Z-movie (Redirected from Z-grade)
Z-movie (or "Grade-Z movie") is a term applied to films with an extremely low budget and a miserable quality. The term is made with a "Z" to show that it is even worse and lower-budgeted than a B-movie - something so terrible that it doesn't even fit within the bounds of normal movie criticism. In short, it means that not only is it worse than a B movie, there simply cannot be anything worse than it.
Ed Wood is considered as a specialist of Z-movies, with his famous Plan 9 from Outer Space widely accepted as being the worst film ever produced in the history of the medium. Ironically, Plan 9 From Outer Space is probably the most watchable picture in Wood's filmography -- films like Jail Bait and Bride of the Monster are less notorious but certainly more boring.
Troma is probably the most well-known producer of z-movies. Since its founding in 1974, Troma has released z-movies like Redneck Zombies and Nazi Surfers from Hell. Sometimes these films are produced in-house, and sometimes they are purchased from other studios and re-released, especially such films represent the early work of a newly-famous actor. (A good example of this is Sizzle Beach U.S.A., one of Kevin Costner's first films, which was purchased by Troma and re-released to capitalize on his popularity in Silverado and the then-upcoming The Untouchables.)
Troma's most notorious film is The Toxic Avenger. Released in 1985, it tells the story of a man who is thrown in a toxic dumpster where he gets strange powers and is mutated into "Toxie", the toxic avenger, an extremely ugly and strong creature that cleans the streets of scum. This movie is very important in the Troma history because after its released, Toxie became the icon of Troma.
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