Terror Firmer (1999)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Lloyd Kaufman

Writers:

Patrick Cassidy (writer) and
Douglas Buck (writer) ...

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

Let's Make Some Art!

Plot:

A homicidal maniac is on the loose in the city and the low budget film crew on a Troma movie have the power to stop them.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Exploding Head | Exploitation Filmmaking | Slapstick | Obesity

Cast

Will Keenan	...	Casey
Alyce LaTourelle	...	Jennifer
Lloyd Kaufman	...	Larry Benjamin
Trent Haaga	...	Jerry
Sheri Wenden	...	Mysterious Woman / Waitress
Debbie Rochon	...	Christine
Yaniv Sharon	...	Naked P.A.
Charlotte Kaufman	...	Audrey Benjamin
Gary Hrbek	...	Toddster
Joe Fleishaker	...	Jacob Gelman
Ron Jeremy	...	Casey's Dad
Greg 'G-Spot' Siebel	...	Ward
Mario Díaz	...	DJ
Mo Fischer	...	Andy
Lyle Derek	...	Asshole P.A.

Also Known As:

Terror Firmer (Italy) [it]
Terror Firmer (France) [fr]
Um Terror de Equipe (Brazil) (festival title) [pt]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong crude sexuality, language, violence and gore.

Runtime:

USA:114 min (unrated version) | USA:98 min (R-rated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Santa Monica Holdings

Trivia:

The first Troma movie to be edited digitally on Avid.

Quotes:

Toddster: Who is *that*?
Meathead Drunk Fratboy #2: Are you referring to that mysterious yet beautiful lady with her back to us?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Drive In (2000)

God bless Lloyd Kaufman!

Indy directors schooled in shock had two options when Hollywood stepped in and stole their thunder with bad taste comedy hits like THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and American PIE.

1. Become like John Waters, lose your edge and deliver much tamer (and much more bland) stabs at the establishment or...

2. Up the ante in terms of nihilistic gore, nudity, amorality, cruelty and cheap toilet gags.

Lloyd Kaufman has, with this film, undoubtedly established himself as the poster boy for the latter. So possessed is this man to disgust, offend, shock and give viewers an alternative to good, decent, Speilbergian entertainment, he has whipped out a film that includes, but it certainly not limited to, dismemberment, decapitation, impalement, castration, breast mutilation, urination, scat, puking, incest, rape, child molestation, drug use, cheesy sound effects, flatulence, deformed sex organs, full nudity (male and female), a fetus ripped from a womb, soft core sex and gore-dripping overkill in any and every other possible department. I must say, that it's a hectic, erratic, messy film, but I was never once bored while watching it.

Since the story takes place around the set of an independent movie (invaded by a hermaphroditic serial killer who hacks his/her way through the cast and crew in an effort to shut down the production) we also get some commentary on how the film industry works (and how it doesn't) and on the comedic virtues found in the lowest of low human behavior.

All four of the leads (Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, Trent Haaga and Debbie Rochon) are great. Kaufman himself also shows considerable on-screen appeal as Larry Benjamin, the aloof director of the film in question, who also happens to be blind, an idea copied by Woody Allen for his acclaimed (but apparently not all that original) film Hollywood ENDING in 2001!

Fair enough to say that not everyone will be able to endure TERROR FIRMER, but be grateful someone has the audacity to slap Tinseltown in the face by beating them at their own game. The video and DVD both contain deleted scenes and outtakes and are available in uncut or R-rated versions. Watch for a cameo by SOUTH PARK creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Motorhead's Lemmy during an amusing end credit sequence.