Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 (2013) User Reviews

I wanted to love it so bad...

[daddygerplex-28-470862 · 5/10 · 1 July 2013]

I saw this last time in London in a double bill with the original Class of Nuke Em High.

As a huge Troma fan it was a great honour to meet Lloyd Kaufman and i had planned to congratulate him on his latest "Tromasterpiece" however when i met him i didn't mention the film at all out of respect.

Whilst i didn't hate it, it is my least favourite out of all the recent Troma in-house movies.

Cutting it up into 2 parts just drags the film down. Whole scenes drag on way too long to seemingly just fill out time. The jokes just aren't that funny, and the topical humour regarding school shootings and cinema shootings just seems mean spirited.

Troma have seemingly embraced digital special effects, and oh boy are some of them BAD! Now i know Troma isn't known for its high budget but i love the makeshift nature of just a melon filled with blood being stamped on it works and is visceral. Seeing terrible digital visual effects takes away from Tromas normally fantastic physical work.

What I did think worked was the chemistry between the 2 lead actresses, they were the only 2 good actors out of the rather mediocre (even by Troma standard) bunch.

It really, really pains me to say it but it is not a good movie. I think when Vol.2 comes out it is salvageable and i am still definitely looking forward to it as trailers hint at many scenes not in Vol.1 that look awesome.

I just wish that we could have had a really tight awesome 2-hour Return to Nuke Em High as a single film rather then this unfortunate (so far anyways) mess.

Big props to Lloyd though he stayed and greeted his fans outside the theatre to the end signing whatever Tromabilia they had.

Thanks Lloyd your film disappointed but you still made my day x.

The usual Troma but with some hot girls

[TdSmth5 · 4/10 · 6 April 2014]

How to review a movie like this? The first minute or so we get a fast-forward recap of all the previous Nuke 'Em High movies. The nuclear plant was destroyed and an organic food plant has been build on top of the ruins. A new girl starts school. She's given a hard time by some cute tough chick. On Taco Tuesday the food plant provides the ingredients. All the kids who eat it become mutants. The new girl as a pet duck that also becomes infected and infects the new girl in the craziest way. In the meantime new girl and tough girl have fallen for each other and now both become mutants as well as the school's singing club which have become The Cretins.

It's been years since I've seen a Troma movie. I never was much of a fan. And Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 isn't going to turn me into one either. It's got great gore scenes, very good nudity from the two gorgeous leads: Catherine Corcoran and Asta Paredes. That's about it. The humor wouldn't be funny to 10 year olds. It's more interested in being offensive and dumb, as expected. It even manages to ruin the two main characters. It's impressive though to see a young cast so committed to doing whatever is asked of them. A shame Troma doesn't know what to with them. Still I'll probably check out part 2 just so see more of Cathy and Asta.

Propagation is health!

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 14 April 2014]

It looks like this return to Tromas' popular "Nuke 'Em High" series will be one that will divide people. Some may embrace it, others may be either sorely disappointed or even offended. Of course, the whole point of a Troma film is gleeful, in your face insanity with no regard for restraint or political correctness. Everything is fair game with this sequel, directed by none other than Lloyd Kaufman himself. He guides everything with a flair for the utterly childish, the incredibly stupid, and the unapologetically manic. Personally speaking, this viewer had a reasonably good time with it. When it scored a hit, it was very funny, but it could also be pretty tiresome at times. And that, as well, may turn off some viewers because of the "trying too hard" aspect to the presentation.

The movie is a melange of sex, nudity, budding lesbian romance, extremely tacky and yet very colourful gore, goof ball songs, (mostly) way over the top performances, and satirical jabs. The "story" deals with a health food outfit, Tromorganics, setting up shop where the Tromaville nuclear power plant used to be. Wouldn't you know it: whatever secret ingredients they're using turn out to be deadly, either destroying or transforming the student body at Tromaville High. For one thing, the glee club turns into a marauding band of "Cretins" with a taste for violence and abuse.

