Aspiring filmmaker Peter George was living near the beaches of coastal California when he spotted some graffiti stating “surf nazis”. Often used to refer to surfers who took it seriously, George decided to flesh it out and take it literally. Alongside writer Jon Ayre, George developed a concept where an old lady defends her retirement home against an inner-city gang. At some point, George and Ayre combined their original concept with the surf nazis, creating an oddball revenge film. Filming mostly took place around Huntington Beach and Long Beach, California, and the surfing scenes were filmed near Hawaii. With a relatively low budget, George, editor Craig A. Colton, and producer Robert Tinnell formed The Institute for production. The cast comprised of unknowns who appeared in mostly lesser-known films, though many would go on to have long-running careers. Finally, in July 1987, Troma released Surf Nazis Must Die.
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Synopsis
After an earthquake devastates the California coastline, the beaches are taken over by various gangs during the chaos. One of these gangs is the Surf Nazis, led by Adolf (Barry Brenner), the self-proclaimed “Führer of the new beach”. His gang includes girlfriend Eva (Dawn Wildsmith), Mengele (Michael Sonye), Hook (Joel Hile), Brutus (Gene Mitchell), and Smeg (Tom Shell). Adolf tries recruiting the other gangs to their cause, but they refuse, saying Adolf can’t handle the power. Meanwhile, Eleanor “Mama” Washington’s (Gail Neely) is put in assisted by her son Leroy (Robert Harden) after her house’s destroyed. Unfortunately, Leroy is attacked and killed by the Surf Nazis on the beach, leaving Mama in a state of shock. She decides to buy a gun and some grenades, planning on exacting revenge for the death of her son. Now that Leroy’s Mama is on the prowl, the Surf Nazis Must Die!
Review
Surf Nazis Must Die promises a lot from its title and concept, and it mostly delivers, though not without flaws. Its biggest problem is that, despite a runtime of under 90 minutes, the film is very slow and very padded. There are tons of scenes that are shots of the beach, shots of people driving, and extended surfing sequences. Also, there are subplots introduced that are either dropped completely or resolved almost as soon as they’re introduced. For instance, there’s a subplot about Smeg and his relationship with his mother that goes nowhere and amounts to nothing. Additionally, the subplot about the Surf Nazis taking out the other gangs is resolved fairly quickly. Though it’s built up early on, the revenge plot doesn’t really start until the last twenty minutes of the film. Whole stretches of the movie will go by before Mama Washington shows up again.
That being said, there are some moments where the film goes above and beyond the material and has some flair. There are a few scenes shot in a way similar to an arthouse film with plenty of earned drama. The best example is how they handle Leroy’s murder, cutting back-and-forth between his murder and Mama going to the morgue. It’s very similar to how Mary Lambert handled Gage’s death in Pet Sematary, which came out two years after this. In terms of delivering on its promises, this film has plenty of fun over-the-top performances, particularly from Brenner and Sonye. Gail Neely makes for a great unlikely hero, delivering compelling drama one minute, and spouting off one-liners in the next. The final twenty minutes are definitely the highlight as Mama gets her revenge, even though the film is somewhat uneven. Overall, Surf Nazis Must Die is entertaining despite an uneven pace.
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