Lloyd Kaufman
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Slither (2006)
Directed by James Gunn
influenced by The Toxic Avenger (1984), Tromeo & Juliet (1996), Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986)
Paying tribute to his Lloyd Kaufman roots with a shot in which The Toxic Avenger is on TV in the background, James Gunn's Slither is more in line with the hipster revisionism of his screenplay for Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead .
His screenplay is both a tribute to and a send-up of the gruesome 1980s Troma Pictures shockers he loves -- there's even a clip from the company's best-known film, "The Toxic Avenger" -- and his cast plays even the most ridiculous scenes with admirably straight faces, which makes the material that much funnier.
After homegrown talents like Sam Raimi, Stuart Gordon and Lloyd Kaufman (co-founder of Troma Entertainment) reinvigorated the genre in the '80s with Evil Dead II, Re-Animator and The Toxic Avenger respectively, audiences have generally had to look overseas for movies that brought both the funny and the scary.
Before breaking through in the horror realm as the screenwriter of 2004’s excellent Dawn of the Dead remake, James Gunn spent years toiling for Troma Entertainment, the New York company famous for campy, no-budget shockers like The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ‘Em High .
Writer/director James Gunn cut his teeth with the Troma Studios filmmaking crew (“The Toxic Avenger,” “Tromeo & Juliet”), so naturally the camp factor in “Slither” is high.
However, Gunn — who even includes a clip from The Toxic Avenger — has crafted a much savvier, more professional film than anything his Troma compatriots ever managed.
Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film (itself following in the footsteps of more than a dozen cinematic predecessors) upped the ante with a controversial bit of nudity; a 1996 variant, Tromeo and Juliet, went all in with a giant mutant penis .
The Suicide Squad (2021)
Directed by James Gunn
influenced by The Toxic Avenger (1984), Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986), Tromeo & Juliet (1996)
And since “The Suicide Squad” is probably the first-ever studio blockbuster to contain a reference to “The Toxic Avenger,” it’s being hailed in some quarters as a $200 million Troma Film, without much consideration of how sad such thing might actually be.
And in James Gunn, who cut his teeth working for gonzo shocksploitation production company Troma ( Class of Nuke ’Em High , Tromeo and Juliet ), they got just that.
And in James Gunn, who cut his teeth working for gonzo shocksploitation production company Troma ( Class of Nuke ’Em High , Tromeo and Juliet ), they got just that.
Gunn might be the only person to direct blockbuster tentpoles for both Marvel and DC, but he’s still the guy who co-wrote Troma’s “Tromeo and Juliet” at heart.
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Directed by Julius Onah
influenced by The Toxic Avenger (1984)
Visuals
…once he is shown the light of day, his design screams Toxie from The Toxic Avenger.
When it comes to literary classics given a gross-out horror twist, let’s just say it’s no Tromeo and Juliet.
James Gunn's ("Tromeo and Juliet") story and screenplay feature all the elements of a Scooby episode and introduce just enough differences for the film's feature length.
I'd like to thank the "brains" behind this inevitable bomb for hiring James Gunn, former screenwriter for classic Troma Films' junk such as Tromeo and Juliet and Tromaville Cafe, for not even giving this picture a fighting chance.