Fortress of Amerikkka (1989)

Quick Synopsis

Fortress of Amerikkka (1989) is a Troma action satire about a small American town terrorized by a violent paramilitary group that has effectively taken control of the area. When a rebellious ex-con returns home, he becomes caught up in the resistance against the militia, leading to an increasingly chaotic barrage of gunfights, explosions, corruption, and deliberately over-the-top violence.

Quick Review

Ah, Troma. Land of the politically incorrect and absurd.

Fortress of Amerikkka is, without a doubt, one of the SLEAZIEST movies I have ever seen. In almost any given scene, everybody is either fucking or killing, or both. This is also not your usual wacky Troma adventure. No, this one sits nicely next to the mean-spirited Troma movies, like Mother’s Day. It’s almost like a mean, ugly Andy Sidaris movie.

I’d wanted to see this one for a while after discovering it was from the same director as my ultimate favorite Troma movie, Lust for Freedom, which, yea, can be a little rough, but is nowhere near this movie in terms of making you want to take a shower after you’re done watching it.

Absolute sleaze. ’70s Times Square sleaze.

It kind of makes you wonder who the target audience was for this, as it’s rather rough even for the traditional Tromaville resident. And that’s without even getting into the atrocious acting from…well…almost everyone involved.

Also, random aside: the sheriff made me think a lot of Andy from Twin Peaks. Maybe he was finally promoted!

Stick with Lust for Freedom for a finer line between good and (mostly) bad taste.

Trivia

As mentioned, the director, Eric Louzil, also directed my FAVORITE Troma film, Lust for Freedom. As I was watching this I thought I saw a familiar face, and I was right. Turns out, there are FIVE people that were in both this and Lust for Freedom –

– William J. Kulzer, played Sheriff Coale in Lust for Freedom, and is Commander Karl Denton in Fortress of Amerikkka.

– Judi Trevor, heinous villain Ms. Pusker in Lust appears as one of the mercenaries in this.

– Brian Scavo, random male guard in Lust is the main protagonist in Fortress – quite a promotion!

– Ron Chapman, another random guard in Lust is a mercenary in this – fun fact, he is also the cinematographer/DP for both movies.

– Martha Garcia, female guard in Lust, female merc in this.

Availability Today

Though out-of-print today, Vinegar Syndrome released Fortress of Amerikkka through its Vinegar Syndrome Archive (VSA) line. It’s a region-free Blu-ray, newly scanned and restored in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative.

One can buy a more basic DVD via Troma Direct.

One can find it currently streaming on Troma NOW, Tubi, Plex, Fawesome, and Prime.