After years and years of waiting, Troma Entertainment’s remake of producers Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger is finally here. Also titled The Toxic Avenger, the unrated version of the action science-fiction horror comedy film showcases Troma’s expansive cinematic universe in exciting ways. It’s a remake in the crucial beats and details—a man at the bottom of the social food chain mops floors for a living, is dropped into a vat of toxic waste, transforms into a crime-fighting mutant of his small town, and gains local recognition in the process. Ultimately, however, it’s a refreshing tale of an incredibly niche intellectual property. What moviegoers will absolutely adore about The Toxic Avenger is the smart manner in which Troma course-corrects its past, highlighting what works and omitting what doesn’t.
The Toxic Avenger is written and directed by executive producer Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore).
In this review, I will discuss The Toxic Avenger. As this article’s title suggests, no spoilers will be present.
Cineverse’s The Toxic Avenger Synopsis
According to Cineverse, here is the official synopsis for Macon Blair’s action science-fiction horror comedy film, The Toxic Avenger.
When a downtrodden janitor, Winston Gooze, is exposed to a catastrophic toxic accident, he’s transformed into a new kind of hero: The Toxic Avenger. Now, Toxie must rise from outcast to savior, taking on ruthless corporate overlords and corrupt forces who threaten his son, his friends, and his community. In a world where greed runs rampant… justice is best served radioactive.
Cineverse
Discussion
The Toxic Avenger impresses as a parody of the typical comic book movie that’s popular these days. Some of the narrative elements—from protagonist Winston Gooze’s (Peter Dinklage) inevitable disfiguration, to the character’s development, to production designer Alexander Cameron’s set pieces—resemble, say, bits and pieces of Tim Miller, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick’s 2016 Marvel/ Fox film, Deadpool. Fortunately, these sorts of similarities aren’t too obvious, and it’s interesting how well both films parallel. Yet, what differentiates Blair’s film from contemporary superhero media, as well as the IP’s predecessors, is the manner in which it treats its themes.
The timing has never been so perfect for The Toxic Avenger, a remake that focuses on rectifying the unsettling B-movie awkwardnesses of Troma’s catalog. Herz, Kaufman, and Joe Ritter’s 1984 film understood itself as a dark satirical horror narrative centered on corruption and depravity in a small American town. There is something to uncover, not just in terms of a society’s immoral police force, but also with every other citizen who commits outright horrendous acts against God, e.g., deliberate hits-and-runs, or holding hostages at fast food restaurants, video rental stores, and mentally disabled public schools. The original’s three successors, then, veer off in baffling directions. The titular character fights the average bad guy while even facing off against higher powers.
To my extensive knowledge, Troma Entertainment is all about crafting stories built on blood, guts, farce, and parody. It reaches a point in the film franchise wherein “Toxie” fights the literal Devil and even an alternate universe counterpart, the Noxious Offender, or “Noxie”. However, the sequels are dim in quality. As a result, Blair’s remake celebrates the movies’ pros and cons through a cinematic spectacle.
Macon Blair as a Filmmaker
The prior four Toxic Avenger movies are fine as satirical horror, but it can be difficult to determine when moments go too far. Troma and Legendary Pictures’ remake doesn’t do that and instead puts in the effort to display the world as it undergoes various changes. For example, the corporate entity present in the film is destructive to the planet, as opposed to an Illuminati-like organization that possesses power. By no means do I see any issue with Blair going down this route, and I can only applaud his ability to maintain coherent storytelling. The standard three-act plot structure is rhetorically sound, with its traditional conflict, climax, and resolution.
Blair’s film is genuinely comedic, from Gooze’s opening monologue to the nonsensical, albeit mouth-watering, post-credits scene. Moreover, I admire the franchise’s renaming of the location setting, formerly Tromaville. Saint Roma’s Village is more creative for Blair as a screenwriter, and it only gets juicier from there. The public’s ever-changing perception of Toxie cleverly parallels the beats of The Toxic Avenger Parts III and IV, and more subtly, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The film even pays homage to the novel with a deceased member of the Gooze household.
The Leftism of The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger‘s primary conflict surrounds Gooze uncovering the sinister truth behind his employer—the company Body Talk Healthstyle (BTH), and its chief executive officer (CEO), Robert “Bob” Garbinger (Kevin Bacon)—while racing to battle a life-threatening illness. This adds to the list of horror films centered on the exposure of medical malpractice, including Kevin Greutert, Patrick Melton, and Marcus Dunstan’s Saw VI and Greutert, Peter Goldfinger, and Josh Stolberg’s Saw X. The only missing element is actually showing who else in the town is affected by BTH rather than telling the audience. Yet, The Toxic Avenger also holds a layer of truth in its timing with reality, namely in Americans’ ongoing circumstances with health insurance companies.
The Miss Meat fast food restaurant scene—remade from the original film’s The Mexican Place—doesn’t last long. However, I appreciate its commentary on socio-political representation: “The change of mascot symbolizes the intellectual dishonesty we abhor. It’s always been Mister Meat!” Again, this is perfect timing, especially with current events such as the Cracker Barrel logo change. Why care this much about a literal image and less about what the company supports or contributes to the world? Who cares that Toxie goes by he/him/his pronouns?
The film’s thematic approach is left-leaning, and I often see this in vital character action. One protagonist is shot through the upper left cheek, a man’s left arm is ripped from his shoulder, another character is shot through the left side of the stomach, Toxie’s toxic mop is swung to the left side of a bad guy’s face, and even Toxie’s blackened left eyeball somehow functions as a telescope. Overall, a part of me feels as if The Toxic Avenger nicely fits into the multiverse that also houses the original Toxic Avenger and his enemy, Noxie.
