Movie Review: Return To Nuke ‘Em High Vol.1 (2013)
It is said that you should never go back, but that’s what Troma has done with 1986’s Class Of Nuke ‘Em High by giving us Return To Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1. You may wish they hadn’t.
Troma has always been a film company that reveled in the silly, absurd and essentially non-PC areas of movie making, but quite often that has also brought with it a joy of stories, of playing with movies, and simply having fun. Class Of Nuke ‘Em High has become one of the Troma ‘classics’ over the years, along with Sgt. Kabukiman and Toxic Avenger.
Return To Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 tells the story of two bloggers (Asta Paredes and Catherine Corcoran) pitched into a battle against ‘The Cretins’, a vicious gang made up of mutated members of the Glee Club. Once again, the halls of Tromaville High School become the battleground for “Truth and the Tromaville way”. As per usual, for Troma films, there is gore, stupidity and cameos.
Plot wise, I could go into more detail, but as with most Troma films, the plot is relatively unimportant, as most of the time it is a loose device to connect various set pieces together. Some of these could be parodies, some could be in-jokes, or simply shoehorning in a completely unnecessarily sex scene. This seems to work pretty well for most Troma films, where plot holes and major narrative issues aren’t really as important compared to most films. As a B-Movie filmmaker, Troma knows the audience pretty well and generally delivers what you’d expect of one of their films.
Having said all that, the problem I have with Return To Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 is that the film becomes too self-referential and loses the original joy of Class Of Nuke ‘Em High. In 1986, they were having fun making a stupid B-Movie, with a certain amount of joyful abandon, with no regard for some aspects of being decent. This aesthetic made it a fun experience and it did well, becoming one of their more popular film. This led to some unfortunate sequels, which should probably have been the end of it. Too many times in Return To Nuke ‘Em High, I found myself getting annoyed by either a very weak joke, or a pointlessly self-referential element which ruined the whole thing. Similarly, the ‘exploitative’ elements that tend to be present in most Troma films seemed to be ‘crasser’ than usual. When a sex scene bursts into a film like a truck crashing into your front room, you know that the pacing and plot of the film hasn’t naturally led you there.
On a positive note, despite the film’s shortcomings, it may well do something to help Troma gain some more attention and be able to make something better. Troma does have an indefinable quality that should be embraced, as their love for film is undeniable. Lloyd Kaufman promotes talent and encourages young filmmakers, and people need an outlet to try new things, or learn their craft. For example, without Troma, James Gunn would not have become the director he is today and then Guardians Of The Galaxy would not have been what it is.
Overall, Return To Nuke ‘Em High Volume 1 is a poor relation to the original Class Of Nuke ‘Em High, and does its memory more of a disservice than it should. I would recommend not bothering with this installment and revisit some 80’s Troma instead.