The mostly no name cast does act with gusto. Foxy ladies Catherine Corcoran (as rich new girl in school Lauren) and Asta Paredes (as rebel blogger Chrissy) are very easy on the eyes. Babette Bombshell (now there's a name for you) is amusing as the principal; B movie legend Debbie Rochon plays the part of Coach Kotter and Lloyd himself turns up as nefarious Lee Harvey Herzkauf.

Ultimately, what's unfortunate about this movie is that it exhausts its better material early on and does lose a fair bit of momentum. At least the ending does appropriately leave one wanting more and waiting to see what happens in Volume 2.

Six out of 10.

Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1: Erm.....no

[Platypuschow · 2/10 · 25 December 2018]

Almost 30yrs since the first Nuke Em High movie and almost 20yrs since the last one, Lloyd Kaufman returns in a reboot to Troma's second most famous franchise.

Overhauling the plot altogether (Not that there really was one) it tells the story of two girls who fall in love and have to combat an evil corporation and a genetically modified glee club.

So all these years later what are the differences? Well it's the same gore, nudity and 3rd grade humor. If you want fart jokes and ridiculous stereotypes this will still appeal.

What's different is they've almost entirely lost the 80's theme (Which was the heart and soul of the Troma universe), they've lost the recurring cast and any connection to previous movies.

So essentially this has thrown aside the universe they have spent 30yrs building and starts afresh with a clean slate. Only thing is they used that clean slate to make the same old garbage for the most part.

Crude, offensive, dumb, childish and catering to the lowest possible denominator.

The Good:

Stan Lee's narration

The Bad:

Lloyd Kaufman

Beyond childish humor

Cringe inducing

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

All you need is lobe

Lemmy should have been President

The food network is sexy

Prince alberts are not suitable high school attire

Tuna Town doesn't sound appealing

Marijuana causes spontaneous combustion

95% of Troma advertising is in movie posters

A step down in quality for Troma, but still fun

[instantkarma780 · 7/10 · 10 July 2014]

The Troma Team and Lloyd Kaufman have been on a roll ever since the 1997 release of Tromeo and Juliet. That film spawned a second golden age of Troma which gave us Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie, and Poultrygeist. These are all some of the very best, most inspired films that the famed independent studio has put out in its nearly 40 years of existence. This golden age might have come to an end with Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1.

This remake (I guess?) of Troma's 1986 Class of Nuke 'Em High certainly has all of the signature Troma elements in place. Gore, gross-out humor, gratuitous nudity, and social satire are present in abundance. Something seems to be missing this time around, however. Perhaps the writing is not as sharp this time. I can't quite put my finger on it. The film is also noticeably slicker than Troma's usual efforts. Lloyd Kaufman is a noted devotee of 35mm film and all of his previous directing efforts were shot on film. I'm not sure about Return to Nuke 'Em High. It almost looks like it was shot digitally. There are also a number of CGI effects this time around, which I think is a first for Troma. The cast was quite good and the actors did their best with the uneven script. I liked the soundtrack quite a lot also.

To sum up, Return to Nuke 'Em High Part 1 will not rank among Troma's best. It does not compare to The Toxic Avenger, Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie or Poultrygeist. It just didn't knock my socks off like those films did. However, it is an entertaining film with a few moments of brilliance. It is certainly better than Class of Nuke 'Em High Parts 2 and 3. Here's hoping that Part 2 is an improvement. The trailer looks promising.

Unwatchable

[mary-firecracker · 1/10 · 13 June 2013]

Once upon a time, I enjoyed Troma movies. They used to be funny and relevant. But with the remake or sequel or whatever this is trying to be, it has become a tired and played out joke.

There is no real script, just a bunch of desperate attempts at shocking . And when they aren't trying to shock you, they are trying soooo hard to prove they are still relevant and trendy. That's right Troma, has officially been taken over by a bunch of unimaginative, boring hipsters.

