Reviewed: Troma’s “Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High” Vol. 2 – A Jaw Dropping Experience, A Master at Work #moviereview #trailer #wheretowatch

Until my viewing of “Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High” Vol. 2, I hadn’t seen a Troma Team picture in years. The last time was probably a rewatch of 1984’s “The Toxic Avenger” a few years back, a movie whose plot’s only purpose was to prop up explosions of boobs, latex, and jokes about boobs and latex. This was absolutely fine, but the plot felt dated the pace slow in a post-Vine world, and even the scripted exploitation tame by comparison to even the lamest broadcast reality television.

Volume 2 refreshingly flips that expectation like a 1978 Ford Thunderbird on it’s way to a Fog Hat laser light show. Director and (mysteriously uncredited) film antagonist Lloyd Kaufman brings the goods like his house is on fire. We are dragged kicking and screaming from one scene to another, never given time to think more than “nice boobs” or “what on earth did she just give birth to” or “that was gruesomely impressive”.

This is more than a movie, it’s an experience. Tightly edited, rapidly cut, and shockingly plotted, it slows down just long enough to show you that yes, that mutated duck creature certainly did punch that man’s head clean off, before stepping back on the gas to the next scene of living lasers taking on God Himself (Ron Jeremy). Watching Volume 2 is like staring into a chaotic vortex of butts, blood, and screaming, and finding yourself joyfully laughing on the other side. Rapid shifts between the interwoven stories kept my eyes locked on the screen; at no point will you zone out or, heaven forbid, look at your phone during “Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High” Vol. 2.

What is this movie about? One imagines Kaufman himself would joke that “it’s about an hour and fifteen minutes long”, and that would be, at least, the most succinct assessment. The filmmakers cram the themes the way a butcher crams organ meat into sausage casing: corporate greed, lesbian love, educational incompetence, science has gone mad, and, of course, latex monsters roaming New Jersey. If you haven’t seen “Return to Nuke ‘Em High” Vol. 1, don’t worry! The exposition will rapidly stun you into submission as the toxic tacos, undead(?) punk glee club, President Lemmy (Lemmy Kilmister), and wrinkled, undulating Prince Albert punish you for even thinking about trying to follow the plot in the first place. However, that doesn’t stop the film from making digs at daytime TV, the 24-hour news cycle, school shootings, and an equivalent of ‘thoughts and prayers’.

Press copy for this film leads with the words ‘Quentin Tarantino’, and it’s easy to see why. Both directors favor a kinetic approach to filmmaking, with loads of blood and noise, while trying to tell their stories, but sometimes the ‘story’ seems to get in the way of the film. One gets the impression that on this go-around, Kaufman threw up his hands and said “screw it”, stopped trying to make a certain type of film, and just made exactly the film he wanted, warts and all. This even includes arguments about the film during the film, which only adds to the film itself.

Lloyd Kaufman is the Stan Lee of sleaze. He’s cranking along at over 70 years old, with more than 50 years of experience, and the films are getting better: not just in quality, but in energy. “Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High” Vol. 2 isn’t just an experience, it’s watching a master return to (return to) work, and love every minute of it.

Rating: 5/5

Where you can catch Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol. 2