Trailer Terrors: Frightmare aka The Horror Star (1983)

Experience Terror as Cold as the Grave.

Being an avid horror fan and a blogger means that I will occasionally go outside of my normal comfort zone in pursuit of those lesser known films that, despite precautions to avoid, just have to be seen. One such film that I've been actively pursuing for the past few months has been Troma's Frightmare(1983).

Now, as I've never been a huge Troma fan their films are usually a gamble for me. Either I "get it" or I just can't believe that what I witnessed didn't burst into flames upon completion. Frightmare, aka The Horror Star, is a special film however due to the fact that it marks the first horror movie appearance of Jeffrey Combs (Cellar Dweller, Re-Animator, Castle Freak).

I've always kind of dreamed what this film would be like when I would finally able to get my hands on a copy and to be fair, it doesn't suck. The plot is fairly solid featuring a group of college-aged drama students who (in their infinite wisdom) decide that it would be a good idea to resurrect their favorite horror star for one last "performance" only to find him well awake and fully prepared for some black magic-fueled menace of his own.

Despite the notoriously low budget of Troma features, Frightmare offers a fair amount of ghastly grue. It actually reminded a lot of Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein with its overly dramatic, cape clad villain and constant use of classic horror footage featuring cameos by Lon Chaney, Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi. It's definitely one of the more serious and low-key Troma films I've ever seen and one that pays due respect to its inspirations.

Fun Fact: Jeffrey Combs also appeared in an episode of Freddy's Nightmares entitled "Love Stinks." Check out part 1 of 5 below.

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Trailer Terrors: Rabid Grannies (1989)

They just love their grandchildren... well done!

Leave it the team at Troma to release such a diabolically twisted little film as this Belgian bred flick, Rabid Grannies. Although the film, directed by Emmanuel Kervyn, wasn't produced by Troma Rabid Grannies fits in perfectly with its own stable of homegrown horrors.

Unlike Troma's other titles, however, Rabid Grannies is among the more infamous European imports despite the studio having re-edited several scenes to cater to its splatter-comedy crowd. In this respect it shares more in common with Lamberto Bava's Demons (1985) than anything in the Troma library. While there are indeed scenes of gore and graphic violence, the events that occur seem to exist within some sort of surrealistic, fairy tale universe familiar to those who have subscribed to the Brothers Grimm school of fables.

The plot, while simple, is effective in setting the stage for the carnage that ensues and emerges as the result of the titular grannies (Victoria and Elizabeth Remington) receiving a Satanically endowed birthday gift which upon being opened transforms them into demonic, bloodthirsty cannibals. The cast is diverse enough to offer a collection of crudely-apt and specific death sequences that are both disturbing and humorous. For collectors I would label this one as a must have, but if you're hard up for cash (or just want a test drive) you can check out the entire film online over at Hulu.

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(Re)Animations: Toxic Crusaders (1991)

They're gross, but they still get girls!

Perhaps one of Troma's most successful properties (at least in the mainstream), the concept of the Toxic Avenger is as tried and true as Spider-Man himself. If you need proof, simply Google the name and watch as hundreds of listings emerge for fan sites, toys, video games, lunch boxes and more... including this 1991 cartoon series entitled Toxic Crusaders (shown above).

Now, as a series geared towards children, there are understandably some plot points and character designs that required a more appropriate re-imagining, but the heart of the show still has that distinctive Troma tongue-in-cheek humor. Unlike the source material, Toxic Crusaders features a number of freakish outcasts (Major Disaster, Nozone, Junkyard and Headbanger) who are led by the titular Toxie in their environmentally themed battle against Dr. Killemoff, an evil alien bent on spreading smog pollution throughout Tromaville.

The cartoon, while fun, couldn't quite compare to similar movie-to-animation franchises like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Robocop and didn't really peak my interest quite as much as the toys that it spawned. Licensed by the same company that released some of the TMNT figures, Playmates, the Toxic Crusaders action figures were pretty well crafted and came complete with bright neon colors and gimmicky accessories.

Less preachy, and more fun, than its competitor Captain Planet, Toxic Crusaders was a unique show that never really got a chance to pay its dues having only aired 5 of the 13 episodes produced. That being said, I was glad to hear that Troma didn't shovel it away somewhere. Its actually available on DVD as both a movie (featuring the first three episodes) and a Season 1 collection (Episodes 1-4). You can score them both on Troma's official store for only 8 bucks apiece.

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