6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Welcome to Tromaville high where the students are getting brighter - literally! When the local nuclear power plant springs a leak, everybody "radiates" a new personality. The honor society's mutated into "The Cretins" motorcycle gang, & a humongous monster fetus is growing in the fallout shelter. In true Tromatic fashion, Class of Nuke 'Em High will leave you screaming for more of the classic terror & humor you've come to expect . . . from Troma . . . of course.
Starring: Janelle Brady, Gil Brenton, Robert Prichard, Richard W. Haines, Michael HerzHorror | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Attempting to outwit and outrun their 1984 cult hit, “The Toxic Avenger,” co-directors Richard W. Haines and Lloyd Kaufman (billed here as “Samuel Weil”) return to the dregs of humanity with 1986’s “Class of Nuke ‘Em High,” which turns out to be the next logical step of splatter stupidity for Troma Entertainment. Instead of defining the origin story of a reluctant superhero, the production settles on absolute chaos, braiding a tribute to teen cinema of the 1950s with a gore zone spectacle of the 1980s. It’s wild work, exploring a premise with surprising potential, but like most Troma endeavors, it doesn’t know when to quit, gradually working from a cheeky serving of carnage to noisy bedlam, losing a balance between creepy and silly that aids digestion of the feature’s first two acts. “Class of Nuke ‘Em High” is only fun in the build-up to pandemonium, not when the effort finally reaches its orgy of graphic violence and aggressive slapstick, making the climax strangely anticlimactic.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation runs into its fair share of trouble spots, offering rough reel changes, judder, mild flicker, and scratches along the way, coupled with the movie's inherent cinematographic limitations. Still, some sense of clarity remains, with passable detail on characters and ghoulish events, capturing facial textures and gore zone particulars. Colors are encouraging, offering secure primaries and DayGlo extremes, while skintones appear stable and true. Delineation isn't challenged in this brightly shot effort, but depths and shadows are preserved. Grain is on the chunky side, with a few noisy bursts.
The 2.0 Dolby Digital sound mix doesn't support a secure feeling of cinematic chaos, plagued by a high-pitched ringing that carries throughout the entire picture. While it doesn't dominate the track, it's difficult to ignore. Damage points are obvious, with a few audio dropouts and fluctuating levels between reels. Dialogue is adequately intelligible, but not profound, with crispy highs and slightly muddy lows, while sound effects tend to push out the human element, finding horror happenings loud and blunt. Soundtrack cuts aren't crisply detailed but they manage, adding some needed weight to the listening experience.
The film builds to a showdown conclusion, where The Cretins, the students, the monster, the faculty, and reactor employees combine to celebrate doomsday with outrageous violence -- a school takeover scenario that isn't nearly as fun as it should be. Kaufman and Haines aim for noise, not escalation, which leaves the picture winded long before it has a chance to locate what passes for an ending (it's more of a promise for a sequel). Not that "Class of Nuke 'Em High" is ever measured, considered entertainment, but its spiral into chaos isn't inviting, failing to pay off the inventive absurdity the production has been building with thespian and editorial indulgence. "Class of Nuke 'Em High" doesn't create a craving for future chapters in the Tromaville saga, but if one is willing to forgive an addiction to excess, the opening sections of the movie manage to unearth enough bloody nonsense to carry the effort to the end.
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