thrill, be it sex and nudity, violence or some other real life aberration – physical or sexual.” [2] Other’s still, such as Eric Schaefer, in his book “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!” only count those films made up to around 1959 as being true exploitation and classes those made after as “Hollywood B-Movies and low budget genre pictures” [3] . But exploitation films are no different from other, usually bigger budget films, as all have to appeal “to some desire or fear that the audience may have” [4] otherwise how could anyone sell them to an audience? Roger Corman, director and producer of over four hundred films, also comments on exploitation and big budget films saying, “ “Exploitation”, films were so named because you made a film with about something wild with a great deal of action, a little sex, and possibly some sort of strange gimmick; they often came out of the day’s headlines. It’s interesting how, decades later, when the majors saw they could have enormous commercial success with big-budget exploitation films, they gave them loftier terms – “genre” films or “high concept” films” [5].

Here though I am going to define exploitation films as those films that “try to grab an audience by offering something that is unavailable elsewhere – films that pander to our baser instincts, pique our curiosity, salaciously sell us the steamier side of life, but do so knowingly.” [6]

The origins of exploitation film lie in the very early days of cinema itself and also have roots in the days of travelling carnivals and roadshow operators in America when exhibitors travelled from town to town showing “educational” films warning of the dangers of things such as white slavery, “Traffic In Souls” (1913), and even the dangers of Mormons in the film “Trapped By The Mormons” (1922), which was quickly banned by the Mormon church. Exploitation then became a recognised category of film in the 1920’s and 1930’s after restrictions on what could be shown in films was started to be imposed on the industry in the form of The Thirteen Points or Standards in 1921 and the Motion Picture Production Code (the Hays Code) in 1930. These new rulings meant that any topics considered taboo, such as sex, nudity and drug use, could no longer be shown in films. This is therefore where the exploiters found a niche in the market and it wasn’t long before filmmakers and showmen were making and touring America with films on a whole range of subjects, untouchable for most filmmakers working within the studio system. The subjects of the films included such things as abortion, single motherhood, contraception and drug use and were advertised under the guise of being warnings about the evils of the world. These films were shocking enough to appeal but also made sure to include enough moralising to get past the local censors. From the late 1930s to the 1950s America’s exploitation film industry was run by the “roadshow operators”, who working both with and against each other toured America with the sole aim of making money from taboo films. The most famous group of operators were known as “The Forty Thieves” (due to the fact that their films rarely contained the lurid scenes what was promised in the promotion and they were effectively stealing customers money), who included promoters and filmmakers like Kroger Babb and David Friedman.

It’s from these roadshow operators that the term “exploitation film” is derived. The exploiters were well aware that their films lacked stars and the usual generic conventions which would help to sell them, and therefore had to rely on exploiting any taboo aspects of their films in advertising and promotion, to get them over with an audience. What followed was the introduction of carnival style touring and promotion where as well as the film there would be guest speakers, who were usually the roadshow operators themselves dressed as doctors and giving a talk on the subject of the film and as well as selling pamphlets on the subject for a few extra dollars.  There would also be bogus nurses there to attend to those who may faint due to the films shocking content. This promotion would not only help to draw an audience through selling a forbidden subject, but also helped lend an air of respectability to proceedings that would help smooth things with local police and censors. The films rarely lived up to the promotion they were given and usually turned out to be quite innocent and sometimes nothing more than a lecture on celluloid, for example the film “Sex Madness” (1933) features no sex really, so to try and pacify an audience who may feel ripped off the promoters often brought a “square up reel” to be shown at the end, when they were sure no police were about. This reel of film usually had nothing to do with the rest of the film and featured some nudity, making sure audiences didn’t go home disappointed. The films of this era mostly had the following things in common, firstly a “forbidden” subject, very low production values, which included a heavy reliance on stock footage as well as poor editing, lighting, dubbing and the use of few shoddy sets. These films were also all independently distributed via roadshows and in cinemas not associated with major film companies, such as the “grindhouses” or Main Street Theatres. Where there were no cinemas suitable burlesque halls and even tents were used, and the showing would not be complete without the extra talk and sales of pamphlets already mentioned above.  Finally very few prints of these films were made compared to the number made by the major studios, which was down to the limited distribution and also the high cost of having them produced. Examples of this first wave of exploitation include drug films such as “Reefer Madness” (1936) and  “Maniac” (1934).

By the fifties however, attitudes to what could be shown in films began to change and audiences demanded more “adult” material. First came the burlesque film, which featured a performance by a succession of strippers and no narrative, such as “Strip-O-Rama”. These in turn paved the way for the “nudist” films which were presented as serious documentaries on the joys of nudism, such as “The Nude World” (1935). These films weren’t in the least bit sexy and after a long legal case were declared as being “devoid of erotic content” [7] by a New York court in 1957. By the late fifties and early sixties the sexploitation craze had given way to films with more of a narrative content and the emergence of filmmakers such as Doris Wishman (and her star Chesty Morgan) and Russ Meyer. Meyer’s first film, “The Immoral Mr Teas” (1959) paved the way not only for the latest phase of exploitation but also the career of one of the few technically proficient exploitation filmmakers. Meyer took the sexploitation blueprint and ran with it clocking up huge hits with such films as “Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” (1965) and “Supervixens” (1975). It was also in sex films that another important name in the history of exploitation film first started out. Inspired by Meyer’s success with “Mr Teas”, Herschell Gordon Lewis and his associate David Friedman decided to try their hand at “nudie” films and over three years made around 30 (according to Friedman) including such titles as “Living Venus” (1960), “The Adventures Of Lucky Pierre” (1961) and “Boin-n-g!” (1963). By 1963 though Lewis wanted to try something different and after watching an old gangster film in which someone was shot down in a hail of bullets, without bleeding, he had the idea for the gore film.  “Blood Feast” was made in 1963 in two days and features terrible acting and gallons of bright red blood. No one was expecting it and it was a hit. Unfortunately by the time the second and third films in his gore-trilogy (“2000 Maniacs” and “Color Me Blood Red”) were released people knew more of what to expect and weary cinema owners banned the films stopping them from achieving their full potential at the cinema. However the idea was already out there.

The late fifties and sixties also saw the rise of the drive-in cinema and with it companies such as American International Pictures led by Sam Arkoff. A.I.P focused on making as many films as possible for as little as possible and aiming at the teenage market. The films, by directors such as Roger Corman, included such titles as “The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes” 1955),  “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” (1957), “Muscle Beach Party” (1964), “The Wild Angels” (1966) and “The Trip” (1967), many of which were written around the outlandish titles and posters. These films, although not distributed in a roadshow, were marketed in the same way as the earlier exploitation films with posters and trailers sensationalising them and gimmicks such as “nurses” at the cinemas to look after those who couldn’t take it.

