Synopsis

In modern-day Manhattan, Tromeo Que and Juliet Capulet fall in love despite their families' violent feud. Their romance collides with parental control, criminal schemes, sexual corruption, and grotesque mutations as they fight for freedom and each other. This anarchic Troma reworking of Shakespeare's tragedy replaces doomed romance with outrageous gore, black comedy, punk energy, and an unexpectedly defiant ending.

Factoids & Trivia

• James Gunn was paid $150 to write the screenplay, making the film one of the earliest major steps in his filmmaking career.

• The first screenplay draft was written entirely in iambic pentameter. Gunn later abandoned that approach because maintaining the verse throughout the script was too tedious.

• Although the film is often described as being in iambic pentameter, it is not entirely written in that meter.

• Shot in 1995, the production had a reported budget of $350,000, making it one of the more expensive films in Troma Entertainment's history at the time.

• Footage of a car flipping over was reused in several other Troma productions, including Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., Terror Firmer, and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV.

• Lemmy from Motorhead serves as the narrator, helping frame the film as a punk-rock variation on Shakespeare rather than a conventional adaptation.

• The film's 107-minute theatrical version was later supplemented by a longer director's cut running approximately 137 minutes.

• Tromeo and Juliet became a cult favorite and helped establish the distinctive blend of sex, gore, satire, and literary parody that defined Troma's later productions.