{"id":12390,"date":"2026-07-19T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/?p=12390"},"modified":"2026-07-12T12:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T12:57:13","slug":"early-troma-before-the-slime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailnewsgroup.com\/ohmr\/early-troma-before-the-slime\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Troma Before the Slime"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>5 Minute, 48 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>

MOVIE REVIEW
\nSugar Cookies (Tromatic Special Edition)<\/strong>
\nX \/ <\/strong> –  <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Genre: <\/strong>Drama\/Erotic Thriller
\nYear Released: <\/strong>1973, 2026 Blu-ray Troma Films
\nRuntime: <\/strong>1h 31m
\nDirector(s): <\/strong>Theodore Gershuny
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Lloyd Kaufman, Theodore Gershuny
\nCast: <\/strong>Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowry, George Shannon, Monique van Vooren, Maureen Byrnes, Daniel Sadur, Ondine, Jennifer Welles, Anthony Pompeii, Reid Cruickshanks, Thomas Mahony, Ralph R. Ralph, Shawn Randall, Allen Liffman
\nWhere to Watch:<\/strong> available now, order your copy here: www.mvdshop.com<\/a> or www.amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

RAVING REVIEW: <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>SUGAR COOKIES doesn’t feel like the Troma most viewers think they know. No mutant janitor swinging through radioactive chaos, no splatter-comedy, no self-aware barrage of slime, shouting, and bad taste. This is earlier, stranger (oddly enough), and more patient, the kind of low-budget 1970s erotic thriller that seems to have wandered out of New York’s underground film scene with lipstick on the glass and a knife hidden somewhere nearby.<\/p>\n

\n

The film opens with a death staged as a game gone wrong. Max Pavell, played by George Shannon, is a porn producer whose appetite for control turns lethal when actress Alta Leigh, played by Lynn Lowry, is killed and the scene is arranged to look like suicide. Camila Stone, played by Mary Woronov, knows more than she says and begins shaping a revenge plan around Julie Kent, an innocent young acting student who happens to look exactly like the dead woman. From there, SUGAR COOKIES becomes less a mystery than a psychological trap, one built out of desire, role-playing, grief, performance, and manipulation.<\/p>\n

Mary Woronov is the reason the film keeps its grip even when the storytelling trails off. She brings a solid presence to Camila that makes every room feel slightly off around her. There’s nothing casual about her performance. She watches, measures, waits, and pushes, turning seduction into strategy. She can be cruel, wounded, stylish, and unreadable in the span of a single line, and the film is almost always better when it lets her take command.<\/p>\n

Lynn Lowry has the more complicated assignment because she’s playing both the dead actress and the replacement. Alta and Julie are connected by resemblance, but Lowry heightens the film's unease by letting Julie’s innocence feel unstable once Camila begins molding her. The performance works less through big shifts than through vulnerability slowly being redirected. Max’s world doesn’t just exploit Julie. She’s also used by the person who claims to be avenging that exploitation, which gives the film its most unpleasant twist.<\/p>\n

SUGAR COOKIES has plenty of sexploitation surface, and there’s no getting around the way it packages bodies, power, and danger for the grindhouse market of its moment. Some of that is effective. Some of it is uncomfortable in ways the film may not entirely control. The best stretches use eroticism as power, showing how people in this world perform, trade, watch, and consume one another. The weaker passages let the material sag into indulgence, pausing for sensation without adding much tension or character.<\/p>\n

George Shannon’s Max is suitably repellent, though the character works best as a symbol of the industry’s predatory rot rather than as a deeply layered villain. He’s greedy, entitled, and monstrous in the most casual way, the kind of man who treats women as a commodity before he treats them as people. That can be limiting, but it also gives Woronov and Lowry something clear to perform against. The film’s real interest isn’t whether Max is evil. It’s whether Camila’s answer to that evil has become its own violation.<\/p>\n

Monique van Vooren, Ondine, Jennifer Welles, and the smaller players help create a sense of a social circle where glamour, seediness, and performance bleed into one another. SUGAR COOKIES is strongest when it lets that environment feel real, as if every character knows the rules of a corrupt game and no one expects anyone else to stop playing.<\/p>\n

Theodore Gershuny’s direction has more style than momentum. The film is gorgeous, shot on a low budget, with a muted, grimy elegance that gives its apartments, offices, clubs, and bedrooms a particular 70s vibe. It often looks better than expected. That matters because the film’s atmosphere carries it through stretches where the plot itself is dragging its feet.<\/p>\n

The new Tromatic Special Edition positioning is interesting because SUGAR COOKIES serves as a reminder that Troma’s history isn’t defined solely by its later outrageous brand identity. Lloyd Kaufman’s involvement here predates the company becoming shorthand for toxic waste, mutant mayhem, and anti-respectable splatter comedy. This film has exploitation roots, but it’s more subdued, more psychologically sour, and more interested in mood than shock. Viewers coming in for later Troma chaos may be surprised by how slow and strange it is.<\/p>\n

The movie undoubtedly has something. Not greatness, and not the suspense its marketing sometimes suggests, but a humid, uncomfortable, memorable quality that keeps it from becoming disposable. Woronov and Lowry give the film a reason to matter beyond its place in Troma history or Oliver Stone’s early producer credit. Their scenes together carry a danger that the rest of the movie doesn’t always match.<\/p>\n

SUGAR COOKIES is too flawed to be called a hidden gem, yet too distinctive to be brushed aside. It’s slow, uneven, dated, and even clumsy. It has a distinct heartbeat, though, a strong pair of lead performances, and a revenge story twisted enough to keep cult-film fans curious. This isn’t the sugar rush promised by the title. It’s something bitter, stranger, and stickier than that.<\/p>\n

Please visit https:\/\/linktr.ee\/overlyhonestr for more reviews.<\/p>\n

You can follow me on Letterboxd, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. My social media accounts can also be found on most platforms by searching for 'Overly Honest Reviews'.<\/p>\n

I’m always happy to hear from my readers; please don't hesitate to say hello or send me any questions about movies.<\/p>\n

[photo courtesy of TROMA FILMS, MVD ENTERTAINMENT]<\/em><\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER:<\/strong>
\nAt Overly Honest Movie Reviews, we value honesty and transparency. Occasionally, we receive complimentary items for review, including DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, Vinyl Records, Books, and more. We assure you that these arrangements do not influence our reviews, as we are committed to providing unbiased and sincere evaluations. We aim to help you make informed entertainment choices regardless of our relationship with distributors or producers.<\/p>\n

Amazon Affiliate Links:<\/strong>
\nAdditionally, this site contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may receive a commission. This affiliate arrangement does not affect our commitment to honest reviews and helps support our site. We appreciate your trust and support as you navigate these links.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n
\n \n \"Happy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Happy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sad\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sad <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Excited\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Excited <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Sleepy\"\n <\/a>\n
\n Sleepy <\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n \n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Angry\"\n <\/a>\n
Angry<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \"Surprise\"\n <\/a>\n
Surprise<\/div>\n
\n 0<\/span>\n 0<\/span> %<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOVIE REVIEW Sugar Cookies (Tromatic Special Edition) X \/  –      Genre: Drama\/Erotic Thriller Year Released: 1973, 2026 Blu-ray Troma Films Runtime: 1h 31m Director(s): Theodore Gershuny Writer(s): Lloyd Kaufman, Theodore Gershuny Cast: Mary Woronov, Lynn Lowry, George Shannon, Monique van Vooren, Maureen Byrnes, Daniel Sadur, Ondine, Jennifer Welles, Anthony Pompeii, Reid Cruickshanks, Thomas Mahony, Ralph […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t