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Anyone who has ever seen a Troma film certainly remembers the first time they watched it. Troma Entertainment an independent film company debuted in mid 70’s while struggling to find their first hit from a motley crew of low budget borderline pornographic genre films. It was not until 1984 with “The Toxic Avenger” directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, who were also the studio’s creators. “the toxic Avenger” became (and still is) the studio’s biggest most successful film. Spawning a cult following, several sequels and even one very well received musical from a New Jersey theater company Toxie (as he is known by fans) has given the outcasts and the delightful weirdos a hero they can truly rely on. “I’m with Toxie!” shouts the t-shirts and endless merchandise that fills out local and major comic cons throughout the world. And still “The Toxic Avenger” has never reached the heights of say even your lesser known Marvel hero. So why after seeing “The Toxic Avenger” will you never forget it? Well it’s the outrageous performance of the monster (performed by three people pre mutated, costume and voice). Or perhaps it is the very outdated “jokes” that would make any gen-z TikTok user start a miniscule protest, or maybe and most definitely it is the over the top violence of blood and gore both red and green that splattered across nearly every frame. But time hasn’t been kind to Toxie, after the financial decline of Troma the film’s sequels and even animated series failed to bring any financial success and it seemed like the studio’s mascot would be lost in celluloid heaven…but never doubt a mutated hero. THE TOXIC AVENGER lives! Director Macon Blair best known for his genre films “Green Room” and “Murder Party” has brought Toxie into the new generation with his reboot of the monster starring Peter Dinklage, Keivin Bacon and Taylour Paige. But much like its predecessors THE TOXIC AVENGER struggled early on with getting to its audience. After a successful debut in 2023 at Austin Texas’ Fantastic Fest, a genre film festival, the film took nearly two years to find itself in theaters. With the help of Legendary Studios as well as Cineverse, Bloody Disgusting and Screambox the film not only made its way into theaters but got to hold its coveted “unrated” element. But even with all these uphill battles the biggest foe Toxie will face is its fans. Will an often politically incorrect film be able to satisfy a fandom built on nostalgia in a time where everyone (incorrectly) screams “woke?” Or more importantly is the film any good period? Well Toxie has always been a misunderstood creation so even when the film itself never reaches great heights its still met with some big applause just merely for existing, but even if you survive the mess what you do next matters most.

Nobody gives a shit about Winston Gooze. A down on his luck janitor played by Peter Dinklage (who has mastered the kind hearted schlub) Winston drinks his pains away while trying to make ends meet for his son Wade (Jacob Tremblay) after the passing of Wade’s mom. So what is a man to do when all hope is lost? Beg the greedy self proclaimed eco-friendly CEO for help. Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon) has nothing but the utter disgust for Wade or anyone beneath him which includes his devious goons known by their band name The Killer Nutz. When Winston is literally thrown out of a fundraising gala into nearby sewer water his body and mind is transformed into a grotesque beasts known to movie fans as Toxie. It becomes instantly clear (as if the very funny name Garbinger didn’t tip you off) that the town of St. Roma is not only run by an evil corporation but their chemical testing is polluting all the water. Dinlakge is charming as Winston and it is easy to root for him but the real star is Luisa Guerreiro under some very heavy and intense prosthetics to bring Toxie to life. Dinklage voices the character throughout the film but it is Guerreiro who has to mouth his words as well as give the physicality to the creature making him as lovable as ever. Its first half is a humorous typical superhero origin as Toxie with his now chemical janitors mop is able to rip off people’s limbs which includes mob goons and members of the Killer Nutz. Toxie quickly teams up with a local investigative reporter J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige) to help bring down Garbinger and his company. THE TOXIC AVENGER’s origin style film also ends up being one of its biggest obstacles. It’s amusing to see Toxie discover his powers and rip to bits some truly obnoxious foes but at the same time another superhero origin story is just that; another movie telling the same story. Sure it has the ballsy humor that manages to be slightly above frat boy humor (and removes any and all tasteless jokes from its original) but you find yourself hoping this leads to something slightly a little more interesting than just an everyday man becoming he next superhero. There is a sense of irony throughout because as great as it is to see this modern interpretation remove itself from its more severely outdated and hurtful humor it also looses its edge elsewhere when it comes to its anger and anti-bullying sentiment. Yes there will always be an argument that isn’t it enough just to have fun watching some little green monster kill a bunch of dickheads, and sure you’d be mostly right but when a film hinges on its sell point of ‘unrated” meaning more chaotic its almost amusing how tame THE TOXIC AVENGER feels.

All this is not to say that THE TOXIC AVENGER does not know how to have its fun to the extreme. In fact at times quite the opposite. A huge amount of praise should be given to the costume, makeup and props department as THE TOXIC AVENGER shines brightest when its adhere to the usage of practical effects. Limbs flying everywhere and blood splattering is all the more exciting when Blair shoots it in closeups and allows us to see the actual design being displayed. Perhaps that is why some truly awful CGI violence stands out worse than a mutated thumb. Budget is never Toxie’s friend but it hurts it all the more when used poorly. Toxie also gets quite the help from an enemy in Bacon’s portrayal of Garbinger. Bacon a performer who has always been a friend to the genre films gets to go full ham as not just your over the top (and yet all too familiar) evil CEO but also gets his own time to shine in some wild and hairy costume work. Perhaps Toxie is officially back and Troma Entertainment can find a way to keep the monster alive. After all so much of the film right down to its heartwarming final moments feels like a promise for something more. Frankly it will always be easy to welcome back The Toxic Avenger in any capacity. The first step back was an easy one and one that often found the monster stumbling quite a bit but its impossible to root against him and when and if he returns everyone will be chanting “I’m with Toxie!”

C+

THE TOXIC AVENGER IS NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS