Troma Fans, Rejoice! Writer/Director Jason Berg has apparently seen most of Lloyd Kaufman’s films and read Make Your Own Damn Movie and has set out to out-Troma Troma. So if you are into sophomoric humor, a senseless plot, overbroad acting, ridiculous characters, offensive stereotypes played for humor, gore that really isn’t, ten dollar special effects, all in the service of the lowest of the lowbrow entertainment, you will enjoy Black Holler.

For the rest of us, the film is ostensibly a love letter to eighties teens-in-the-woods slasher flicks. Set in 1989, Black Holler offers an interesting opening credit sequence that establishes the film, the conceit and the characters. It is the high point of the film. Tamiko Robinson Steele (arguably the best part of the film) plays LaQuita Johnson, a young Black woman who, on her first day at an otherwise all-white school attends a mandatory camping trip. The teachers are all deeply unbalanced and odd, the student body is worse, and out in the woods is something slowly killing them all.

Every character is an eighties stereotype, for better or worse. LaQuita, whose parents died in an accident when she was young, was raised by a martial arts master who trained her. He then married another male martial arts master and they trained her together and it’s funny because they’re gay, get it? As a result of her upbringing La Quita is equipped to survive in the woods, defeat the bad guys, and her best friend is flamboyantly gay. It’s funny because he’s flamboyantly gay, get it?

Black Holler proudly acknowledges that the budget was non-existent, and the performers appear to be having a good time. The film seems to be acknowledging its own nature by having every character really into cheese (literally). They insist on having it because, “everybody loves cheese.” It’s funny because the film is cheesy, get it?

To misquote Abraham Lincoln, this is the kind of film that will appeal to the kind of people who like this kind of film. Otherwise it is neither scary nor funny.  So if you like it, enjoy it, and if this does not sound entertaining or interesting, please skip the hike in the woods and stay home to watch something better.

2 out of 10