| Director: | Lloyd Kaufman |
| Narrator: | Stan Lee |
| Music: | Kurt Dirt |
| Cinematography: | Justin Duval |
| Editing: | Travis Campbell |
| Studio: | Troma Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 85 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 is a 2013 American science-fiction horror comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman. The film, produced by the cult classic B-movie production group Troma Entertainment, is the fourth in the Nuke 'Em High film series.
In Tromaville High School, the glee club has mutated into a vicious gang called The Cretins. Chrissy and Lauren, two innocent bloggers, must fight not only the Cretins, mutants and monsters but also the evil Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate.
A fourth Nuke 'Em High film entitled Battle of the Bikini Subhumanoids was initially announced in 1996. Troma ran a script-writing contest that invited fans to contribute two pages with a weekly winner announced and added to the collective screenplay.[2] Despite a script being finished in 2000, this project never got past the pre-production stage.
Troma again announced production of the sequel in October 2011. Initially, it was stated the film would be made in Spain by Mushnik's Entertainment in collaboration with Chaparra Entertainment. The directors were to be Marc Gras and Dani Moreno.[3] The plot centered around a new group of Cretins who are forced into the role of the protagonists. However, this version also never came to fruition.
After Anchor Bay had shown interest in remaking some of the films from Troma's library, Troma started talking to them about doing a co-production. Anchor Bay ended up remaking Troma's Mother's Day while serving as co-producers on a Class of Nuke 'Em High reboot, which became the fourth installment of the Nuke 'Em High series during pre-production.
Kaufman began production anew in 2012, directing the film himself in New York and New Jersey. Casting took place throughout June 2012. For the first time, Troma relied on Kickstarter to raise a small amount of funds to support "animal actor" Kevin the Duck.[4] Principal photography began in August 2012 and finished in September.[5]
Initially slated to be a single installment, Kaufman split the film into two volumes, much like The Toxic Avenger Part II and , after director Quentin Tarantino’'s suggestion, à la Kill Bill.[6]
Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1 began a limited North American theatrical release in the fall of 2013, beginning with a screening at the Museum of Modern Art.[7] It expanded in January 2014.
Reviews were generally mixed. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 57% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10.[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
Variety deemed it "a hearty blast of Troma-branded schlock"[10] while The New York Times said Kaufman fans "will be delighted to learn that time has eroded neither his love of nudity nor his disdain for political correctness."[11] Horror magazine Fangoria gave the film 3.5 out of 4 skulls, calling it "undeniably funny, brave and so unlike anything put out today that it practically demands respect."[12]
Kaufman shot Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2 with Paredes, Corcoran, and Amico reprising their leading roles. A Kickstarter campaign was set up to raise $50,000 for post-production costs.[13] The campaign ended on June 24, 2015, successfully raising $63,615.[14] The sequel premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017, with a Los Angeles premiere on March 8, 2018 at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills, California. The movie was eventually released onto Blu-ray on November 12, 2019.