A few months back, Lawrence took a peek at an indie flick called The Janitor (review here), which continued the rampant indie trend of splatter/comedy pioneered by Troma. However, the difference between it and many other similar efforts is that The Janitor manages to be a genuinely funny, high-quality film in spite of its ultra-low-budget nature. It's probably the best Troma-style film since...well...Troma. Thankfully for the enthusiastic filmmakers, and us, the movie was picked up by Elite Entertainment, who give it one hell of a DVD treatment that makes it a must-own for fans of the subgenre.

Lionel (writer/co-director Andy Signore) works as a janitor for Generico with his best friend and coworker Mr. Growbo (a charmingly over-the-top Bruce Cronander). Lionel, when he's not scrubbing down the lavatories for the ungrateful office workers, is taking his revenge one life at a time, taking out the employees in brutal ways. The situation becomes so severe that the FBI sends in Agent Page (Skip Pipo) to investigate the situation. The first clue arrives in the form of a semen sample extracted from the severed head of a hooker that Lionel had killed. Mr. Growbo and Lionel grow closer when the pair team up to stop the semen sample that's en route to the lab (which culminates in Growbo literally swallowing the evidence..."Salty!").

However, their friendship is put to the test when Lionel, distraught over the quitting of his office angel Hillary (Fiona McIntyre), seeks employment as a janitor for the TNA Sorority House. When Growbo discovers that Lionel has decided to leave him behind (a big no-no in the custodial handbook), he decides to snatch the position out from underneath Lionel's nose. Torn apart by the loss of his friend, his love, and his dream, Lionel enlists the help of his latent psycho Jesus freak coworker Willis (John Carreon) to destroy all those who have wronged him.

The first thing that one notices about The Janitor is how well the whole affair works. Whereas some movies would pull punches after the initial joke is delivered, The Janitor adds in extra spice to the gags to take it from lowbrow humor to an almost Zen level of absurdity. It's not enough that two frat boys manage to coerce a girl into a threesome: we have to see the act in all of its physically impossible glory, with both guys taking the girl from behind and high-fiving each other. Lionel stops masturbating an unconscious FBI agent to spit on his hand for additional lubrication. Gallons and gallons of blood are sprayed every which way, "stuffed shirt" dummies are flung out of moving vehicles, and Lionel's boss Mr. Bouillabaisse waxes nostalgic about his college days and having "a different pair of titties to squeeze every night."

Now, let's talk about the actual DVD content because that's where things start to get really good. Elite pulled out all the stops for this one, even going so far as to give The Janitor a new non-anamorphic letterbox transfer. The picture quality is as good as can be expected out of DV, with no print damage (obviously) and clean solid colors. However, the matting for the frame seems to "slip" every so often, giving us a peek at the top of the original full-frame shooting ratio. While not terrible, it proves to be a little off-setting. Audio is clean and clear, although the instances of overdubbed dialogue can be painfully obvious at times, seeming less like Elite and more like Crash Cinema.

However, wonky AV gltiches aside, Elite redeems themselves by stuffing this sucker to the gills with extras. First off, we're given a full-length commentary...not just normal commentary either, but "Extremely Drunken Commentary." Believe me, more filmmakers should consider recording their commentary tracks while sauced, as it's been one of the few times I've been able to sit all the way through one of these. We're also given a brilliant music video for Lackadaisical (gesundheit), performing "You're Gonna Die (The Janitor)." It's a ridiculous video for a ridiculous song (think Alice Cooper's "The Man Behind The Mask"), with silver jumpsuits, delayed exposure shots, and exploding heads. There's a few deleted scenes (a few of which I wish hadn't been cut, an alternate ending, a very beefy featurette (rife with hilariously awful auditions), a trailer, and some easter eggs.

The Janitor, while certainly not for everyone, is a brilliant independent effort that will knock the socks off its intended audience. If you like your breasts and blood sandwiched in between thick slices of ham and cheese, it will satisfy your hunger...and clean up after itself!

For more information visit http://www.janitormovie.com.