I like Troma movies. As a teenager, I loved them. A few of them, I still do, I guess. But over the years, the Troma Team got a little old, and I eventually discovered a whole world of B-Horror outside Kaufman and Herz. And honestly, those guys rarely get a hold of anything worth a damn anymore. And that's been true since the early 2000's, with no sign of a change. Sad but true. But there's still plenty of legendary Troma productions/aquisitions that are still worth many a rewatch. The Combat Shocks, the Redneck Zombies, The Blood Sucking Freaks. Movies like that is what keeps their reputation in tact. But then, there's the films of Lloyd Kaufman. Let's talk about Lloyd Kaufman for a minute.

Most Troma movies are bad on some level. But only when watching a Lloyd Kaufman film to do I get the feeling this movie was intended for idiots. If a Jerry Lewis character from one of his shit movies from the 60's started directing his own movies, and randomly threw in vulgar humor for shock value, along with an unnecessary amount of childish bullshit, then, it might turn out something like a Lloyd Kaufman film. When he started out making movies under the Troma banner, they were all co-directed with his friend (?), the ever elusive Michael Herz. The Hebrew duo would start out making what they now refer to as "the sexy comedies". From the late 70's until the early 80's, the first real Troma movies were bestowed upon us. Squeeze Play, Waitress!, Stuck On You!, and The First Turn On. The last one mentioned is now mostly known for the film that a young Madonna auditioned for and got turned away, along with the success her participation would have brought them in the years to come. I've never seen that movie. In fact, the only Sexy Comedy I have seen is Stuck On You! And it very well may be the last. These are some awful, unfunny movies that appear to be made by retarded virgins. The change in style that was coming was a much needed one.

In 1984, The Toxic Avenger was released. A film that didn't do great at first, but brought Troma massive success. Perhaps not "Madonna success", but Toxie put those guys on the map, and regardless of how far they decline, they're still there unlike so many other independent film companies that have since fallen. After several sequels, and a cartoon called The Toxic Crusaders, the success had been fully milked, and Kaufman/Herz (and eventually just Kaufman) would go on to direct a decade of hits or misses such as Class Of Nuke 'Em High, Troma's War, and SGT. Kabukiman NYPD. All tame compared to Toxie. All obviously attempts at maintaining a semi-mainstream appeal that was already long gone. It wasn't until 1996's Tromeo And Juliet that Lloyd and Troma got their groove back and finally started putting back in the offensive, vulgar humor that got them their original fame. Lloyd's next two movies, Terror Firmer (1999), and Citizen Toxie (2000) would be proof that this formula was a success, because Lloyd ran with what he was doing and turned the volume WAY up on the shock value and intentionally bad qualities. And the same direction would be taken several years later with Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead. Let's talk about that for a minute.

Poultrygeist could easily be seen as the ultimate Kaufman directed Troma film. And I'm sure it is by many. All the satire, gore, boobies and silliness is present and shoved right down your throat. This film is one long running joke about how shitty the fast food industry is, and corporate greed in general. It's also a musical. Our main character is Arbie. A dim-witted little pussy with a face perfect for a Troma movie. He's mad at his girlfriend Wendy for going all "liberal dyke" on him, and leaving him for a scary muff diver after promising him she'd never leave him ever. So, I guess that'd make her his ex-girlfriend. Anyway, Arbie breaks into song like a dumb ass, and then decided to get a job at the new chicken restaurant where Wendy and other liberals are outside protesting. Revenge, I guess. Personally, I would have at least tried to find someone else in order to make her jealous, but whatever works.

American Chicken Bunker hires the very much uneducated Arbie within seconds, as he gets introduced to his co-workers. A horny gay Mexican, Paco Bell, bitchy terorrist chick, Hummus, and an animal fucker by the name of Carl Jr. And let the obnoxious stereotypes run wild! Along with a song every 5 minutes, and semi-ammusing cameos by Ron Jeremy, Joe Fleishaker and the penis-monster. As we witness several run ins between Arbie and Wendy, who are still into each other, at least sexually. We also discover That American Chicken Bunker was built on top of the cursed Tromahawk Indian burial ground. That and the shitty toxic chicken everyone's been eating leads to everyone turning into chicken zombies, as an above average gorefest ensues.

This one just goes too far for me. Too much silly, too many attempts at humor, too many attempts at offensive. Just too many attempts, period. The first word that comes to mind when I think of Poultrygeist is "desperate". It's a movie that seems like it was made by a desperate man. I've heard Troma wasn't doing great financially at the time, and this was their big chance to turn things around. And I guess it worked, which is great, but I just wasn't feeling this one. Of course, there was some crazy shit now and then that forced a laugh out of me, like the very end for example, but I just found Poultrygeist to be a bit too constant. There's an old saying, "less is more". Well, a little less here and there might have made a huge difference, in my humble opinion.

But to be fair, there are plenty of things I didn't hate. The first thing to come to mind was the songs. Yes. The songs. I hate musicals with a passion. Cannibal The Musical has always been the only one I don't hate. I didn't hate Poultrygeist. And while I believe it would have been better without the songs, they were some damn funny songs that weren't like fingernails on a chalkboard at all. They were actually kind of catchy, too. Plus, they were all bunched together, and once they ended, the story finally started moving along. The eager looking little gipper who played Arbie and the weird chick with the amazing voice who played Wendy were superb, as well as alot of the other actors. They all did a great job with the material they were given. To get a good idea of what a hellish ordeal Kaufman put these people through, check out the behind the scenes documentary, Poultry In Motion: Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken. Looking past how annoying and obnoxious this movie can be, I suppose it's good enough. A step down from the last 3 Kaufman trash epics, but it ain't no lame ass Kabukiman. That's for sure. 4/10