INDEPENDENT. SINCE 1974.
A short, sourced timeline of the company that made outsider cinema a way of life. This is an independent retrospective, not an official company history.
A company outside the studio system
Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz founded Troma Entertainment. Its history includes both producing films and distributing work made by other filmmakers.
SOURCE ↗An unlikely hero crawls out of the waste
The Toxic Avenger gives the company an enduring cult identity. The film joins superhero fantasy to outrageous horror comedy. The year here follows Troma’s catalogue; exhibition dates vary.
SOURCE ↗School is contaminated
Class of Nuke ’Em High puts nuclear anxiety and teenage chaos in the same building. Troma’s catalogue documents the original release and its later Director’s Cut.
SOURCE ↗Shakespeare meets the underground
Tromeo and Juliet brings feuding lovers into a provocative Manhattan setting. Troma’s cast listing includes Will Keenan, Jane Jensen and Lemmy.
SOURCE ↗The camera turns on the crew
Terror Firmer makes a chaotic independent film shoot the setting for a horror comedy. AFI records its 1999 release; Troma lists a different year and longer cut.
SOURCE ↗The fast-food musical mutates
Poultrygeist combines chicken horror, musical comedy and a fast-food setting. The year follows Troma’s catalogue; its theatrical release history spans later dates.
SOURCE ↗Back to Tromaville High
Return to Nuke ’Em High Volume 1 revisits the school. Nitehawk Cinema records the film as a 2013 release with an 85-minute runtime.
SOURCE ↗THE INFLUENCE IS AN ATTITUDE
For this zine, Troma’s value is the example of making and circulating films outside conventional studio taste. That does not make every provocation successful. It makes the work worth discussing, arguing about and preserving.