Kick back with Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman at The Last Drive-In
By Carla Davis
Lloyd Kaufman of Troma kicks back with Joe Bob Briggs this Friday on The Last Drive-In.
The question of whether or not Briggs and Shudder would continue with the killer line-up of guests was answered with tweets from both on Monday of this week. Joe Bob posted: “Uncle Lloydie WILL be in the house—it was inevitable, right?”
“Uncle Lloydie” is, of course, Troma Entertainment co-founder/Director Lloyd Kaufman, who brought us films such as The Toxic Avenger (and its many sequels), Class of Nuke ‘Em High and Tromeo and Juliet. Naturally, if Kaufman is the guest, it stands to reason that at least one of his films will be featured on The Last Drive-In.
The question is: which film will it be? Briggs and his co-host Darcy the Mail Girl had already tweeted a hint about the featured films this week. “The first one is made by a low-budget genius who went high budget and crashed. The second one is made by unknowns who ended up with worldwide distribution.”
Joe Bob fans (known as “Mutants”) are trying their best to guess at what Kaufman film(s) will be featured, with the top choice being The Toxic Avenger.
I know we're only a few days in to this week, but who else is already tapped out and ready to kick back at #TheLastDriveIn with @therealjoebob this Friday? pic.twitter.com/oOBKieykfK
— Shudder (@Shudder) May 12, 2020
Lloyd Kaufman is a Yale graduate who originally set out to become a social worker. Somehow, he got sidetracked into film production, and after graduating, a collaboration with John G. Avildsen (who went on to direct Rocky and The Karate Kid) resulted in several low-budget films.
In 1974, Kaufman and Michael Herz built Troma Entertainment, which specialized in comedy and action films. The Toxic Avenger came along in 1985 and quickly became Troma’s most successful film. “Toxie” spawned three sequels, a children’s television show and comic books.
Troma’s War came along in 1988, and was not nearly as popular as The Toxic Avenger or Class of Nuke ‘Em High, eventually causing the company to collapse and downsize into a smaller, independent studio. This condensed version of Troma produced the popular Tromeo and Juliet in 1996.
Troma films are beloved by fans of B-movies everywhere, so it’s expected that a lot of them will be watching Friday’s episode of The Last Drive-In.
Next. Dawn of the Dead (2004), Don’t Breathe and other action horror movies. dark
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs is only available to watch on subscription service Shudder, with new double-feature episodes streaming every Friday at 9:00. If you are not currently a Shudder subscriber, you can take advantage of a free 30-day trial subscription by using the code SHUTIN at checkout.
Are you a fan of Troma films and/or The Last Drive-In? What do you think this week’s film selections will be? Let us know in the comments section.