by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: $14.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Peter Dinklage, Luisa Guerreiro, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Sarah Niles, Julia Davis
Intro:
… an engaging, fast-paced, surprisingly slick and genuinely affectionate love letter to Troma films specifically and trashy B-grade flicks in general.
The Toxic Avenger (original) came out way back in 1984. Directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman (the duo behind Troma Entertainment), it was a brutal, misanthropic, noisy, often hilariously funny and gory revenge story starring “the first superhero from New Jersey.”
Despite being shot on a shoestring the film went on to have a big impact, particularly on home video, and spawned two not very good sequels – The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989) and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989) – and one decent one, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000). It also, somewhat inexplicably, spawned 1992 kids cartoon Toxic Crusaders, which itself has a video game adaptation coming out in December this year!
The point we’re making is, despite its relatively humble beginnings, and its patina of extreme dodginess, The Toxic Avenger occupies a significant position in the cultural zeitgeist.
Talk of a remake has been ongoing since around 2010, when a family friendly version was pitched (and at one stage ol’ mate Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached, if you can believe it). Happily, those plans were scrapped and after a few false starts, the reins were handed to Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), a Troma superfan who wanted to craft a love letter to the house that Herz and Kaufman built.
Unfortunately, studios didn’t know what the hell this thing was, and it’s been sitting on a shelf, declared “unreleasable”, since 2023! Well, now the unreleasable is being released. So, how is this modern take on The Toxic Avenger? Honestly, it’s a whole lot better than one could reasonably expect.
The Toxic Avenger (2023) tells the story of Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a mild-mannered janitor who, after being given a terminal diagnosis, tries to beg for help from his boss, corrupt CEO Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon). His plans fail catastrophically, and he’s killed by homicidal punk band/paid assassins, the Killer Nutz. He’s then thrown into a steaming vat of toxic waste never to be seen again… until he rises from his bubbling grave as The Toxic Avenger (Luisa Guerreiro in the suit, Dinklage doing the voice).
The first thing you need to know about The Toxic Avenger is that it’s not trying to be a direct remake. The main character is Winston Gooze instead of the original’s Melvin Ferd, the plot is broadly similar but very different in terms of specifics, and while this new kid on the block is gory and silly, it doesn’t come close to approaching the original’s eye-popping mean-spiritedness and nihilistic glee. What it lacks in pure shock, it makes up for with a surprising amount of style. This is a good looking film, obviously shot on a low budget, but Macon Blair knows how to get a lot with a little. There are also surprisingly solid performances here, with Dinklage genuinely likable as the hapless Gooze and Bacon vampy as hell in a role that he clearly had a blast (over)acting in. Elijah Wood is also entertaining as the hunchbacked, Igor-looking younger brother of Bob, Fritz Garbinger and Jacob Tremblay is superb as Winston’s son, Wade.
However, the best thing about this ode to Troma is the sense of humour. This is a genuinely funny film, shooting out gags thick and fast (at a similar rate to the recent Naked Gun flick, actually). Naturally, not all the jokes work, and some of them are eye-rollingly stupid, but there are enough zingers here to keep all but the most chuckle-phobic audiences having a good time.
On the downside, the script does get a little lost in the weeds in the second act. And while most of the gore is well-executed and creative, there’s a couple of moments that are rough around the edges, particularly when they try to augment the solid practical effects with digital trickery. Also, and this is a personal taste thing, but the design for the new Toxie feels a little too busy. What’s up with that one big eye? Bloody thing looks like a security camera.
Still and all, for a remake that we absolutely did not need, The Toxic Avenger is an engaging, fast-paced, surprisingly slick and genuinely affectionate love letter to Troma films specifically and trashy B-grade flicks in general. Although it lacks the grit and edge of the early works from Messrs Herz and Kaufman, or indeed the modern grime of something like Dick Dale’s 2022 Aussie trash classic Ribspreader, The Toxic Avenger still scratches that weirdo itch for the kind of mutants who gobble this stuff up and ask for seconds.