We are living in a time when it is easier than ever for anybody to make a Troma grade horror movie. You could spend years watching bad horror films on youtube, hulu, and anywhere else. It's time for Troma to retire and just give up. They didn't even try with this one.

Troma as it should be

[s-klose · 7/10 · 9 April 2014]

Troma is at it's best again. What the guy who wrote the other review saw is wrong is everything right with this movie. It brings everything you want, the grossness, the sexiness and the ridiculousness. This time around though there is actually some acting talent to be found. Asta Paredes, Catherine Corcoran are really good actresses who I suppose we'll see in more movies in the future. As for the movie itself. The plot is useless, as always the effects gory and purposefully bad but that's why we're watching this is it. There is for instant a car flipping over, where you see that it's taken from some other movie but you don't care. Another funny thing about this movie are the texts put in by the makers explaining why everything is logical. They are great and really add to this movie. The end really makes you want more. Sadly Even LLoyd Kaufman himself doesn't know when the second Part will be ready yet.

absolute garbage! don't listen to the crew reviews

[iguana_man3 · 1/10 · 27 January 2014]

Let me say this before I begin, I enjoyed the original film and I am not judging this as a reboot/remake. I enjoy these goofy films, I actually liked "Hobo with a shotgun" if that tells you anything, I'm not new to troma films either. Now return to nuke' em high was simply garbage! I couldn't stand to watch the entire film (I made it about half hour maybe more) it was horrible. The acting was beyond horrible even though that's to be expected with this film company but this was beyond what I expected.

The original storyline is just destroyed in this half passed attempt at grabbing your cash.

If I want to watch porno I will watch porno I don't need this soft-core porn mixed with farts, blood and slime. Woman on woman, man on woman (which focuses on shoving a monster which looked like a dildo up his ass), male and female masturbation, its all ridiculously portrayed in truly disgusting fashion....

I couldn't think any of this film was funny it was actually very boring. The layers of absurdity seemed to be layered soooooo thick. To be honest I don't even care to waste my time typing this review any further... Avoid this film it sucks and it's a cheap cash grab...

Quite enjoyable with some great actors

[stroggos · 6/10 · 9 October 2017]

This fourth installment of the Class of Nuke Em High series is another schlocky Troma movie that is made for fans of the production company and for fans of B-movies. Just like the other movies from the series, this one is best to be understood as a comedy, with perhaps a little bit of gore (but actually not too much). There's a lot of meta references to other Troma movies, so I recommend watching the Toxic Avenger series and the other Class of Nuke Em High movies first. There's also a lot of funny pop culture references, as well as several nods to current political issues.

In terms of production values, the new digital look I think suits Troma movies. The visuals are very colorful, making you feel like in a campy 90's high school flick. There's a lot of ingenuity in the jokes, but also a lot of slap stick.

A lot of folks don't like the new Cretins—which sing(!)—but I didn't mind them too much. The singing is so absolutely nonsensical that it just seemed right for a movie like this, which, after all, tries to be deliberately random.

What really makes "RETURN TO NUKE 'EM HIGH VOLUME 1" stand out within the oeuvre of Troma movies is the excellent cast. The two female leads are very relatable, and the two of them together have some real energy. I also felt that Clay von Carlowitz's deliberately over-the-top performance as Eugene was absolutely hilarious, with a good sense of physicality.

All in all a nice, short-lived, campy session of good-old Troma entertainment.

Not the best Troma movie out there...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 19 April 2014]

As with all of Troma's movies, this is definitely something of an acquired taste. There has been some fun enough titles amongst the movies produced by Troma, but far from all are equally great.

While there were fun moments, and your standard outrageous Troma moments to be had here in "Return to Nuke Em High Volume 1", then the movie tended to drag out for long periods of time, and it just ended up as too much towards the end. There was so much nonsense in this movie - but hey, it's Troma!

