The type of entertainment produced for your consumption by the likes of Lloyd Kaufman and Troma Films isn’t for everyone. Their titles tend to be gross-out fests full of gore, nudity, and every type of bodily fluid you can think of. After what feels like forever (Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High AKA Volume 2 released in 2017), Kaufman returns to direct another Troma-sterpiece with Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm. Though it was initially screened back in 2020, it’s just now getting a physical release, and the Troma Team is making sure it was absolutely worth the wait, even going so far as to release it in 4K.
After being betrayed by his ruthless sister Antoinette (Lloyd Kaufman) and driven from the scientific community for discovering a cure for opioid addiction, mad genius Prospero (Kaufman) flees to Tromaville with his blind daughter Miranda (Kate McGarrigle). Hunted by corrupt pharmaceutical executives determined to silence him, Prospero teams up with an unlikely ally to unleash his twisted plan for revenge: a sex worker with a disability.
When a diabolical plot involving a laxative-laced whale experiment collides with his enemies’ luxury cruise to North Korea, nature strikes back, setting the stage for Prospero’s ultimate payback.
If Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm goes down as Lloyd Kaufman’s final film, then he has nothing to be ashamed of. As an actor and producer, to say that he’s ‘highly prolific’ would be an understatement. As a feature film director, each one is golden; there’s not a single dud in the bunch. I’m not talking about documentaries, music videos, or anything other than actual scripted films—they’re all great.
Sh*tstorm is everything you’d expect and more in a Troma film: gory, funny, unrelenting, and definitely offensive. That is exactly why I loved every minute of it. I can really appreciate a film that’s not afraid to go out on a limb, and this delivers it all. The cast, which features new faces and genre vets, including Debbie Rochon, also really goes all in.
After fifty-plus years in the business, Kaufman can still deliver a brand of social commentary like no one else, all while providing an updated version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, told in a way no one else could. I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, but since it’s spelled out in the title, there is a sh*storm, and it’s hilarious.
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The film was shot on digital, and the 4K disc looks really clean and vibrant, making the film’s antics defined in a way you might not want to see so clearly. The set is loaded with extras like an introduction from the director, commentaries, trailers, a handful of featurettes, and most importantly, a feature-length documentary on the making of the film, which is just as good as any found on Kaufman’s other releases.
Features like that are what make physical media collecting so wonderful. Streaming doesn’t always have this stuff, and it really gives you a first-hand look at how movies are made, the good and the bad.
Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm is another classic from the oldest independent film studio in history. If this is Kaufman’s final feature film, then he has retired on top. If not, then I can’t wait to see what he makes next.
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