The seventies and early eighties exploitation film took bits from all that had gone before in the fifties and sixties. There was a glut of soft-core porn, which can be seen as the natural progression from the “nudie” films of Lewis and Meyer, including very successful titles such as “Deep Throat” (1972) and “Debbie Does Dallas” (1978). Also the grindhouse circuit and drive ins were still busy and mainly with low budget horror and splatter films, made in the wake of “Blood Feast”. These films, as well as including numerous titles that later became notorious as “video nasties”, such as “I Spit On Your Grave”(1978), “Cannibal Holocaust”(1979) and “Night Of The Bloody Apes”(1968), also includes films not only by directors who later went on to become famous (Wes Craven’s “Last House On The Left”-1972), but hailed as classics themselves, such as Tobe Hooper’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”(1974) and John Carpenter’s “Halloween”(1978), both of which started life as low budget, independent exploitation films, made for the teenage drive in audience and later bought up by the major studios and turned into money spinning franchises. The exploitation cycle seemed to continue into the eighties with the “slasher” film, inspired by the success of “Texas Chainsaw…” and “Halloween” (as well as “Friday The 13th” -1980), but these soon got taken over by the major studios who bought up film rights and squeezed sequel after sequel and imitation after imitation out of the films (yet the majors still managed to exploit the audience by selling them the same film over and over again) as well as making it a lot harder for independent film makers to get their films out by buying up chains of cinemas and putting the grindhouses and drive ins out of business. Video looked to be the saviour for the independent film maker, but soon enough video ratings were introduced which banned a lot of the content of “exploitation” films (especially here in the UK with he BBFC and the video nasty “scandal” in 1984), although a lot of the earlier films, which really never contained much questionable material did become available to a new audience for the first time.

Therefore, with cinema closures and nowhere to show films, production costs going up, audiences expecting classier productions and censorship, by the mid-late 80’s the exploitation film was all but dead.

Enter Troma.

A Brief History Of Troma Studios

In 2001 Troma Studios celebrated it’s 25th anniversary and is now officially recognised as the oldest independent film studio in the world. Co-founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz first met around 1968 while studying at Yale’s Law and Business school. It was while at Yale that Kaufman was first turned on to film by roommates who also happened to be film fanatics and chairmen of the Yale film society. Kaufman’s own interest soon got the better of him and before long he found himself making his own short film “The Girl Who Returned” (featuring Herz). Shortly after graduating from Yale Kaufman took a job with the Cannon Corporation as “shitboy” [8]. While working as this Kaufman soon struck up a friendship with John Avildsen and ended up working as production assistant on his next films “Joe” (1970) and “Cry Uncle” (1971) (now part of the Troma library and also featuring an appearance by Kaufman). Kaufman next decided to a go at making his own feature film and in 1971 set out making “The Battle Of Loves Return” (1971) which the director now describes as “boring…no sex or violence”. [9] In the meantime Herz had stumbled across “Cry Uncle” and quickly got back in touch with Kaufman with the idea of them forming a partnership to make their own film. They did and the result was “Sugar Cookies” (1972), a Troma version of “Vertigo” (with the mixed up lovers played by two women), and which went on to do very little at the box office. This was quickly followed by “Big Gus What’s The Fuss?” (1973) a strange production made in Israel and the film Kaufman admits to being “the most horrible film I’ve ever had anything to do with.” [10] The film was made in an English and a Hebrew version. Both flopped. Yet instead of giving up, Kaufman and Herz strove forward subletting a broom cupboard as an office and taking the important step of thinking up a name for their fledgling company. For registration a name was needed that hadn’t been used within New York State, therefore the easiest thing was to make up a word. They made up Troma.

Now with an office and a company name they needed more films. The first outside film they picked up was Joel M. Reed’s “Bloodsucking Freaks”(1976), a film described as “the most tasteless, repulsive film of all time” [11] , the first real Troma film in the library and one which made enough money for Kaufman and Herz to move out of the broom cupboard. Next while waiting for the opportunity to start work on their next film Kaufman took on production management duties on “Rocky”(1976), “Saturday Night Fever”(1977), “My Dinner With Andre”(1981) and “The Final Countdown”(1980), through his connections with John Alvidsen.  The next few Troma productions were what Lloyd describes as “sexy comedies”, namely “Squeeze Play”(1979), “Stuck On You” (1982) and “The First Turn On”(1983), all of which kept the money slowly rolling in.

Then in 1982 Michael Herz came across a headline in “Variety” Magazine which read, “The Horror Film Is Dead”. After initially laughing Herz and Kaufman decided to write a horror film, the result was “The Toxic Avenger”(1984) (more a horror-comedy). The plot focused around Melvyn Junko, an ultimate nerd and caretaker of the Tromaville Gym. One day some of the bums who frequent the gym decide to play a joke on Melvyn, involving setting him up with a sheep in suspenders. Melvyn takes the joke badly and tries to end his life by throwing himself from the window. Unfortunately a lorry carrying open vats of toxic waste is parked outside while the drivers snort some cocaine. Melvyn lands in the waste and transforms into the Toxic Avenger, a radioactively deformed superhero, of superhuman size and strength, dedicated to eradicating crime from Tromaville. The film was the company's biggest hit to date, playing for over six months in one New York cinema alone on it’s initial release. Since then and according to Troma’s official “Toxic Avenger Propaganda” the film has spawned three sequels, all with theatrical releases, “The Toxic Crusaders” a Saturday morning cartoon spin off from the film, which penetrated 96% of the U.S television market and was also syndicated in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. The Toxie character has also appeared on hundreds of officially licensed products including action figures, Marvel comics, Topps trading cards, in Nintendo, Sega and PC games, and on lunchboxes, board games, masks as well as being adopted as a mascot by various green campaigners such as the Green Party.

After the success of “The Toxic Avenger” Troma followed it up with such films as “The Class Of Nuke ‘Em High” (1986) and “Monster In The Closet”(1986), which, although not as successful as their predecessor were successful enough to further establish the Troma name in the minds of movie-goers. This wave of Troma films also came along at a time where there was a lot of money to be made in video releases, especially for independent film companies, as video rental stores were desperate for product, and as such “Class Of Nuke ‘Em High” was a goldmine becoming one of the largest selling Troma video releases (only surpassed by “The Toxic Avenger”) and on it’s initial release sold 100,000 copies for rental alone. This boom in video happened around the time that it became legal for major film studios to own cinema chains, which in turn made it harder for independently distributed films to get into cinemas and made independent filmmakers even more reliant on video.

From the release of these two landmark Troma films, Troma carried on slowly expanding into the brand it is now, extending it’s fan-base with the release of such films as, “Troma’s War”(1988) and “Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD”(1993), as well as picking up numerous other independent films for release and distribution. These films along with the success of “The Toxic Crusader’s” cartoon helped raise the profile of Troma and the subsequent releases of “Tromeo And Juliet”(1996), “Terror Firmer”(1999) and “Citizen Toxie”(2000), as well as giving them a loyal and ever growing global fan-base, as well as a huge and popular website, their own film festival, Tromadance, showcasing new and independent filmmakers, their own U.K television series, “Troma’s Edge TV”, accompanied by a season of films on Channel 4, as well as a new PC game “The Troma Project” and interest from major studios in making a big-bucks remake of “The Toxic Avenger”. The Troma film library now numbers around 300 and the Troma brand of “blood, beasts and breasts” [12] shows no signs of slowing down.

Early Exploitation

As already discussed in the introduction the roots of exploitation films go right back to the origins of film itself and there are some who feel that the only true exploitation films were made during this early period of around 1919-1959.

