Rating of
2.5/4
Heavy Mental So Bad It's Almost Good
Chris Kavan - wrote on 09/26/10
Oh Troma, how I have missed you. You have to go into any Troma film with a certain mindset: most are low-budget, with no one you've ever heard of, which mean you're not going to get anything close to award-winning acting or editing or anything else.
But Troma supplies a very important niche in the movie industry: it's one of the last bastions of good bad movies. It keeps the grindhouse spirit alive by providing plenty of over-the-top violence, a bit of titillation and outlandish stories. Sure, the dialogue may be stiff or forced and the blood may be a bit too red the sound effects intentionally hilarious - but in the end, if you're watching a Troma film, you want to be entertained, not necessarily impressed.
Which brings me to Heavy Mental. This was actually the first Troma film I've watched since the days of Toxic Avenger and Nuke 'em High. The Detroit tale is highly implausible - starting off with an 80s-inspired hair-band music video, then going right into a struggling hard-rock store, run by two gay men and their son - Ace - the would-be rock star. Soon we learn the metal-hating Ms. Delicious plans to run the city her way - by shaking down local businesses and destroying metal forever by blowing up the upcoming Battle of the Bands.
Ace, though, he possessed by the spirit of rock legend Eddie Lee Stryker (from the opening video), who we learn was killed by Ms. Delicious and her crew and now wants revenge... and to rock! We get plenty of gruesome killings - from a poor metal head being ran over to a hotdog-eating champion being gutted (and all his hotdogs falling out) to some real headbanging. The film is populated by murderous prostitutes, but surprisingly the only nudity comes from the daughter of the local porn store owner, the one who likes to go to bible study and wears a schoolgirl outfit.
The jokes are groan-inducing, the editing is haphazard and the sound effects distressing, but despite the horrendous production value, I still kind of liked the whole thing. I can't say this is a good film - but it's a good bad film - and it works because the people working on it seem to take it seriously - they want it to be a good film, but it just isn't - it's a Troma film.
Bottom line - you're either a Troma fan or not. I've been out of the game for awhile, but I'm glad I came back. Can't wait to see what they have in store for me next.