Effects-wise, well if you are familiar with any of the previous Troma movies, then you know exactly what you are getting into here. For those who are not familiar with Troma's work, just a little heads up; lots of cheesy, low budget, outrageous and wacky effects, creatures, and spoofs throughout the entire movie.

There were lots of strange, funny, outrageous and just downright odd characters in "Return to Nuke Em High Volume 1", as in all of Troma's movies, so no big surprise there.

What ticked me off in this movie, was the lack of an overly coherent and appealing storyline. Without proper contents in a story, then all of Troma's oddball effects just wears thin.

Head Exploding is a serious problem

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 22 February 2018]

The film recaps the 1984 classic, including a few memorable nude scenes so you can keep up. The nuclear plant was bull dozed and over top of it was placed an organic food company which sells stuff to the local charter school. The green substance from the food has different effects on people from exploding heads and burning bodies to becoming "Cretins" as did the glee club.

Chrissy (Asta Paredes) the main character runs a blog about the evils of Tromorganic Plant. Catherine Corcoran plays Lauren, the new girl who joins Chrissy.

The humor is non-stop Troma over the top. It is inane and crude as expected. The film also has some spoofs. The teachers' names are Mr. Chips and Miss Crabtree. The principal impersonates Nixon when he talks. The party sex scene is a spoof of the party sex scene in the original 1984 film. It also has some lines that made me laugh. When Lauren was "duck raped" and had a duck's head lodged in her mouth, Chrissy says to her, "Get in, fowl mouth." Ouch! I had to laugh.

Part one ends abruptly (Shades of Hobbit 2) in what appears to be a Carrie-like shower scene.

Film includes exploding heads, large fake male organs, melting breasts, plus your typical Troma style blood and gore.

This film will appeal to only a narrow audience, i.e. Troma fans. 8 stars on the Troma scale.

Perv Guide: F-bomb, sex, and nudity (Catherine Corcoran, Asta Paredes plus about 9 others) In a few of the scenes Asta reminded me of Anne Kendricks, and that can't be all bad.

Troma warmed up

[aboingboing · 5/10 · 7 April 2016]

I'm a fan of a lot of Troma movies. Lloyd Kaufman's sense of humor, his critical views on late capitalist society (seriously) and the gross-out gore often really hit the spot for me.

The upside of "Return to Nuke 'Em High" is that quite a bit of that old spirit is alive and kicking. The initial scene (couple has sex and gets gorily dismembered/dissolved) shows this - but is already a bit off. Troma always employed shameless overacting, but here and elsewhere it is taken too far into pure parody.

Troma also always accepted that some jokes would fall flat (OK, that a lot of jokes would be duds), but made up for it with sheer numbers and total insanity what it threw at you. Here, the hit ratio is lower than usual, though.

Troma was further always about the gratuitous nudity, and there is quite a bit here as well. However, the lesbian sex scene between the two (very likable) female leads was neither hot nor funny (and the use of soft-focus was way off if this was in any way intended to play on "Blue is the warmest color").

What's new for Troma is splitting a movie into two parts - and it's not a welcome change. Troma used to be about packing as much into a movie as possible, and here the lackluster pacing is somewhat explained by the "to be continued" (though, kudos for stopping at a shower scene!).

The verdict: If you're a Troma-aficionado, then by all means watch this. It's certainly not their worst release ever. I just found watching it quite a bit less fun than expected, so don't expect too much. If you don't know what Troma is, then watch at least "The Toxic Avenger" (I & IV) and "Troma's War", as both are better movies, before this.

Distasteful, horrible film, this is not what Troma use to be.

[veganluke · 1/10 · 1 July 2013]

Tonight I saw this film. A film I was excited for. I thought Class of Nuke 'Em Hight was a fun film. And them revisiting this I thought would be really great. Right now I'm going to say it straight, I'm not going to just bullshit and say I thought this film was good. It's not good, it's horrible, it's so very bad. And people are going to say "Oh Troma films are meant to be bad" Yes I know that, but this film is offensive and again don't say "Troma films are meant to be offensive, you just got too offended" No. I know these films are meant to be that way, but this film pushed it way too far and was just horrible and disgusting.