The first thing that the majority of early exploitation had in common was taboo subject matter with the most common types of film from this period are the drug film, such as “Reefer Madness” (1934), which would contain scenes of drug taking and try to show the effects of taking certain drugs in as graphic a way as possible. Another prominent type of film made in this period was the sex hygiene film, such as “Modern Motherhood” (1934), and these films could contain quite graphic shots of genitals, both diseased or not. And if these films contained sexual content only in a none titillating way then there were plenty of other films with the primary purpose of titillation, such as the nudist and burlesque films like “Nudist Land” (1937), although these films could also hardly be considered erotic by today’s standards. Other categories of these early exploitation films are those which deal with exotic subjects from far off lands, such as “The Wild Women Of Borneo” (1932), films dealing with vice, such as “The Wages Of Sin” (1938) and films centred around atrocity, such as “The Love Life Of Adolph Hitler” (1948). These were all subjects that were untouchable for most filmmakers due to restrictions imposed, such as The Hays Code of 1930. Many exploitation filmmakers of course got round these regulations by pretending that their films were educational and made money from selling booklets on the subjects of the films, but of course the educational aspect was just a front and the majority of the audience would be there to see the forbidden, not to be educated.

The drug films usually centred showing the effects and dangers of taking drugs, and many of them, probably to get round censors, made sure they did the job of demonising both drugs and their users. For example Dwain Esper’s “Narcotic” (1933), shows the moral deterioration of a doctor who becomes hooked on opium and although gets himself clean after rehab gets hooked again after being run down by, ironically, a doped up taxi driver, and ends up shooting himself to escape drug hell. The film also features a hilarious scene in an upper class “dope party”, complete with drug slang presumably made up by the filmmakers. The marijuana films of the 30’s also seemed to make it clear that the majority of the drug problem was centred around teenagers and that a single puff on a joint could turn a clean-cut, wholesome teenager into a depraved junkie. These films also featured detailed scenes of drug taking, which many audience members would know nothing about.

The sex hygiene films usually centred around subjects such as, V.D, childbirth and abortion, and also contained some quite graphic medical footage of these. Secondary topics were also touched on and these included things like sterilisation, artificial insemination and transvestism, amongst others. Most of these topics, such as V.D and transvestism would be grim warnings of their dangers, much like the drug films, and also featured footage and images illustrating these things, which although quite horrible were the reasons for people going to see these films in the first place. Childbirth films were slightly different in that they were about the joy and wonder of childbirth, yet their main attraction would be birth footage itself.

Burlesque and nudist films were sold by the fact that they contained nudity. The Burlesque films were nothing more than a film of a burlesque act and the nudist films were sold by claiming they were a look at an alternative lifestyle. Neither type of film was really erotic in anyway whatsoever.

Vice films were centred around the personal and social impacts of prostitution and the films with exotic themes such as “Cannibals Of The South Seas” (1912), and “Baboona” (1935) were supposed to educate people about the way of life in primitive cultures, but instead of presenting an accurate portrayal of primitive life usually centred around the more unusual aspects of these cultures such as “body modification, human sacrifice, cannibalism or sexual practices deemed outside the pale such as bestiality, polygamy and child marriage” [13].  The purpose of the atrocity film was to repel and disgust with scenes of “violence, carnage and bloody ritual” [14] , these films included many based around nazi Germany and the gorier the film, usually, the higher the attendance.

This is where my first comparison comes in as many Troma films very often contain very extreme subject matter. In the Troma universe there seems to be nothing that is taboo. For example, “Tromeo And Juliet” (1996), “In the first 15 minutes it boasts nipple piercing, dismemberment, internet porn, phone sex, lesbian sex, masturbation, farting, incest, bondage, splattered brains and cigarette smoking vaginas” [15] and other films are centred around drug use, “Combat Shock” (1983) and “Story Of A Junkie” (1984), V.D, “Troma’s War” (1988) cannibalism, “Cannibal: The Musical” (1996), abuse and torture, “Bloodsucking Freaks” (1975) and even adults killing their children, “Beware Children At Play” (1995). Also “Terror Firmer” (1999) features all of the above as well as hermaphrodite serial killers, female masturbation, sex involving pickles, and a murder involving a man being sodomised with a bong. Also the great majority of Troma films contain nudity, violence and gore, all of which were major themes in early exploitation.  However Troma films hardly go under the pretence of being educational in order to get bookings and are pretty open about what will be in them, and audiences should know what kind of themes to expect from a Troma film. Yet titles are chosen by Troma specifically to entice an audience with the promise that the film contains sex and/or violence, which they usually do, but not in all cases, for example “A Nympoid Barbarian In Dinosaur Hell” (1991), contains very little of the sex or violence suggested by the title, much like “Surf Nazi’s Must Die” (1987), which also contains very little of the suggested violence and is quite a boring film. This practice is directly descended from the sensationalist techniques used by the early exploiters to get people into showings of their films with promises of forbidden sights, such as sex or violence. Of course many of the films audiences saw contained nothing like the sights they were promised, and many were only pacified by the “square up reel”.

There are also plenty of other similarities between early exploitation films and Troma. One of the most outstanding features of a great majority of these early films is the tremendously low budgets and lack of technical proficiency, exemplified by long scenes with only one or two camera set ups, a heavy use of stock footage, especially for scenes that would require stunts or exotic locations, and extremely bad acting. These films were made like this because they had to be, due to financial and time constraints on the makers. Troma films are also cheap because they have to be and corners are cut by working with unknown actors and crew members who just want the experience of working on a film. Special effects are also done as cheaply as possible, and many are created with household products such as syrup and string (for something like an arm coming off)! To put it in more of a perspective “Terror Firmer” cost $350,000 to make, whereas “Sandra Bullock’s hair budget was $700,000 in her contract. That’s two Troma movies.” [16]

There are also Troma films, mainly earlier ones, that echo the early exploitation films in their complete ineptness, and titles such as “Capture Of Bigfoot” (1979) and “Croaked: Frog Monster From Hell” (1981), probably had budgets similar to those of the early exploitation films. Troma have also suffered the same kind of distribution and censorship problems that the early exploiters suffered by not being in any way affiliated with a major studio. The lack of outside distribution is one of the factors that helps to define the early exploitation films, as a major characteristic of them is their distribution by roadshow operators who travelled from town to town. Troma have had a hard time distributing their films, especially from the late 1980’s as the major studios have exerted more control over distribution. In the 1970’s in America most cinemas were independently owned “Mom And Pop Theatres” which included drive-ins and inner city “grindhouses”, which were ideal places for independent filmmakers to get their films shown as they would take almost anything. However by the mid 1980’s monopoly laws in America changed and major studios were able to buy up cinemas and have their own multiplex chains, which would almost exclusively play only major studio films. This left independents, like Troma, with no where to go and is exemplified by the fact that the first “Toxic Avenger” film when released in 1984 played in over 50 cinemas in New York city alone, and in 2001 when Troma released “Citizen Toxie”, it’s third sequel, they struggled to get it in a single cinema. [17] Therefore, with independently owned cinemas so hard to find, Troma have resorted to using the Internet and getting fans to let them know of independent cinemas and have them campaign to get Troma films shown. To add to all of this there is also the problem of censorship. Early exploiters worked out of the sphere of influence of the MPPDA, which was the governing body of the motion picture industry at the time, but did sometimes fall foul of local authorities and films were often banned and showings closed down by police. It’s also pretty certain that square up reels wouldn’t be shown if there was any danger of being caught. Today Troma has to battle against the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which is a group with a board consisting of members of seven major film studios. This in itself is a problem for independent producers such as Troma who feel discriminated against when it comes to ratings. For example when Troma released “Troma’s War” in 1988 the MPAA is quoted as saying, “Forget it, it’s a horrible film” [18] . This was after there had been very careful checks made to ensure the film was no more violent than recent releases such as “Robocop”(1987) and “Die Hard”(1988) both of which had been granted an R rating. Also the job of the MPAA is not to comment on whether the film is horrible or not, just whether it is suitable for audiences under the age of seventeen. The film was eventually cut to get an R rating and in the process huge chunks of the plot were removed leaving the final release making little sense, and showing the double standards of the MPAA have towards major and independent films. Worst still it costs quite a substantial amount to submit a film for rating, which is hard for independent producers with little money. However leaving a film unrated makes it even harder for independent films to be shown in any cinemas at all.  All of this has also led Troma to make almost all of their catalogue available through their website on video and DVD, many of which are uncut and unrated by the MPAA and on occasion sending uncut prints of films out to cinemas with an R certificate on. [19]

