Not really fair to call this a Troma film because Troma bought the rights to distribute this low budget film but had nothing to do with it's creation. It was already complete when Troma bought the rights to it. Troma movies are gleefully bad, in fact, CLASS OF NUKEM HIGH is the worst movie that I have ever seen and I've seen many bad movies. COMBAT SHOCK is both a disturbing, boring, awful movie AND a gritty, ultra-realistic, shocking movie about the difficulty many Vietnam vets had getting jobs and fitting back into society. Though it is slow paced, I had difficulty taking my eyes off of it. It is rare to see cinema so stark and grim. The subject is dealt with in movies like FIRST BLOOD and THE DEAD PRESIDENTS but these, like many other movies are very sensationalistic unlike real life. COMBAT SHOCK is down to earth and shows the realistic effects of living in poverty and squallor in a drug-ridden neighborhood. I give it a 7/10. I found the lead character to be a sympathetic and likeable character trapped in a hell on earth that seems inescapable. If you think you have problems, it hard to imagine that they might be worse.
Review of Combat Shock
