Lloyd Kaufman Serves Up Poultrygeist to a New Generation of Troma-tized Audiences
For months, a red-band trailer for Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead has been spreading across the Internet like a chemical spill, unsuitable for the workplace, children or the weak of heart -- watch at your own risk! This latest offering from Troma Entertainment, the world's authority on gory, cheap thrills, is now finally popping up on big screens as Lloyd Kaufman, director and president of Troma Films, personally delivers his slow-roasted vision to festivals and art houses nationwide. Kaufman is confident that such films will never go out of fashion. "I think people love movies like Poultrygeist because they're original and thought-provoking, and create some genuine emotion in the audience," he says. "In today's world of cookie cutter $100 million movies that have to be all things to all people, there's an audience out there of people who want movies that come from the heart."
This attitude -- as well as knack for smashing taboos -- has ensured the film company an evergreen crop of devotees. "I think Troma's famous for being a sort of Cuisinart of genres," says Kaufman. "Peter Jackson once suggested that we created the slapstick gore movie. In the case of Poultrygeist, we've added the musical singing-and-dancing element. I may be wrong about this, but Poultrygeist is probably the first chicken Indian zombie with singing and dancing. Also it's an anti-fast food movie," he adds. "I think that sociological satire appeals to a pretty good segment of the moviegoing population, especially young people who are not exactly happy that McDonalds is on every corner."
