"Troma! Troma! Troma!" It's madness down here. In the belly of a brave hotel, a bunch of noisily enthusiastic volunteers are braying their support for Lloyd Kaufman, the founder and head honcho of Troma, purveyors of trash-camp-classic independent film for more than 30 years. Doing my best impression of a proper BBC journalist, I step forward to ask a question, sure it won't be caught on camera above the impenetrable din. Then: silence. At an almost imperceptible signal from their leader, the crowd fall into grave-like quiet. It's eerie. I am reminded of a line from Malcolm X: "That's too much power for one man to have."

"Art from the heart," is how Kaufman describes the brand of entertainment he produces - from Citizen Toxie to Tales From The Crapper. Each year the Troma team descend upon Cannes, with Kaufman joined by volunteers from around the world, who pay their own way to be here and spread the Troma gospel. Traipsing up and down the Croisette - faces smeared in blood, grown men wearing nappies - they are fuelled by an evangelical zeal, participants in an insane street theatre. "Whether you like or don't like Troma, our movies: they come from the heart," says Kaufman. Personally, I doubt I'd care for Tromeo And Juliet or The Good, The Bad And The Subhumanoid ("Rated R for gross presentation of sex, language and gore," as the American censor has it), but Kaufman is a fascinating figure: a funny, sharp-witted, inspiring Pied Piper, leading the Troma-Dance around town. For staying independent, anti-corporate and positive for so long, he deserves respect. Today's clip - anarchic interview, parade, police interruptions and all - should hopefully give you a clue what it's like to be Troma-tised, but Kaufman deserves a full-length documentary.

But it's been a hectic weekend here and we must move on. Old Boy played in competition on Friday night - a dark, violent revenge thriller from Sympathy For Mr Vengeance director Park Chan-Wook. A bizarre blend, it plays like Point Blank meets Amelie - with a virtuoso one-shot corridor fight sequence and gut-punch finale making it worth rewatching, to see if it has a soul. Green ears abounded elsewhere, with the Shrek 2 promotional bandwagon rolling into France. I wasn't someone overawed by the original and the sequel is less satisfying - with a flimsy story and endless naff musical montages only partially compensated for by a keen visual wit and Eddie Murphy, whose smartass ass steals the picture once again.

Given that the excellent remake of Dawn Of The Dead is playing in the Official Selection, it seemed apt to chat to a few horror players and examine the genre's appeal. Genial Russian producer Anatoly Fradis invited us aboard a yacht to discuss zombie sequels Return Of The Living Dead 4: Necropolis, and 5: Rave From The Grave (Alice Cooper is apparently in talks for the latter), while one of Variety's top ten producers to watch - Lauren Moews - took time out to reveal she's sealed a deal for a Cabin Fever sequel and is pushing ahead with production on Abraham's Daughter, a Rosemary's Baby-style horror to be directed by Priest's Antonia Bird ("I like it because the lead is a female badass"). I also grabbed a word with the lads behind werewolf horror classic Dog Soldiers - producer Keith Bell and writer-director Neil Marshall - to discuss potholing horror The Dark (tagline: "Chicks with picks"), and the $15 million zombie actioner Outpost, which should shoot back-to-back later this year. You can catch them here in Blood Money.

The weekend also included a deliriously surreal interlude with Blade Runner star Sean Young and the Palme Dog (yes, dog). But that must wait for another day. For now, I have to run to watch Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 - the sure-to-be-sizzling expose of the alleged links between George Dubya Bush and Osama Bin Laden. The tubby documentarian is already causing a stir. I can't wait to see what he's done.