Sometimes a title makes all the difference when you were browsing the VHS racks on a Friday night in 1989. Or that same title would give you a reason to stay up all night to watch the film on USA network’s Up All Night show. Such was the case for Troma’s Surf Nazis Must Die. You would be extremely curious about a film with that title. You be slightly interested in seeing Surf Nazis. But that fact that they added Must Die, declares there’s going to be intense action on the screen besides a few wipe outs on the waves. You just had to rent the tape or stay up until the wee hours with Rhonda Shear discover if the Surf Nazis get made dead. Surf Nazis Must Die gets upgraded to Blu-ray to bring a high resolution to the mayhem at the beach.
Giant earthquakes have rocked California in a post-apocalyptic future. The city is burning and the beaches are pure chaos. There are now gangs fighting for prime waves. We learn early on that surfers rule the beach and Surf Nazis rule the surfers. The Surf Nazis are led by Adolph (Barry Brenner) with his cape and mustache. He is the Fuhrer of the beach with his colorful gang of surfing goons. His group of fascists includes Eva (Dawn Wildsmith), Hook (Joel Hile) and Mengele (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers‘ Michael Sonye). They want to consolidate their power in the sand. They have switchblades built into their surfboards. Thanks to the destruction of her house in an earthquake, Mama Washington (Earth Girls Are Easy‘s Gail Neely) is forced to move into a retirement home with an indifferent staff. She’s not quite ready to settle down and the nurses aren’t sure what to do with her. She’s running a card game and chopping down trees that are blocking her window’s view. Her life changes abruptly when her son Leroy (Robert Harden) encounters Adolph on the beach. Things go wrong for Leroy which leads to his Mama coming down to the shore to wipe out the Surf Nazis.
We want to imagine surfers as these peaceful groovy people who just wander the sand looking for the perfect wave. Truth is some of them are very territorial. When they find spot that generates righteous waves, they’ll make it a locals only spot. They will destroy tourists’ cars and mess up the boards of outsiders. They will play as dirty as Adolph and his crew.
One element that doesn’t seem to get too much credit is the soundtrack. Jon McCallum’s synth heavy score adds so much to the film and makes up for the lack of budget. His sweeping tones gives the film a Miami Vice edge. McCallum would also score Miami Connection in 1987.
Gail Neely does a tremendous job as Mama. First she’s a bit of comedic fun as she unadjusts to life at the retirement home. When it’s time for her to get serious and focused on revenge, she’s in that payback zone. Director Peter George and screenwiter Jon Ayre don’t overuse her on the screen. There are quite a few other people eager to make the Surf Nazis bite the dust. But when Mama hops on her motorcycle, you know there’s going to be hell to pay for her son. She’s all business and her business is killing Surf Nazis.
Surf Nazis Must Die is topflight Troma with action as over the top as its title.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. This is the sharpest I’ve ever seen the film over the decades. You can see the destruction all over the screen. The audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo. You’ll hear the waves crash and bones break. There’s no subtitles.
Intro (1:46) allows Lloyd Kaufman to show off his pool.
The Projection Booth podcast (71:16) has guest director Peter George talking to the hosts about his time at the beach. They love the name of the film. Peter George shows up as a special guest.
Peter George Interview (3:36) has the director Peter George discusses how he originally had the film as an old lady fighting goons at a retirement home. But he ran into Surf Nazis when he hit a local’s only beach. He gives away the secret of where he shot the surfing footage. He also points out his on screen role.
Interview with Robert Tinnell (1:52) has the producer talk about a late-night football game that got rough between the cast and crew. Plus he talk about a wreck on the set.
Public Service Announcement #1 (3:35) is about the danger of using “preview minutes” on a hotel’s adult channel.
Public Service Announcement #2 (2:28) is a fake “Vice President Al Gore” talking about global warming.
Lloyd Kaufman’s Autobiography (1:20) lets Sgt. Kabukiman, “Michael Herz,” and Dementia promote All I Really Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger.
Radiation March (0:54) is a dance about pollution
Soul of Troma (2:00) is a montage of great momemts from Troma with a Motorhead song. You’ll be eager for more Troma in your life.
Scenes from Tromaville Café (3:29) gives Beowulf and Jane Jensen to pump up the release of “Surf Nazis Must Die.” Beowulf is clueless about the film and history. Lloyd Kaufman talks with director Peter George about how he came up with Nazis that surf.
Deleted Scenes (8:04) gives us more footage from Surf Nazis Must Die. There’s no soundtrack so director Peter George gives the necessary information.
Latched (4:40) has two guys having a bad time expecting a double date in the woods using a hook up app.
Indie Artists vs. Cartels (9:36) is a Lloyd Kaufman explaining how Amazon, Youtube and Google are squeezing out Troma Entertainment. Lloyd is right as Amazon Prime streaming removed all the indie documentary projects a year ago. He gets in depth on how YouTube’s screwed Troma out of monetization. He brings up how one movie went from making $913.00 in one quarter to dropping down to $1.20 two years later even with plenty of views. YouTube doesn’t want to pay out.
Lloyd Gets “_____” By The Hollywood System (1:34) is Lloyd from a while back recounting how his indie studios got screwed over on The Toxic Crusaders movie. It turns into Deliverance for Lloyd. They’re now making a big budget Toxic Avengers movie.
Introduction (0:53) is from when Lloyd Kaufamn put out the DVD nearly 20 years ago. He recounts how Surf Nazis Must Die took off at Cannes.
Troma Presents Surf Nazis Must Die. Directed by Peter George. Screenplay by Jon Ayre. Starring Gail Neely, Robert Harden, Barry Brenner, Dawn Wildsmith, Michael Sonye, Joel Hile, Gene Mitchell, Tom Shell, Bobbie Bresee and Tom Demenkof. Running Time: 82 minutes. Rated: Unrated: Release Date: February 8, 2022.