Sexploitation

After the Second World War public attitudes started to change and more “adult” material was demanded by audiences. Therefore following on from the earlier nudist and burlesque films came the first sexploitation films. In 1959, after a couple of false starts and a period of taking nude pin-up photos, Russ Meyer released what can be considered the first sexploitation film, “The Immoral Mr. Teas”, which shot in four days for only $24,000 drew in crowds wherever it played. Over the next five years Meyer followed it up with titles such as, “Eve And The Handyman” (1960) “The Immoral West” (1962) and “Heavenly Bodies” (1963). The success of “…Mr Teas” and Meyer’s following films didn’t go unnoticed and dozens of similar films started appearing made by people such as Doris Wishman and the partnership of Herschell Gordon Lewis and Dave Friedman. Wishman was one of the few women involved in directing sexploitation films, jumping on the bandwagon in the early 1960’s and making such films as, “Blaze Starr Goes Nudist”(1960) “Nature Camp Confidential”(1961) and “Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls”(1962), which would all normally be centred around a similar plot, “an innocent would normally get seduced into the totally wholesome joys of nudism” [20]. Once the original novelty had worn off and the market began to be saturated Wishman started to come up with increasingly outlandish concepts such as the film “Nude On The Moon”(1962) and “Double Agent 73”(1974), a film staring Chesty Morgan, a woman with a 73-inch chest in a film that “makes Pink Flamingos look almost genteel” [21]. One interesting note is that Wishman’s films were so low budget that she couldn’t afford to record the sound along with the action and therefore to avoid timely and costly dialogue syncing usually shot the person who was talking from behind so that you wouldn’t see their mouth.

Lewis and Friedman were also inspired by Meyer and in the early sixties made “Living Venus” (1960), “The Adventures Of Lucky Pierre” (1961), “Nature’s Playmates” (1962) and “Boin-n-g!” (1963), amongst others before getting bored with the formula, and although Meyer had opened the door Lewis and Friedman they “were certainly helping to break new ground” [22] within the new sub-genre. By the mid sixties and in the wake of endless copies of Meyers work and films coming in from Europe which dealt with sexuality in a more realistic way, such as Ingmar Berman’s “Summer With Monika”(1953), Meyers decided to change his filmmaking formula by introducing a violence into the mix, starting in the 1964 film “Lorna”, in which a bored housewife, Lorna, is raped, but instead of minding takes the man home where a fight breaks out with her husband and she is inadvertently killed. “Lorna” was followed up with “Mudhoney” and “Motorpsycho” and the legendary “Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” all in 1965 and with “Faster…” marking the beginning of Meyer’s faster paced films which include “Vixen” (1968), “ Beyond The Valley Of Dolls” (1970) and “Supervixens” (1975).

However during the late sixties and early seventies the big studios started to deal with subjects that had previously been strictly taboo, including things such as homosexuality and prostitution. Things came to a head (so to speak!) in 1972 with the release of “Deep Throat”, starring Linda Lovelace, which was basically a porno movie released and distributed like a mainstream film. The success of the film opened the doors for other similar films such as “Behind The Green Door”(1972) and “The Devil In Miss Jones”(1973) and spelled the end for the majority of sexploitation films, which many now saw as a poor substitute, and left only Meyer able to make sexploitation, as his films offered something more unique and different.

Troma owes a lot to the sexploitation sub-genre. Anyone who has seen any number of Troma films will know most are based around the three Bs “blood, breasts and beasts” [23] and that, at least a fair amount of, nudity is expected. However Troma has been far more involved with sexploitation than just making gooey horror films with boobs in. In fact Troma was founded on sex comedies that could easily pass for 70’s sexploitation. These films started with the pre-Troma (in name anyway) “Sugar Cookies”(1972) which was a reworking of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”, with lesbians and “a good dose of Russ Meyer wit” [24]. After a few years of picking up other people’s films, such as “Bloodsucking Freaks”, and making their own under-whelming films such as “Big Gus What’s The Fuss”, Troma returned to what they call their “sex-comedies” and it’s these that first put Troma on the map.  The next film was “Squeeze Play” (1979), a “saucy, rollicking comedy about a women’s softball team” [25] . The film was a battle of the sexes played out in a softball game and featured a wet t-shirt contest and plenty of sex. The film was also Troma’s first major financial success. This was quickly followed up by “Waitress!” (1981), “Stuck On You” (1982) and “The First Turn On” (1983), before returning to the style with “Sizzle Beach USA” (1986). “Stuck On You” is considered by the Troma team to be their finest sex-comedy and follows estranged lovers, Bill and Carol through the ages as they see what has troubled couples since the dawn of time by meeting famous lovers such as Adam and Eve. “The First Turn On” features a group of camp counsellors who get stuck in a cave and have nothing to do but explore their sexual fantasies; Madonna even auditioned for the film but was turned down. “Sizzle Beach USA” is only notable for being Kevin Costner’s first film.

Troma’s films are a little different from the earlier sexploitation films, notably for having much stronger plots and being driven by them, instead of just being an excuse for showing flesh. However I think they are very close to being sexploitation and, especially during the eighties, were the nearest thing to sexploitation films being produced. It is also these films that really established Troma and finally got some money rolling into the company, allowing for more adventurous films such as “The Toxic Avenger” to be made, and allowing the company to stop making these films before the market got saturated. These films were also undoubtedly influential as well, as “screwball sex-comedies” following similar formulas to the Troma releases became very popular in the eighties with the release of such films as “Porky’s”(1981) and “Revenge Of The Nerds”(1984), and therefore Troma may be somewhat responsible for the new wave sex comedies such as “American Pie”(1999) and “Road Trip”(2000).

A.I.P And Roger Corman

Out of all of the filmmakers and studios who’s work has been associated with exploitation films I think it is the work of Sam Arkoff, Roger Corman and the American International Pictures studio, spanning from the 1950s to the 1980s, that draws the greatest comparison with what Troma studios is doing today, and was probably the greatest source of inspiration to them.

