| Terror Firmer | |
| Director: | Lloyd Kaufman |
| Music: | Nobuhiko Morino |
| Cinematography: | Brendan Flynt |
| Editing: | Gabriel Friedman |
| Studio: | Troma Entertainment |
| Distributor: | Troma Entertainment |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $500,000 |
Terror Firmer is a 1999 American comedy horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, and Kaufman, and starring Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, and Kaufman. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainment company, known for distributing campy exploitation films.
The film features several direct references to the previous Troma films, such as The Toxic Avenger, and includes famous Troma props, like the 'Penis Monster' (referred to in the film as "Thor, the God of Love") and a severed leg. It was loosely based, in that respect, on Kaufman and James Gunn's book All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger.
The film is the story of a New York low-budget film crew, led by their insane and egotistical blind film director, Larry Benjamin, who is trying to create a work of art. In addition to the typical trials and travails of a Troma set, the crew is preyed upon by a sexually conflicted, bomb-toting serial killer.
Among the large and poorly-paid film crew, the movie centers mostly on production assistant Jennifer. She struggles to do her job while deciding between the two men in her life; the strait-laced boom operator Casey, and the rebellious special effects operator Jerry. The love triangle intensifies as the dead bodies mount with increasing brutality. At the climax, the entire film crew bands together (both physically and sexually) against the mortal threat in their midst.
Terror Firmer is the first Troma release to be edited digitally on Avid.
The 'Morton Springer Show' sequence was based on the experience Lloyd Kaufman had on the Morton Downey Jr. Show.[1] [2]
The end credits states, "A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO: The New York City Police Department, for their unstinting cooperation and invaluable help throughout every part of this production." The documentary The Making of Terror Firmer shows the police clashing with the production on several instances (one of which involved the police revoking the crew's filming permit).
The movie includes songs from notable punk bands, including NOFX (Stranger than Fishin'), the Vandals (Idea for a Movie), Bouncing Souls (Argyle), Blood for Blood (My Time is Yet to Come), Anti-Flag (Someone's Gonna Die Tonight), and The Melvins (Horn Bearer). A soundtrack for the movie was released by Go Kart records in October 2000.