Surf Nazis Must Die

Bad acting, writing, and directing sinks this garbage from Troma about a group of fascist punks who have taken over a beach. One by one, they are picked off by a vengeful black woman (Gail Neely) whom she holds responsible for her son's death. My evaluation: (no stars).

I think most people hate Surf Nazis Must Die because of the whole Troma label. This is more of an interesting experimental feature closer to "The Bedsitting Room" than Mad Max. It's very well shot and the synth 80's music is interesting for a film of this type. This film should have been marketed to the Art House Crowd. It's a slow moving odd and unique film. It's a shame it fell into the hands of Troma.

Folks, eat your heart out. I know Rand Hogen, who plays Teeth. His death-scream still resonates throughout Hollywood — and Bollywood, for that matter — as the model scream for all on-screen dust-biting. As for Rand himself, I know that from his incomparable acting you'd expect him to be a glitzy, world-traveling, supercilious snob, but he's actually quite a nice guy. (Thought the same can't be said about his brother, Rory, who, while no actor himself, fancies himself God's gift to the unevolved.) The rumor through the grapevine is that two rainmaking produces in Hollywood are bruiting about a project called Surf Nazis Are Fixin' to Die II, but it hasn't got enough funding yet. It seems to be a prequel filmed in the South on the Gulf of Mexico. I think they need to raise about $200. I sure hope that Rand gets the opportunity to reprise his role as Teeth, though by now he'll probably go by the sobriquet Dentures, which more befits a superannuated man. An Oscar awaits him, no doubt. Or at least a Reynaldo.

A great title leads you to great expectations. "Surf Nazis Must Die" is a title that DEMANDS a movie overflowing with needless sex and unnecessary violence. Characters should be killing and dying and stripping and screwing ceaselessly and pointlessly from beginning to end. It should be filled with bizarreness, crammed with oddities that were included not because they make sense, but because somebody in the cast or crew thought it was a good idea at the time. "Surf Nazis Must Die" should have been the cinematic equivalent of 'found art.' Alas, it isn't. Rather the filmmakers told a largely conventional story of revenge in a largely conventional manner. And when there wasn't enough content to fill out the movie, instead of throwing in some irrelevant bits of sex, violence or weirdness, they fluffed up the scenes carrying the main storyline, making them slow and dull, instead of quick and sharp. Even the sex and violence that IS in the movie is dull and forgettable. But this is common enough in the low budget world - and not a sin - where high quality is expected to be beyond the means and talent of the filmmakers. But they should remember that quantity is also a quality and that a pile of low-grade industrial diamonds can be worth more than a few gemstones.

This film unashamedly attempts to replicate Kubrick's 'A clockwork Orange' and is also similar to other youth gang movies such as 'Romper Stomper' and 'Suburbia' The issues of radical politics, racism, disillusioned youth, vengeance and gang violence are all addressed, but there is nothing original about this film. There is excellent cinematography and an interesting synth score which seems appropriate. The story focuses around a the 'surf Nazis' the dominant surfer gang in California, they kill a young African American, but things go wrong for the gang when the victim's Mother seeks a bloody revenge. The story is simple and the acting pretty abysmal, but if you're a fan of the amateur charm of Troma movies then this probably won't bother you, as long as you accept there are a lot less laughs and a lot less tits than other Troma classics such as 'Class of Nuke 'em High'