Gory greetings horroryearbook alumni! Welcome to another exciting edition of IT CAME FROM THE MAILBOX, a column where your old pal Brain Hammer reviews whatever random crap the good folks at horroryearbook decide to throw my way.

“Slime flies when you’re having fun!” It’s hard to believe it’s been 22 long years since Greg Lamberson first unleashed the 80′s splatter classic SLIME CITY upon the world. Around this time last year, the word began circulating that Greg was preparing the long awaited sequel. The now completed film is titled SLIME CITY MASSACRE, and I was lucky enough to recently find a screener copy in my mailbox. In the coming months, SCM will be making the rounds at horror conventions and screenings across the country. As the film has yet to see a wide release, I will keep this review brief and try a bit harder than normal to avoid any spoilers.

SLIME CITY MASSACRE takes place several years after the events in SLIME CITY. The bizarre New York City neighborhood known as Slime City is devastated by a “dirty bomb” attack. In the wake of the attack, the now radioactive Slime City has been evacuated by the government. The only people who remain are a haggard assortment of homeless slimeheads and a pack of pimps, prostitutes, and drug dealers that cater to the rich tourists who still pour into Slime City from uptown.

Meanwhile, a soldier named Cory (Kealan Patrick Burke) goes AWOL, and along with his draft dodger girlfriend Alexa (Jennifer Bihl) goes looking for some peace and quiet on the west coast. Their quest leads them through crowded uptown shelters, dangerous Central Park refugee camps crawling with cannibals, and finally leads them into the remains of Slime City. There they cross paths with a pair of squatters named Mason (Lee Perkins) and Alice (Debbie Rochon). Mason extends the invitation to stay, and Alice warns that the place turns into a real “Sodom and Gomorrah” at night.

The desperate search for food brings Cory and Mason to the tattered ruins of the Zachary Devon Soup Kitchen. Once inside the locked basement, they discover hundreds of bottles of Zachary Devon’s Homebrewed Elixir. Mason immediately begins counting the millions they can make selling the hooch on the black market. Cory is more interested in the jars of “non-expirable” Himalayan Yogurt. They bring their discoveries back to the shelter and waste no time eating the funny looking neon colored yogurt and getting smashed on the wine.

Thus begins the downward spiral into SLIME. The two couples stumble off into their rooms and the fun starts. The gore gags are too elaborate and disgusting to spoil any further, but suffice to say – an impressive amount of slimy sex, possession, and graphic mutation quickly follows. The twisted back story of Zachary Devon (Robert C. Sabin) and his “temple of pleasure and fulfillment” is also revealed, and proves equally disturbing. Then the shit really hits the fan when a slimy billionaire named Ronald Crump (Roy “Street Trash” Frumkes!) sends in his paid army to wipe out the denizens of Slime City once and for all. It’s all out war between the slimeheads, soldiers, and mutant cannibal marauders!

This review could be summed up as follows – it’s about damned time! SLIME CITY MASSACRE was well worth the wait. Not only is SCM a worthy sequel, it’s one of those rare sequels that is just as good, if not better than the original. What really impressed me about this one was the cool back story about Zachary Devon and his coven of flesh. The star of Slime City, Robert C. Sabin returns and turns in an eerie performance this time around as the perverted cult leader who urges his followers to “control the flesh or follow the slime.” SCM works as both a sequel and a prequel to Slime City. It fills in a lot of details about the original story and adds modern touches, such as references to “the war for oil” and “homeland insecurity.”

Then there’s the matter of the splatter. SLIME CITY was quite the puke worthy little number, so I had high hopes that SLIME CITY MASSACRE would try to top it. I wasn’t let down. It takes a while before Lamberson finally gets down to the good stuff, but once he does it doesn’t disappoint. There’s no shortage of slimy sex, skull bashing, severed heads, gory gunshot wounds, and a pair of outrageous gore gags that have to be seen to be believed. Trust me when I say, you’ll never look at a bathtub the same way! Troma fans should also keep their eyes peeled for the “special disappearance” of Lloyd Kaufman and a cameo from “Irish” Dick Biel of SPLATTER UNIVERSITY legend.

Not much more I can say without spoiling the good gory fun. SLIME CITY MASSACRE is hands down one of the coolest horror flicks I’ve seen in ages, and it’s Brain Hammer approved in a big way. Hopefully Greg doesn’t wait another 22 years before the next one! Stay tuned to this fine website for all of the latest SLIME CITY MASSACRE happenings.

KEEP THE BLOOD FLOWING!!!