Before the 1950’s there had been no middle ground between wholesome family films and films intended for adults. However the introduction in the 1950’s of television into many American homes meant that cinema audiences dropped as more and more adults opted to stay in and watch TV. The fifties also saw the “emergence of the teenager as such an identifiable group” [26] with new fashions appearing and more importantly the emergence of rock n’ roll, which seemed to be custom made for teenagers to love and parents to hate. Yet with teenage culture on the rise and more adults staying out of cinemas Hollywood was still ignoring the youth market. Enter A.I.P.

Sam Arkoff, a Hollywood lawyer, and Jim Nicholson, sales manager for the RealArt Production Company, founded A.I.P studios in 1954 on a budget of $3000. With it they bought and distributed, “The Fast And The Furious”, the second film by young filmmaker Roger Corman. The film did well and was the beginning of a fruitful relationship between Corman and A.I.P, with Corman as the companies principle director, an arrangement  would last until 1970, when Corman decided to go it alone with his own production and distribution company, New World Pictures, which rapidly became one of America’s leading film distributors and Roger Corman has been hailed as “one of Hollywood’s most gifted and masterful filmmakers” [27], as well as one of the most prolific being responsible for over 400 films, and extremely important to A.I.P’s success.

A.I.P released a huge range of films from “puppy-love, teenage romances and sci-fi action adventures to classic horror tales” [28], and a whole lot more. The fifties saw A.I.P enjoy huge success with horror films aimed at the teenage market such as, “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” (1957), shot in two days and grossing over $2 million from US theatre receipts alone, “I Was A Teenage Frankenstein” (1957) and “A Bucket Of Blood” (1959) and the 1960s saw success with several series, including Corman’s acclaimed horror films based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe and starring Vincent Price. The sixties also saw A.I.P release the successful beach party series, with such films as “Operation Bikini” (1963) and “Beach Party” (1963) as well as launching the biker film genre with the release of Corman’s “The Wild Angels”(1966). Successes like these meant that “A.I.P and Disney were the only film companies in town (Hollywood) that consistently made a profit, year after year.” [29]

Nicholson died in 1971, yet A.I.P continued it’s success throughout the 1970’s, with horror still keeping the money rolling in, with films such as “Deranged” (1974) and “The Food Of The Gods” (1976), as well as putting out some of the most famous blacksploitation films such as “Blacula” (1972) and “Foxy Brown” (1974) and picking up and distributing many foreign films, before releasing some bigger budget films in the late 70s such as “The Amityville Horror” (1979) and “Love At First Bite” (1979), before Arkoff left the company after merging it with Filmways, and setting up Arkoff International Pictures.

A.I.P and the work of Corman can be seen as probably the most direct influences on the output of Troma, and Kaufman himself says, “I refer to Sam and Roger Corman as the Beethoven and Mozart of independent cinema. It’s fair to say that without Sam’s influence on me and Michael Herz, Troma would be a considerably different company today, if indeed it existed at all” [30] as well as, “Michael and I were mimicking Roger when we first started Troma. We had the concept for a small studio that could turn out unique, quality films at a time when theatres actually needed them” [31].  Arkoff also showed his support of Troma by appearing in an infomercial for them called “The Troma System”, in 1991. Therefore with A.I.P and Corman as major influences on the company there are parallels which can be drawn between the two companies.

Firstly both companies were founded on a strong partnership between two people, A.I.P with Arkoff and Nicholson and Troma with Kaufman and Herz. This kind of company set up is very rare for a film studio where usually there will be boards of directors amongst many more who all have to be satisfied that a film will make a substantial profit before it is invested in and once this decision is made these people will probably have nothing to do with the film until it’s finished. With a company being run by two people, especially when they are also taking a hands on approach, producing and directing some of the films, it is much easier to retain the original vision without a huge chain of command where an idea for a film may get altered and watered down dozens of times before it becomes “viable” to make. Also with a company set up this way it will be much easier to create a “brand”, which is what Troma, and to some extent A.I.P, managed to achieve. This is extremely important to a small company as without unaffordable, recognisable stars and endless money to invest in marketing their has to be a reason for people to want to see a film, and a majority of the people who go and see a new Troma movie, go just for that, a new Troma movie.

Both companies also specialised in low budget films, out of necessity, after being set up on shoestring budgets. A.I.P had to make a profit with their films in order for the company to carry on and always worked with little in the way of assurance of even making their money back, a very similar situation to Troma, who are spending less on their films now than they were 15 years ago. And both companies had to survive without major investment or backing from anybody else. In fact even with continued growth and success both companies had to battle against the odds. A.I.P started out at a time when cinema audiences were dropping, and although they captured the new teenage market, there were still less and less people attending the cinema, and similarly as Troma have grown as a company they have faced a battle against major studios who own cinema chains, video shop chains (Blockbuster blacklist Troma in the USA), media outlets such as television stations as well as controlling the MPAA (made up of a board of representatives from seven major studios). This is possibly the main reason that Troma are the longest running independent studio, as most others thought of as being independent including A.I.P, were bought out by major studios. Therefore these low budgets have become a necessity, even as technology brings the cost of making films down.

Both companies have a huge library of films in their catalogue, covering many genres, but centred around horror films, with which both companies made their name.  A.I.P found one of their greatest early successes with “I Was A Teenage Werewolf”, while Troma first made their mark with the “The Toxic Avenger”, which was inspired by a journalist who claimed the horror film was dead. Neither of these are “straight up” horror films and feature plenty of comedy moments, “Troma films will frighten you, but not in the way that “Halloween” frightens you. Our movies stretch you in every direction – you’re scared, you’re shocked, you’re laughing your head off, you cry…It literally Tromatizes you, it makes your emotions into stretchable rubber.” [32]  And both also paved the way forward for each company, A.I.P releasing a series of “I Was A Teenage…” films and Toxie becoming Troma’s mascot, and adding the multicoloured gore to their films.

One way of keeping the outgoings to a minimum while keeping films coming out of the studio, realised by both companies, is by getting hold of “pick-ups”, which are films by, usually new, directors from outside the company, and distributing them under the company name. This has not only helped both companies create an astonishing library of films but also helped both companies to diversify their output and discover new talent. For example one of A.I.P’s last films was a pick up from Australia, “Mad Max” (1980), the film was not only hugely successful, but also helped to get then unknown actor Mel Gibson discovered by Hollywood, likewise with “Sizzle Beach USA” picked up by Troma, which was the first film to star Kevin Costner (although it didn’t make him famous).  Both companies have also picked up many independent foreign films and had them re-titled and dubbed into English, such as A.I.P’s “What’s Up Tiger Lilly” (1966), which made a name for Woody Allen who rewrote and dubbed it, and Troma’s “Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters” (1982). This policy has also led to both companies being able to put out animations such as A.I.P’s “The Nine Lives Of Fritz The Cat!” (1974) and Troma’s “Puppetoon Movie” (1986), which is not only an animation but is also aimed at children, which although a departure for Troma, is one that they’re willing to embrace.

