Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High Aka Vol. 2 Blu Ray Review (Troma)
Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High Aka Vol. 2 seemed like it was never going to come out at some point. It took 4 years for it to be made & almost another 2 years for it to be released to the general public. For a smaller independent company like Troma Entertainment, this huge project was a big risk & it consumed 6 years of it’s time with both of these films being in production. Usually when one epic & extended feature is split into two different movies, it has it’s downfalls. Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High is no different. I had my concerns from the start since it was so much material that Volume 2 might run out of gas before it was over & unfortunately it did. It just happened the opposite way, The first 50 minutes is mostly filler to be honest, not much happens but it does try it’s best to bring you back to all the characters since it’s been so long. I will say that one of the best things about this sequel. Pretty much everyone comes back for this which includes Clay von Carlowitz (Pig Pen), Babette Bombshell (The Disco Exorcist), Reiki Tsuno (Return to Nuke ‘Em High Vol. 1), Stefan Dezil (Rehabilitation of the Hill), Debbie Rochon (Slime City Massacre), Stan Lee (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Lemmy (Motorhead), Jim Sheppard (Battledogs), Gabriela Fuhr (She’s with Me), Adam P. Murphy (The Closer), & Brenda Rickert (House of Horrors: Gates of Hell).
Plus it added some brand new characters to the Nuke Em High universe played by John Patrick Brennan (Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm), Ron Jeremy (Orgazmo), Mark Torgl (The Toxic Avenger), Blade Braxton (Dreaming Purple Neon), Nicola Fiore (Night of Something Strange), & Monique Dupree (Post Mortem, America 2021). Asta Paredes & Catherine Corcoran were solid leads in this, they both had good performances plus their chemistry was great. The rest of the cast is your typical Tromatic over the top & wild portrayals that you kinda expect when it comes to the label. The special fx, nudity, & music are all great for this low budget feature. This follow up was more comedy than horror. If you are patient enough to get past the first 50 minutes, you will be rewarded with the last 35 minute batshit crazy finale here. I honestly wish more of the movie was like this, it does make the overall film better but it just took too much time to get to those moments. Lloyd Kaufman puts every controversial subject in the script & he tries his best to offend every possible person with it but it needed more entertainment to go with those topics. The original Return to Nuke Em High was great so it was a little hard to live up to. I still thought Vol. 2 was solid but it was a little slow & repetitive at times before something real happens, RECOMMENDED!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Troma! This 1080p (1.78:1) transfer looks great, it’s one of the best looking Troma Entertainment productions of all time. It’s full of interesting locations & the cinematography boosts the impressive special fx for this indie feature. All the same material that made Vol. 1 awesome. The English: Dolby Digital 2.0 track was solid. The dialogue was crystal clear, the lunacy was elevated, & the music had a boost to it. I love that theme song, it always gets stuck in my head for days after viewing one of these movies. It also has English, French, Portuguese, & Spanish subtitles. This is what independent film making is all about, Troma Entertainment puts everything into their productions & it really shows on a final product like this!
