#ShakespearesShitstorm is a 2020 American comedy film very, very loosely inspired by William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Directed by and starring Lloyd Kaufman from a screenplay co-written with Brandon Bassham, plus additional material by Gabriel Friedman, Frazer Brown, Doug Sakmann and Zac Amico, the Troma production stars Kate McGarrigle, Erin Miller, Debbie Rochon, Abraham Sparrow, Zac Amico, Amanda Flowers, Dylan Mars Greenberg, Zoe Geltman, Frazer Brown and Monique Dupree.
#ShakepearesShitstorm marks the most ambitious project in Troma’s 45-year history. Working with one of Hollywood’s best special effects companies, Troma brings a whole new experience to their stylized brand. Having a bigger budget also brought about larger-scale on-location filming in Albania (a first for narrative films in the country) as well as a celestial orchestral score from Portugal and a little help from the Bard. Shakespeare has never been this raw and unfiltered.
Plot:
Prospero (Lloyd Kaufman), a brilliant and generous pharma-scientist, has had his life and career ruined by blind, greedy, perverted pharmaceutical execs, causing him and his very hot daughter Miranda to flee from NYC to Tromaville, New Jersey.
When the evil execs and their elite guests take a celebratory luxury cruise to North Korea, Prospero uses his science, magic, and a load of whale laxative to create the titular Shitstorm, wrecking the cruise ship and causing its execs to wash up on the shores of Tromaville…
Reviews:
“#ShakespearesShitstorm is cheerfully, unapologetically vulgar. Interpreting The Tempest this way admittedly made me laugh – not necessarily because the material itself is funny but because the chutzpah the film displays is funny. Not knowing what would come my way next ensured that I was never bored.” The Aisle Seat
“The horrible puns are still a mile-a-minute and Shitstorm does provide a little social commentary the Troma way by making fun of SJW protests and cancel culture, but that’s not what it’s about. Kaufman loathes the Twitterati as much as meat-eaters and his disdain comes through, but this version of The Tempest is really about family.” Dread Central
“With extravagantly silly characters and a crazy, drug-induced party that takes up a majority of the film, nothing in #ShakespearesShitstorm is certain. It is a well-intentioned idea, but with its special brand of imagery, not everyone will be able to watch it all the way through. True to its title, Kaufman’s version of The Tempest has several merits, but in the end, it is totally and completely out of control.” Elements of Madness
“Sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll are here in abundance, the costumes are magnificent, the rhyming couplets are liberally distributed and there’s an underlying sweetness about the whole thing that makes its failings easy to forgive. Though it never quite attains the heights of Tromeo & Juliet, it is certainly something rich and strange.” Eye for Film
“Just like The Tempest is a meta-reflection of William Shakespeare as a playwright and his art, so does this film reflect Kaufman as a filmmaker, and it’s surprisingly sad when you realize that Prospero defending himself is actually good ol’ Uncle Lloyd having to defend his art to an audience who has changed and evolved, an audience no longer as interested in the offensive as they once were.” Haddonfield Horror
“I was astounded by the overall sense of cohesion throughout the entirety of the movie. Beginning to end, this is a fully realized story and Lloyd Kaufman has a very clear vision for what he wants out of every scene. Kaufman is a brilliant director and his talents are on full display here. Beyond that, the music and overall sound design of the film is palpable and helps keep a delicate balance of realism, hyper-realism, and pure absurdity.” Horror Patch
“While structured as a parody of The Tempest, it does seem that the ultimate goal of #ShakespearesS#*tstorm is to provide meta-commentary about “social justice warriors,” depicted in the film by the characters Steph (Zoë Geltman) and Trini (Dylan Greenberg), who takes offense at everything that is not considered politically correct.” Sean Kelly on Movies
” …there is such a thing as overly excessive political correctness, which seems to be one of the things Kaufman is aiming at in this rambunctious film with his “SJW” characters, who seem to get offended about every damn thing they see. This stuff I would say Kaufman does a pretty good job with, actually; he’s playing it so far over-the-top for a reason, and it works fairly well.” Sonic Cinema
This is probably Troma’s pièce de résistance, a film in which all the elements come together to create one marvellous magnum opus. The satire, gross-out humour, use of Shakespeare and complete irreverence work perfectly […] It’s never going to be for everyone’s taste, but that doesn’t matter.” Starburst
Release:
#ShakespearesShitstorm had its world premiere as part of the Fantasia 2020 Virtual Festival on August 29th 2020.
Main cast and characters:
Lloyd Kaufman … Prospero / Antoinette Duke
Erin Patrick Miller … Ferdinand (as Erin Miller)
Abraham Sparrow … Big Al
Kate McGarrigle … Miranda
Amanda Flowers … Ariel
Debbie Rochon … Senator Sebastian
Zoë Geltman … Steph
Dylan Greenberg … Trini
Frazer Brown … William Shakespeare
Monique Dupree … Caliban
Teresa Hui … Chien Wu Beng
Ahkai Franklin … Mbuth D’Fur
Zac Amico … Lindy West – Social Justice Warrior
Vada Callisto … Puck
Elizabeth D’Ambrosio … Titania
Nadia White … Gonerill
Dai Green … Cordelia
Some images: Haddonfield Horror