“Since we have no big-name stars, no best selling books, no hit plays, or well known directors, the title and the ads are going to have to get young people into the theatres.” [33] And somehow they did though a campaign of sensationalist trailers and posters. A.I.P even made their films round the titles and posters, rather than doing it the other way round like most companies would. Films were sold on tag lines such as “When 10,000 bodies hit 5,000 blankets” (“Beach Blanket Bingo” - 1965) and “When it comes to killing…Mama knows best” (“Bloody Mama” - 1970) and titles such as Astounding She-Monster”(1957),“Voyage To The Planet Of Prehistoric Women”(1968) and “Night Of The Blood Monster”(1969). “The Troma have adopted a similar low cost, yet shrewd, marketing strategy and through adopting some of A.I.P’s methods have helped to create and establish the Troma brand, in the minds of filmgoers. Titles and video trailers are very important in the marketing of Troma films and it’s down to this reason that many Troma pick-ups have their titles changed to make them more marketable to Troma fans. Examples of this are “Atomic High School” becoming “Class Of Nuke ‘Em High” (partially to capitalise on the success of the film “Class Of 1984”), “Lost Fortress” became “A Nympoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell”, “Alfred Packer: The Musical” became “Cannibal: The Musical”, “Hillbilly Wedding” became “Demented Death Farm Massacre”, “Savage Instinct” became “They Call Me Macho Woman” and “Star Pods” became “Star Pods 2: Attack Of The Pleasure Pods”. Troma also carry this over into their video trailers which usually run for a good five minutes and feature all of the best scenes from a film, usually in their entirety, as well as the title of the film repeated over and over again both on screen an in the voice over. This method does seem to work yet usually leaves the audience already seeing all the bits worth seeing from films such as “A Nymphoid Barbarian…”

A final comparison between the two companies can be made with the amount of future stars each has given their first jobs to. For example A.I.P were the first people to employ directors such as Woody Allen (“What’s Up Tiger Lilly” - 1966), Ivan Reitman (“Cannibal Girls” - 1973 ), David Cronenberg (“Shivers” - 1975) and Martin Scorsese (“Boxcar Bertha” - 1972), as well as giving the first starring roles to actors such as Charles Bronson, Robert De Niro, Peter Fonda, Richard Pryor, Chuck Norris, Dennis Hopper, Susan Saranden and Richard Dreyfus. Troma has a similar list with directors such as Trey Parker (creator of “South Park”) getting a break with “Cannibal: The Musical” and Oliver Stone starting out on “Battle Of Loves Return”, as well as a whole host of actors including Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thornton, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro, Jean-Michael Vincent and Russ Tamblyn all appearing in Troma films over the years. Troma has also been a breeding ground for people who have wanted to break into other areas of filmmaking such as special effects and lighting, with many crews working for almost free to gain experience, “people come from all over the world to work on a Troma movie for no money – I’m not joking. On “Citizen Toxie” and “Terror Firmer” there were people from Japan, Spain, Israel, England and France who came at their own expense. They sleep on the floor for three months. They eat cheese sandwiches three times a day. They have to defecate in a paper bag. All for the joy of making a film they can believe in, doing something new and exploring new territory.” [34]

Gore, Grindhouse, Nasties And Slashers

In 1963, Herschell Gordon Lewis watched a gangster film, in which a gangster was gunned down by in hail of bullets. The gangster was killed as he was shot umpteen times, yet there was no blood.  “ “That’s not right”, Lewis thought, “That guy should be bleeding like a geyser…” And suddenly the light came on, and a new genre was born.” [35] Lewis shortly found himself in Miami, with Dave Friedman, filming a sexploitation film called, “Belle, Bare And Beautiful”, around a hotel with a strong Egyptian theme. Lewis quickly wrote a 15 page script and with the same cast and crew shot another film straight away in the same location in only two days. The film was “Blood Feast” (1963), which was centred around a mad caterer who killed women to get the necessary ingredients for an Egyptian feast. The film was a huge success, with Lewis adopting the guise of one of the original roadshow operators with “nurses” at showings and sick bags given out to the audience. The film didn’t look realistic, but it’s cheapness added a grotesque element to the film and Lewis and Friedman had found a gap in the market all to themselves and had begun the now common trend of exploiting extreme violence and gore.

Lewis and Friedman followed up the success of “Blood Feast” almost immediately, in an attempt to beat any competition, the result was “Two Thousand Maniacs”(1964). The story was based on “Brigadoon”, and centred around Pleasant Valley, a town destroyed in the civil war, but which returns every hundred years to avenge it’s destruction. The script and budget were both much more substantial second time round with 70 pages and $65,000 (three times more than “Blood Feast”), although not quite as successful again the film quickly made a profit and the pair soon set about making what would be their last film together, “Color Me Blood Red”(1965). The third film centres around a struggling artist, who starts to get rave reviews after using blood for paint, and therefore goes on a murdering spree to keep stocked. During the making of this film, Lewis and Friedman went their separate ways with Lewis continuing to make gore films until 1972, including such titles as “A Taste Of Blood” (1967), “She Devils On Wheels” (1968), “The Wizard Of Gore” (1970) and “The Gore-Gore Girls” (1972) after which he retired from filmmaking. Friedman also continued making films, with a new partner Dan Sonney, such as “The Defilers”(1965), “She Freak”(1967),and “Thar She Blows”(1969), in more of a Russ Meyer vein, leaving the gore to Lewis.

The influence that Lewis had on the output of Troma studios cannot be under emphasised, especially given Troma’s reputation for making gory films, and this influence can be especially seen in the more “classic” Troma films (if such a label can be applied) such as “The Toxic Avenger”, “Class Of Nuke ‘Em High” and “Terror Firmer”, which all feature plenty of very over the top gore. Troma also added more colours to Lewis formula, such as greens and oranges to provide a truly multi-colour toxic gore experience, and creating one of their trade marks with green vomit. Troma were probably also inspired by the fact that even though Lewis’s films were technically inept, they still did well, due to the subject matter and finding a gap in the market, much like Troma’s success with “The Toxic Avenger.”

Lewis’s gore films also helped pioneer extremely low budget, yet effective home made special effects, which look cheap and easy to create yet are grotesquely effective, a technique that Troma has adopted as it’s own. Special effects have been very important to Troma and it was the adding of this ingredient that helped evolve their films away from sex comedies and towards more horror based comedy, with plenty of sex thrown in as well. And a parallel can be seen in the work of Troma and Lewis who both made films centred around sex until they brought in cheap gore effects which dramatically changed the outputs of both with their films to being centred more around gory violence. Lewis used the most basic ingredients to make his films, such as red paint for blood, limbs from clothes dummies for body parts and large helpings of offal, covered in red paint and colouring. For example in “Blood Feast” where the killer, Fuad Ramses, removes a girls (played by Connie Mason) tongue “they got a lamb’s tongue from the butcher, soaked it in strawberry jam for imitation blood and stuffed it into her mouth” [36]. Troma have embraced and taken this home made effect ethic to the extremes, “by letting the audience see the seams on our makeshift latex-and-syrup, we are, in fact, allowing them to become a part of the imaginative process it takes in creating the film.” [37] Examples of some of these effects are as follows, for a head crushing scene, fake heads have been made out of a simple cantaloupe (without any extra features added!) in “The Toxic Avenger” and out of ground beef in “Tromeo And Juliet”. Of course most of this is covered up by quick cutting and editing. Also Troma reuse props from other films, such as fake limbs etc, in the same way Lewis reused limbs from dummies (what would be the point in getting more when a fake arm will still look like a fake arm?), other cheap effects are created using such methods of syrup, red food colouring and toilet roll, for fleshy wounds, Alka Seltza in the mouth, with food colouring for coloured foaming vomit and a substance called Ultraslime, which in Kaufman’s words, “when making a violent movie, you cannot have enough of.” [38] Also a lot of making these cheap effects look real, in both Troma and Lewis’s films, falls at the actors who have to pretend it’s all real, which is easier said than done when most actors in these films are new and untrained. However the serious acting with cheesy effects is one of the major reasons these films have been hailed as camp classics, and can still be enjoyed years after being made.