Here's why:

This film does jokes that it may think itself are funny, but they are not.

Farts are the one thing that was just not funny about this film. You hear one in the first five minutes, and then throughout the whole film, stupid annoying fart noises are thrown in and I'm thinking to myself "What are we ten years old?" Do the makers really think that an audience will seriously think fart noises every ten minutes or so will make the audience laugh loads? No it's just childish and stupid and was so annoying. But that is the least of the offensive things about this film.

A school shooting joke

Yeah that is right, the writers thought they were so funny by putting in a school shooting joke. No. Here's how the scene goes, all the students are in the cafeteria and then you hear a load of guns shooting, and one student stands up and goes "Don't worry it's just a school shooting, happens all the time! CNN don't even report them anymore" This joke was disgusting and wasn't needed and these type of jokes are never funny.

Movie Theatre Shooting joke

The gang in the film first beat up a woman, and then the leader of the gang then goes "Lets go and shoot up a movie theatre" Writers what the hell were you thinking? Why did you think it was alright to write this in? This is a horrible and disgusting joke, and another one that was not needed. I've lost a lot of respect for the writers and director over this.

Race jokes

There's one scene where a character walks on scene and he's a black character. His name comes up on the screen and underneath him it says "He's black" all the other characters do actually have something written about them and the writers chose to write this. Another race joke is where it stereotypes black people and one character goes "You can't even walk about this neighbourhood in a hoody and eating skittles without getting shot" and another character replies with "You're talking about black people" No this was distasteful and unfunny.

Rape Jokes

There's three in this film. One where such a thing as "Duck rape" happens. A woman has a duck stabbed into her mouth, this wasn't funny and was just stupid. Another scene where a woman with a giant penis says the line "This isn't duck rape, this is dick rape" and then slaps a guy round the face with her giant dick. Yeah that happens and once again is not funny. And another scene at a party where a guy goes "Maybe if I find a girl drunk enough here, she'll sleep with me" I know this scene doesn't say the word rape in here, but it was putting that across and it was disgusting.

This film is just disgusting, distasteful and tries too hard to be shocking. It's a shame when I had respect for Troma for being a great independent studio that have survived and been around for so long. I just feel that this shouldn't have been made, and this is only Volume 1. Volume 2 is out next year, set straight after the end of this. Lets just hope that isn't as disgusting and disrespectful as this!

I just can't do it

[andylennon20012000 · 2/10 · 12 November 2021]

I absolutely loved Class of Nuke Em High so I had to give this one a go.

It's terrible, like really, really bad!

I know it's a B Movie and it's supposed to be cheesy, but it's just not funny or good in any way.

Just a load of random terrible jokes and half naked people running around.

If I wanted that I'd watch Love Island.

The original trilogy is so bad it's good...this is just bad.

[kevin_robbins · 4/10 · 23 November 2022]

Return to Nuke 'En Volume 1 (2013) is a movie that I recently watched on 123Movies. The storyline follows two ladies at Nuke 'Em High who fall in love. As they explore their new passion other teenagers are mutating into strange mutants. When the lovers come back to reality they will need to try and save humanity.

This movie is directed by Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger I-IV) and stars Asta Paredes (Eros Point), Catherine Corcoran (Terrifier), Clay von Carlowitz (Eros Point), Mike Baez (Hitbaby) and John Renna (Slime City Massacre).

The best part of this movie is that Stan Lee is the narrator. This film really misses the essence of the originally Nuke 'Em High trilogy which had creative outfits and backdrops. The graffiti was always cool. This missed those key aspects. The acting and writing is awful. I will say the power plant scenes were hilarious and there's plenty of nudity from beginning to end. There's also a duck 🦆 sequence that's hilarious and a razor blade scene that's well done. The soundtrack also missed the mark.

