Surf Nazis Must Die, which was independently produced, is a better film than many of Troma’s in-house productions. Like most Troma items, the poster design is more interesting than the finished product – here the film seems to promise to be a tongue-in-cheek Mad Max 2 (1981) of the beachfronts, a concept the resulting film never quite delivers on. The plot is instantly forgettable, and the acting, particularly of lead actor Barry Brenner, is so bizarre as to guarantee hysterics. Gore – various decapitations, heads blown off, wounds being stitched up shown in closeup – has been used as a buttress whenever the pace is in (frequent) danger of flagging.

The film remains commendable for its sheer persistence, perversity and overall tone of over-the-top lunacy. Dawn Wildsmith, who gives the best performance as Adolph’s girl-friend, gets all the best lines: “Scum-sucking Neanderthal, how dare you question my authority?” or “I’m Adolph’s bitch – get yourself another cunt.” And then there’s imposing black mama Gail Neely who walks up to a gunsmith and demands “something to blow honky hide off at 20 paces,” and later pops said gun into Adolph’s mouth, “I’m going to give you a taste of Momma’s home-cooking, Adolph,” and pulls the trigger. A standard love scene, scored with a trumpet solo, is guaranteed to have one rolling in the aisle. The film is also surprisingly well photographed.

Of the people involved, Peter George only directed one other film – a little-seen adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown (1993) – and Jon Ayre has not written again. Producer Robert Tinnell later relocated to Canada where he has directed a number of worthwhile children’s films – including Kids of the Round Table (1995) and particularly Frankenstein and Me (1996) and Believe (2000).