Lewis’s influence can also be seen indirectly in many other Troma films, which are inspired by films, which in turn, were inspired by Lewis. In 1968 in the wake of Lewis and the introduction of gore a young filmmaker called George Romero directed “Night Of The Living Dead” a film about the dead rising from the grave, due to a chemical spillage, and feasting on the living, and “some of the scenes were the most offensive things offered outside an H.G Lewis movie.” [39] The film was followed by two sequels, “Dawn Of The Dead” (1977) and “Day Of The Dead” (1985) and a whole host of imitators, especially from Italy, where a new craze began for making zombie and cannibal films, such as Lucio Fulci’s “Zombie Flesh Eaters”(1979), Ruggero Deodato’s “Cannibal Holocaust” (1981), and Umberto Lenzi’s “Cannibal Ferox” (1981), all of which have found a quite a receptive audience and some degree of cult status. Of course films like these did not go unnoticed by Troma who have made sure that there are similar, if not a lot more camp, films in their library such as “Redneck Zombies” (1987), “Curse Of The Cannibal Confederates” (1982), “Chopper Chicks In Zombietown” (1989), “Beware Children At Play” (1995), which replaces the zombies or cannibal tribes for flesh eating children, and “Cannibal: The Musical” (1996).

As well as zombie and cannibal flicks there was plenty more gore based films also released in the 1970’s and early 80’s on to what was known as the “grindhouse” circuit, of mainly rundown independently owned inner city cinemas and drive ins which mainly showed sex and gore films. These included titles such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), “The Evil Dead” (1982), “The Bogey Man” (1980), “Last House On The Left” (1972), “I Spit On Your Grave” (1978) and “Don’t Look In The Basement” (1973). It is also these films which when released on home video, in Britain in the early 1980’s, that caused the “video nasty” outcry which led to the 1984 Video Recordings Act and the outright banning of a lot of these films in the UK, some of which, such as “Last House…” still haven’t been granted a certificate. Troma’s library once again contains many examples of such films including “Bloodsucking Freaks” (1975), “G.I Executioner” (1984), “Nightbeast” (1982), “Rabid Grannies” (1988) and “Zombie Island Massacre” (1983).

A final type of horror film that emerged in the 1970’s from the success of other gore based films is the slasher movie. Taking inspiration from earlier films such as “Psycho” (1960), “Peeping Tom” (1960), Italian giallo films by the likes of Mario Bava and Dario Argento, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Last House On The Left” and “Blood Feast”, the slasher movie proper emerged in 1978 with John Carpenters “Halloween”, which in his words he thought was going to be “just another low budget exploitation movie” [40], yet ended up starting a new sub-genre of horror film, spawning six sequels, with another in the pipeline, and countless imitations, many made by money hungry major studios quick to cash in on the latest sensation, such as the “Friday 13th” series (ten in all up to now), “The Burning” (1980), “Hell Night” (1980) and “My Bloody Valentine” (1981). The slasher film certainly did not pass Troma by and yet again they include many examples of the sub-genre in their library including “Blood Hook” (1986), “Mother’s Day” (1979), “Girls School Screamers” (1984) and “Baby Doll Murders” (1992).

Conclusions

So is Troma an exploitation films studio? Well really the answer seems to be yes and no.

The influence of around eighty years of exploitation filmmaking can clearly be seen throughout the history of Troma and their extensive library. Firstly the influence of the early exploiters, such as Dwain Esper and the “forty thieves”, in their, deliberate, choice of extreme and taboo subject matter such as torture, cannibalism, drugs and V.D amongst many more and their sensationalist way of advertising such product. Troma have also taken on similar methods of distribution and marketing in how they have had to get their own independent bookings for their films as they have battled more and more to get their films shown in any form as the majors have tightened their grip on film distribution worldwide, but specifically in America. They have also battled against censors, specifically the MPAA, to get certificates and hence be able to show their films, and are maybe the filmmakers most affected by issues of censorship time after time since the early exploiters (probably because they keep coming back for more and upping the ante where other filmmakers have given up).

Secondly the influence of A.I.P and Roger Corman, often hailed as the greatest low budget and exploitation filmmakers and distributors, runs deep throughout the Troma product, with Lloyd Kaufman not hiding the fact that in quotes such as, “I refer to Sam and Roger Corman as the Beethoven and Mozart of independent cinema. It’s fair to say that without Sam’s influence on me and Michael Herz, Troma would be a considerably different company today, if indeed it existed at all” [41]. Therefore I think that A.I.P and Corman can be seen as the primary influence on Troma as a company and it can be noted as a huge personal success that Corman not only wrote the introduction to Kaufman’s book, “All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger” but in it said, “I must say that I admire the way that Lloyd and Troma have become something of idols themselves for many of today’s major young film directors and certainly for those of tomorrow” [42], which suspiciously sounds like Corman may think that a torch has been passed from him to Kaufamn and the Troma team, as the undisputed kings of low budget cinema. Troma certainly have taken Corman and Sam Arkoff’s blueprints for how to run a successful independent and low budget film company, in regards to product, marketing and distribution.

Also, Troma owes a great debt to the filmmakers from the 60’s and 70’s who pioneered both the sexploitation and gore films, as sex and gore are probably the two most important ingredients in the vast majority of Troma films. The sexploitation filmmakers such as Russ Meyer and their works helped pave the way and push the boundaries for what was deemed acceptable in films for audiences who didn’t want to see out and out porn and were therefore an obvious influence on the early Troma films, comedies mainly centred around sex as well as also being featured very prominently in the majority of Troma films since. Hershcell Gordon Lewis is of course another huge influence on the Troma as the man who first thought to put buckets of gore on screen in his 1963 film “Blood Feast”, as well as pioneering the kind of ultra low budget special effects that Troma have made famous, in films such as “The Toxic Avenger”. Lewis has also inspired many other film makers such as George Romero and Lucio Fulci who made a name for themselves in the horror sub-genre of zombie and cannibal films, and dozens of other directors whose work is now classed under horror the sub-genres of slasher films and video nasties, who in turn have inspired many directors and films which are available in Troma’s library, such as “Redneck Zombies”, “Bloodsucking Freaks” and “Mothers Day.”