The original trilogy is so bad it's good...this is just bad. I would score this a 3.5-4/10 but still recommend seeing it once.

Seems right up my alley, but hated it

[MLS86 · 4/10 · 6 November 2021]

I will say I've never seen any of the other movies in this series, though I'm familiar with the Toxic Crusader cartoon from the 90s. This movie looks right up my alley but I unfortunately did not enjoy this at all. It's corny and goofy to the point of being really annoying. Not funny, not scary, not cool - a boring and aggravating waste of time. It actually pissed me off I watched this, especially with the cliffhanger ending.

Amazing. One of the best Troma films of all time.

[kellenlikesmcr · 10/10 · 21 June 2013]

Being apart of this masterpiece was a very fun time. This film thrived so well and everyone that was apart of it was amazing in the film. The slapstick comedy is pure and genuine and this is one of the most respectable B-movies I have ever seen. From the opening credits to the end, you will leave yourself on the edge of your seat, in tears from continuous laughter and your gut might even throb. This movie proves to show that money isn't what makes a good film, but the hard work that is put into making it is. Lloyd Kaufman's visions are always different than other filmmakers, but that's what makes him a genius. He is a true director and stays true to the way he makes movies and to what him and his fans love. Check it out, pick up a copy, and support this classic film of independent art. 10/10

Good sequel to the "Nuke 'Em High" series.

[DarylJGittings · 8/10 · 7 August 2023]

This later day sequel to the Class of Nuke 'Em High is the best film in the series since the original.

This movie has all the odd humor and gore that I've come to love from Troma. Being born in the 80s and growing up on the Classic of Nuke' Em High and the Toxic Avenger series, I always get excited when I hear the Lloyd Kaufman is working on new movies.

Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 is unhinged. There's a lot of pop culture jokes and sick, twisted humor.

The beautiful Catherine Corcoran and Asta Paredes do an excellent job in the film, as two lovers who take on the cretins.

Only downside is the ending. Watch the movie and you'll see what I mean.

Great

[byprozac · 10/10 · 5 September 2017]

Troma Fans will relish "Return to the Class of Nuke 'Em High" because it has the hottest girls (i.e. Leesa Rowland) and the campiest plot. When a young couple competes against the school glee club, they do not know what they are in for. The Cretins are the mutant gang the glee club has become and they infiltrate the school. The rest is cult film history. Definitely an essential part of the Troma titles.

Just, awesome.

[dymentintherough · 10/10 · 4 March 2014]

This movie is, just, awesome!! Its super cheese and bright colors bring you back to the 80s when movies were still awesome! It's hilarious, with some extremely clever parody and satire; one of which even made the audience skip a beat! Comedy - you're doing it right! If you love gore, its got tons of that too! Love nudity? Check! Musicals? CHECK! It's everything in one! I don't know what to call it...a musical horror, comedy porno? Yeah, that works! I don't think I'll be in the mood for guacamole for a while though...and suddenly dressing like a 'normal' person, and not a cretin, seems just wrong. Another wicked film from Troma, and it was great to recognize parts of my hometown in the backdrop! Counting down the days until Volume Two! CRETINS FOR LIFE!

Gloriously stupid!

[adiafora · 9/10 · 12 April 2014]

There are a lot of bad films out there, but this is most definitely one of them. Every single tacky, stupid, unconvincing, over-the-top detail in it is there because it's supposed to and it fills a purpose. This is a film made by people who love intentionally films, for other like-minded people to enjoy and get a kick out of. You don't need to be a Troma fan like me to love this movie, but you do need to have a goddamn sense of humor. It's a wonderfully tasteless mix of silliness, violence, provocation and gallons of sticky fluids. And too boot, it's not shot on cheap digital video, it's all gorgeous looking film. It's obvious that this didn't have the budget of Tromas crowning achievement 'Poultrygeist' from 2006, but it's nevertheless a must for every single human being on the planet... and a couple of the other mammals too.