Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1

Plot

Welcome to Tromaville High School where, unfortunately, the glee club has mutated into a vicious gang called The Cretins. Chrissy and Lauren, two innocent bloggers, must fight not only the Cretins, mutants and monsters but also the evil Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate.

Development

A fourth Nuke 'Em High film entitled Battle of the Bikini Subhumanoids was initially announced in 1996. Troma ran a script-writing contest that invited fans to contribute two pages with a weekly winner announced and added to the collective screenplay. Despite a script being finished in 2000, this project never got past the pre-production stage.

Troma again announced production of the sequel in October 2011. Initially, it was stated the film would be made in Spain by Mushnik's Entertainment in collaboration with Chaparra Entertainment. The directors were to be Marc Gras and Dani Moreno. The plot centered around a new group of Cretins who are forced into the role of the protagonists. However, this version also never came to fruition.

Filming

Kaufman began production anew in 2012, directing the film himself in New York and New Jersey. Casting took place throughout June 2012. For the first time, Troma relied on Kickstarter to raise a small amount of funds to support "animal actor" Kevin the Duck. Principal photography began in August 2012 and finished in September.

Allusions to other works

The film makes copious references to the FOX TV series Glee, along with many films, including Full Metal Jacket, Soylent Green, Cat Ballou, Carrie, The Hurt Locker, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Showgirls, and other Troma releases (Cannibal! The Musical, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., The Toxic Avenger, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, Stuck on You!, Blood Hook, Rockin' Road Trip).

Release

Initially slated to be a single installment, Kaufman split the film into two volumes, much like The Toxic Avengers 2 and 3, after director Quentin Tarantino’s suggestion, à la Kill Bill.

Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 began a limited North American theatrical release in the fall of 2013, beginning with a screening at the Museum of Modern Art. It expanded in January 2014.

Critical reception

Reviews were generally mixed with the film generating a 50% rotten rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, the film has a 40/100 rating based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Variety deemed it "a hearty blast of Troma-branded schlock" while The New York Times said Kaufman fans "will be delighted to learn that time has eroded neither his love of nudity nor his disdain for political correctness." The New York Post praised the film for its "hilarious series of parodies: Carrie, Soylent Green, Glee, Cat Ballou, you name it." Horror magazine Fangoria gave the film 3.5 out of 4 skulls, calling it "undeniably funny, brave and so unlike anything put out today that it practically demands respect."

Sequel

Kaufman has shot Volume 2 with Paredes, Corcoran, and Amico reprising their leading roles. A Kickstarter campaign was set up to raise $50,000 for post-production costs. The campaign ended on June 24, 2015, successfully raising $63,615. The in-progress film - now titled Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2 - has currently undetermined release date based on the almost finished progress of post-production work.