It can easily be said then that Troma embodies the influence then of around 80 years worth of exploitation films, yet is Troma just an exploitation film studio? I think the answer to that has to be no. In these days of huge multinational media corporations such as AOL/Time Warner and Disney it has become very difficult for even established independent film studios to not only get noticed but to survive at all on any level, and all but impossible for new ones to start up. Also any independent companies that have been successful have largely been bought up by the major studios and are now just another division of them such as Miramax (Disney) and New Line Cinema (AOL/Time Warner). These corporations, as I have discussed earlier, own most chains of film distribution and can effectively keep the independents out. All these are major reasons as to why Troma is now the longest running independent film studio in the world with over 25 years of filmmaking behind it. It is very true that Troma has had it’s own fair share of problems with getting their films into the cinemas and that they run a constant campaign through their web-site to get fans to help get their films booked across America and the world, and they freely admit that they’re films are booked in cinemas less now than they were ten years ago. However not only have the Troma managed to keep running for so long but they have also managed to continued to expand the company and firmly establish Troma and whose global popularity and presence is still on the increase.

Troma has become much more than just a film studio, it’s become a brand producing comics, animations, three websites (www.troma.com, www.tromaville.com and www.toxicavenger.com) which it uses to promote and sell it’s films to great effect, their own computer game for the PC, “The Troma Project”, and a weekly television show for Channel 4 here in the UK, “Troma’s Edge TV”, “Troma has emerged as a brand name, and every so often big companies want to buy us, or merge with us, or acquire us, or do something, and part of the reason is that we’ve got a brand name perception. People will rent a Troma movie. We estimate that there may be 2,000 video stores around the country (USA) that have Troma sections.” [43] As well as all that the company broke into the mainstream with their own Saturday morning cartoon “The Toxic Crusaders” (1990-1993), a spin off from “The Toxic Avenger”, and which in itself spawned a whole line of merchandise from lunch boxes to action figures to pyjamas to video games, as well as it’s own twice monthly comic book, by Marvel comics. On top of all this Troma have also found considerable time to devote to finding and supporting new talent not only with their annual film festival dedicated to showcasing the best in underground cinema and new filmmakers, but also with a recent opportunity for fans to help write the screenplay for the forthcoming “Class Of Nuke ‘Em High 4”, through their website. Filmmakers who have already been helped out by Troma include Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who have gone on to worldwide success with “South Park” and directors such as Peter Jackson have admitted to being greatly influenced by Troma to get into filmmaking, maybe even making them partly responsible for “Lord Of The Rings”!

All of the above are things that no other exploitation studio or filmmaker has ever been able to achieve and I believe that with their considerable list of achievements they have transcended the realm of the exploitation film studio and made their mark on the mainstream, yet without selling out or giving up any of their independent principles, and if anything holding on to them more strongly as the years have gone on and their frustration with the major studios and the majority of their output has increased. And yet Troma probably still is the closest thing we have left to the weird, sick and often hilarious tradition of exploitation filmmakers within the modern film industry and whatever critics say about their output the Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz can be truly proud of what Troma studios has become today. Long live Troma and truly independent film.

Dissertation Bibliography

Bold, Daring, Shocking, True: A History Of Exploitation Films, 1919 – 1959, Eric Schaefer, Durham And London: Duke University Press, 1999.
The Video Nasties: Freedom And Censorship In The Media, Martin Barker (Editor), London: Pluto Press 1984.
Down And Dirty: Hollywood’s Exploitation Filmmakers And Their Movies, Mike Quarles, London: McFarland, 1993
How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime, Roger Corman with Jim Jerome, 1990, New York: Random House
The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
Flying Through Hollywood By The Seat Of My Pants, Sam Arkoff with Richard Trubo, New York: Birch lane Press, 1992
Nightmare Of Ecstasy: the life and art of Edward D. Wood Jr, Rudolph Grey, Feral House, 1992
See No Evil: Banned Films And Video Controversy, David Kerekes and David Slater, Critical Vision, 2000
All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
Screams And Nightmares: The Films Of Wes Craven, Brian J. Robb, London: Titan Books, 1998
Incredibly Strange Films, Andrea Juno and V. Vale (Editors), San Francisco: V-Search, 1986
Slasher Movies, Mark Whitehead, Pocket Essentials, 2000
“Welcome To The Tromadome”, Interview With Lloyd Kaufman by Gareth Round (from issue 29 of “Big Cheese Magazine”)
“Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from www.salon.com)
“Postcards From Tromaville”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Keith Phillips (from www.theonion.com)
Roger Corman interview by Keith Phillips (from www.theonion.com)
“Tromatized!” Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Daniel Kraus (from www.salon.com)
“The Herschell Gordon Lewis Guide”, Bob Bankard (from www.phillyburbs.com)
“Bad Movies And Good Times. Screening Room For That’s Exploitation”, Dan Lybarger
Various articles and information from www.troma.com, www.tromaville.com and www.toxicavenger.com.
Various episodes of “Troma’s Edge TV” (Channel 4)
“Scream And Scream Again” Channel 4 documentary.
The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)
www.metroactivearts.com
Debbie Rochon interview from: www.diabolicaldominion.com
Lecture notes from “The Aesthetics Of Trash” and “Stars And Genre”

[1] “Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from www.salon.com)
[2] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[3] Bold, Daring, Shocking, True: A History Of Exploitation Films, 1919 – 1959, Eric Schaefer, Durham And London: Duke University Press, 1999
[4] Down And Dirty: Hollywood’s Exploitation Filmmakers And Their Movies, Mike Quarles, London: McFarland, 1993
[5] How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime, Roger Corman with Jim Jerome, 1990, New York: Random House
[6] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[7] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[8] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[9] Ibid
[10] Ibid
[11] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[12] “Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from www.salon.com)
[13] Bold, Daring, Shocking, True: A History Of Exploitation Films, 1919 – 1959, Eric Schaefer, Durham And London: Duke University Press, 1999
[14] Ibid
[15] “Tromatized!” Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Daniel Kraus (from www.salon.com).
[16] “Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from www.salon.com)
[17] Information from www.troma.com
[18] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[19] Information from www.troma.com
[20] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[21] Incredibly Strange Films, Andrea Juno and V. Vale (Editors), San Francisco: V-Search, 1986
[22] Down And Dirty: Hollywood’s Exploitation Filmmakers And Their Movies, Mike Quarles, London: McFarland, 1993
[23] “Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from). www.salon.com
[24] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[25] Ibid
[26] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[27] Roger Corman interview by Keith Phillips (from www.theonion.com)
[28] Flying Through Hollywood By The Seat Of My Pants, Sam Arkoff with Richard Trubo, New York: Birch lane Press, 1992
[29] Ibid
[30] From www.Troma.com (news archives)
[31] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[32] “Tromatized!” Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Daniel Kraus (from www.salon.com)
[33] Flying Through Hollywood By The Seat Of My Pants, Sam Arkoff with Richard Trubo, New York: Birch lane Press, 1992
[34] “Blood, Breasts And Beasts”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Andrew O’Hehir (from www.salon.com)
[35] “The Herschell Gordon Lewis Guide”, Bob Bankard (from www.phillyburbs.com)
[36] The Incredibly Strange Film Book: An Alternative History Of Cinema, Jonathan Ross, London: Simon and Schuster Ltd, 1993
[37] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[38] Ibid
[39] Down And Dirty: Hollywood’s Exploitation Filmmakers And Their Movies, Mike Quarles, London: McFarland, 1993
[40] “ Scream And Scream Again”, Channel 4 documentary
[41] From www.Troma.com (news archives)
[42] All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn, New York: Berkley Boulevard, 1998
[43] “Postcards From Tromaville”, Interview with Lloyd Kaufman by Keith Phillips (from www.theonion.com).