Rating: 
Summary: great!
Review: this was hugely entertaining. my friends and i watch bad movies as a hobby, and this is one that we're going to have to see as a group. foreign films usually don't hold our attention (ex: les visitures), but this takes the cake. wonderful movie, but no way are we going to pay for it. that's ridiciulous! see this movie if you get the opportunity!
Rating: 
Summary: Warped even for Troma
Review: Western civilization, during its long tenure, has produced some of the most memorable monuments in human history. Stunning works of art, vast architectural triumphs, wondrous musical compositions of exquisite texture, and literary endeavors that capture the very essence of what it means to live have all flowed out of the great minds of the West. One look around these days makes one wonder if those eras of miraculous creation are long gone. Britney Spears, MTV, sitcoms, and Troma films--these are hardly icons of communal vigor. Only when a culture thrashes in its final death throes does something like Troma appear on the scene. This studio, run by the gregarious Lloyd Kaufman and his toady Michael Hertz, market straight to video trash cinema that should rightly end up in a waste compactor. Try as I might, I continue to find a Troma film occupying space in my DVD player. I admit I enjoy zero budget stuff hacked out by directors who couldn't take a decent picture of the side of a barn, but some of the stuff I've seen from this company causes me to grind my teeth. "Why not just quit watching this junk" is what you're probably asking. Good question. Well, I watch it so others won't watch it, so I can warn uninformed viewers about the possible risks associated with Troma films. In short, I fall on the grenade so you won't have to. Seriously, Troma has on occasion turned out a couple of mildly entertaining films. "The Toxic Avenger," for example, is a minor classic of sorts. Sadly, Kaufman and company followed it up with dozens of brain meltingly bad movies. "Killer Condom" is one of these train wrecks, although it is a better train wreck than most films made or distributed by Troma. It's the story about a New York City detective named Luigi Mackeroni and his attempts to crack several seemingly unrelated cases. Several people have died horribly disfiguring deaths in NYC sleaze pits, usually in the company of decidedly unwholesome people. Mackeroni knows the town like the back of his hand, and it isn't too long before he is pounding the streets scraping up clues. Along the way he meets the love of his life, a former one night stand now working as a drag queen, a conservative politician running for office on a pro-family platform, and some creepy doctor in charge of safe sex clinic type organization. Mackeroni keeps his cool through it all, relentlessly tracking down the killer(s) so the streets will become safe for all citizens again. When the detective finally learns what is really behind the spate of killings, he is shocked; it is nothing less than a massive conspiracy involving biologically engineered condoms to do away with certain "undesirable" elements of society! By the way, Mackeroni is a German speaking Sicilian whose resemblence to Bob Hoskins is frightening to say the least. And he's gay. Yep, the potential for comedy is all over this movie like flies on you know what. Throw in garish lighting in nearly every scene, endless lines of over sexualized dialogue, toothy condoms that growl and fly through the air, set pieces so filthy that you will want to throw up immediately before you spend the next ten hours taking a shower, and you have all the elements that form "Killer Condom." There are also plenty of gay bars, disco music, red bandannas artfully placed, and a grand finale involving a spirited speech about tolerance. Card carrying members of the religious right or the Grand Old Party probably will want to skip this one, but if you approach it in the right frame of mind and with the realization that "Killer Condom" is a clever satire of several American film genres, you might just enjoy yourself. Maybe. A couple of names familiar to knowledgeable horror fans grace this production's crew roster. Famed artist of the bizarre H.G. Giger did some of the design work for the murderous condoms with the assistance of none other than Jorg Buttgereit. Buttgereit's contributions to the extreme gore genre include "Nekromantik," "Der Todesking," and the sickening "Schramm." I was a bit taken aback that he worked on this film, since "Killer Condom" is neither an arty shock film nor a gore epic, but to each his own, I guess. In front of the camera, actor Udo Samel shines as the gruff, understated cop Luigi Mackeroni. He's amusing without really trying, and his serious take on such a bizarre character pays off in spades. I also got a kick out of Babette, a character who you must see to believe. Regrettably, the movie as a whole doesn't work as well as it could due to an overlong runtime, some confusing situations towards the end of the picture, and a few gags that run on too long. Despite these minor flaws, "Killer Condom" is warped enough to provide a few laughs for admirers of the cinematic macabre. A theatrical run for this picture would probably result in rioting in the streets! As usual, Troma stocks the DVD edition of this movie with a boatload of extras. Behind the scenes stills, a commentary with Buttgereit and director Martin Walz, a Troma intelligence test, some interviews with people associated with the film, and a bunch of other junk familiar to any regular Tromaites provide hours of additional "enjoyment." "Killer Condom" isn't a great film, not by any standard of measurement, but it's a film you just can't avoid watching to its horrific conclusion. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cover your crotch in sympathy! What more could you want from schlock cinema?
Rating:
Summary: (Almost) A Cult Classic
Review: What shocked me about Killer Condom was that it exceeded its low-budget expectations with a surprisingly intelligent and touching love story. So the effects weren't up to much? Pa! The central romance between hard-boiled detective Udo Samel and pretty-boy rent boy Marc Richter was genuinely affecting; the dialogue was spot-on and Martin Walz's direction (and Samel's performance in particular) were beautifully judged.
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