Easy as pie: let a decrepit little town like Tromaville go to waste to save the face of a pig-like boss as a nuclear power facility that's spreading its nuclear crap all over. And, of course, let the high school be (slightly) inflicted on by the toxic sludge, sometimes in the water or in the basement or on random teachers. Oh, and of course don't mind the toxic-pot (made for an "Atomic High", so clever!) that people might smoke and then gain certain nuclear powers (or, for that matter, have little toxic babies that miscarry). But, last but not least, make sure the monster gets out that's been gestating in the basement of the school just to wreak havoc on those bastard Cretin gang motorcycling through the school.
Oh, don't worry if I spoiled you anything. While Class of Nuke 'Em High has a plot, it shouldn't be at all your concern. This is the cream of the crop of Z-grade film-making, done with a budget that would make Corman wince and with tons of ingenuity and awesomely bad special effects gore and make-up. The humor is juvenile and stupid and all the better for it; this movie requires that there be bizarre characters, but this goes a step further by making it like a cross between Return of the Living Dead and Lean on Me. The bullies are ass-wipes who are decked out so much you can't see anything like they actually look like (one of which donning a nose ring to rival any one ever worn or seen), and all of the main "good" characters are (near) defenseless dweebs and sweethearts or bad comic relief.
And what it comes down to is this - Class of Nuke 'Em High is far from any high art- even its repetitive and sometimes intrusive generic 80's rock track grows thin after the opening theme song- but it's a fantastic party movie. Throw it on and tune in, or maybe sometimes tune out if you wish, and have lots of laughs (and sometimes raised eyebrows) at the mania pulled off here. The monster looks cheap as hell and funny as Hades wearing a tutu, and some of the dialog is actually quite quotable when not trying a little *too* hard. It knows its badness and embraces it with a beer in one hand a slimy crap in the other.
One either goes for this as the trash it is or they don't. Those that do get the rewards that Troma offers best, and in this case (with the exception of Toxic Avenger) it's most likely the go-to example for how Troma started out in the 80's. All they could care about is getting smart (or dumb is fine) kids to chew on horror-comedy that is 1/3 parody, 1/3 gross-out, and 1/3 flat out awful. Somehow it all comes together and makes for a wild little ride after midnight.
Oh, don't worry if I spoiled you anything. While Class of Nuke 'Em High has a plot, it shouldn't be at all your concern. This is the cream of the crop of Z-grade film-making, done with a budget that would make Corman wince and with tons of ingenuity and awesomely bad special effects gore and make-up. The humor is juvenile and stupid and all the better for it; this movie requires that there be bizarre characters, but this goes a step further by making it like a cross between Return of the Living Dead and Lean on Me. The bullies are ass-wipes who are decked out so much you can't see anything like they actually look like (one of which donning a nose ring to rival any one ever worn or seen), and all of the main "good" characters are (near) defenseless dweebs and sweethearts or bad comic relief.
And what it comes down to is this - Class of Nuke 'Em High is far from any high art- even its repetitive and sometimes intrusive generic 80's rock track grows thin after the opening theme song- but it's a fantastic party movie. Throw it on and tune in, or maybe sometimes tune out if you wish, and have lots of laughs (and sometimes raised eyebrows) at the mania pulled off here. The monster looks cheap as hell and funny as Hades wearing a tutu, and some of the dialog is actually quite quotable when not trying a little *too* hard. It knows its badness and embraces it with a beer in one hand a slimy crap in the other.
One either goes for this as the trash it is or they don't. Those that do get the rewards that Troma offers best, and in this case (with the exception of Toxic Avenger) it's most likely the go-to example for how Troma started out in the 80's. All they could care about is getting smart (or dumb is fine) kids to chew on horror-comedy that is 1/3 parody, 1/3 gross-out, and 1/3 flat out awful. Somehow it all comes together and makes for a wild little ride after midnight.