Easter Eggs
The Toxic Avenger happens to feature a surprising amount of Easter Eggs and references to its predecessors and other past projects in the Troma catalog. Original Toxic Avenger, Melvin Ferd (Shaun Dooley), makes an honorable appearance as the mentor of Gooze’s soon-to-be partner-in-crime, J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige), under the nickname, “Mel”. His role in the remake is an intriguing passing of the torch from a familiar face to a new one.
St. Roma’s has a population of 12,800 citizens. It’s personally funny and really says nothing about the plot except to mirror a gag in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV that reduced the population count to around the same number. St. Roma’s is also home to New Chemistry High School, a nod to Richard W. Haines, Kaufman, Mark Rudnitsky, and Stuart Strutin’s Troma sci-fi horror comedy movie, Class of Nuke ‘Em High.
A St. Roma Health Club T-shirt is worn in the epilogue. The Tromaville Health Club is the original location setting for the franchise’s then-main character’s transformation into the Toxic Avenger. Blair loves the IP, and it’s evident in the minutiae of this end-product.
A Pristine Production
Aside from one or two frames aimed at the BTH Flagship Factory and the nearby river, visual effects supervisor Chris Ritvo’s department has some mighty neat visuals for a superhero film. Much of these visual components complement the director of photography Dana Gonzales’s cinematography. This is especially true in Gooze’s transformation into Toxie, a rocky ledge overlooking the St. Roma’s Village river, and the Depressing Outskirts by the Garbinger Ancestral Manor.
Gonzales captures the imagery beautifully, reflecting the cinematic language that the film is going for as a whole. Toxie’s silhouette atop a hill or field of grass is replicated for the remake in such a glorious way. Additionally, I love the overhead shot of characters crossing a landfill into a layer of woods. Storyboard artist Zhivko Zhelyazkov constructs mesmerizing sequences that I cannot look away from, in Toxie’s fight against the Killer Nutz and in his final confrontation with Garbinger. Explosions, decapitations, toilet bowls, that significant cut to black—give me more of everything!
Cameron’s set pieces comprise a more potent personality for St. Roma’s than Tromaville ever did in the first four movies. The storefronts of Gooze’s neighborhood, including his neighbor Daisy’s (Annette Badland) Supermarket Sweet Grocery, clearly look as if they were made on studio grounds. I’m interested in some of the façades of businesses like Pat’s Carcass Butcher Company or the Additional Holy Redeemer Church. Better yet, a bail bond neon sign points to a major antagonist from the original film. I’m curious to know what his role would be in the potential sequel.
Monster Core
Music composers Will Blair, Brooke Blair, and Ryan Sorenson’s The Toxic Avenger soundtrack is grand. The score sounds so much like a graphic novel brought to life, and the electric guitar and bass guitar are useful for Macon Blair’s tone, which is more realistic than in the prior movies. In this regard, music supervisors Peter Afterman and Alison Litton’s song selections are unique, at least for the opening act. Gooze and his stepson Wade’s (Jacob Tremblay) household environment is particularly where much of the tone packs on heft. I appreciate the music for how it carries the narrative into the second and third acts.
The Crew Behind The Toxic Avenger
Dana Gonzales serves as the director of photography. Yana Blajeva serves as the stills photographer.
Konstantin Vladimirov serves as the gaffer.
Brett W. Bachman (Cooties, Mandy, Pig, V/H/S/94, The Fall of the House of Usher, Shelby Oaks, Companion) and James Thomas serve as the film editors.
Derek Lein, Nathan Bruner, and Maureen Ross serve as the assistant editors.
Will Blair (Rebel Ridge) and Brooke Blair (Rebel Ridge) are the music composers for the film. Ryan Sorenson scores additional music.
Peter Afterman (The Girl Next Door) and Alison Litton serve as the music supervisors.
Kevin McKeever (World War Z, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Project Almanac, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Bumblebee, Scream VI, Cuckoo) serves as the music editor.
Casey Genton and Chris Keyland serve as the supervising sound editors. Genton also serves as the sound designer alongside Curtis Henderson and Clark Crawford.
Mark Coffey (Madagascar, The Mist, Transformers, The Purge: Anarchy, John Wick, Insidious: Chapter 3, Game of Thrones, Booksmart, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Nobody, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul., The Fall Guy, Afraid) is the assistant sound editor.
Casting, Stunt/Fight, and Visual Effects
Mark Bennett (Cursed, The Hills Have Eyes remake, The Hills Have Eyes 2, Stay Alive, Zero Dark Thirty, It Follows, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, Under the Silver Lake, Destroyer, C’mon C’mon, Sanctuary, Infinity Pool, Azrael, Longlegs, Flowervale Street) and Julie Harkin serve as the casting directors.
Yvonne Lawlor serves as the casting associate.
Katerina Goranova (The Fourth Kind, Leatherface, Red Sonja) serves as the casting assistant.
Tara David serves as the United States casting associate. Devin Rossinsky (Reacher Season 1, Rebel Moon Parts One & Two) serves as the US casting assistant.
Zhivko Zhelyazkov serves as the storyboard artist.
Teodor Tzolov serves as the stunt coordinator. Danko Jordoanov serves as the fight choreographer.
Boris Dimitrov plays the Toxic double.
Radoslav Ignatov plays the Garbinger double.
Olivia Ntsuba plays the J.J. double. Rayna Sirmina plays the Kissy double.
Ivo Dimitrov Kehayor plays the Monster Garbinger Double.
Chris Ritvo serves as the visual effects supervisor. Beth Howe serves as the VFX producer.
Latham Robertson and Lana Wolverton serve as the VFX editors.
Aesthetics
Alexander Cameron serves as the production designer.
Ivan Rangelov serves as the supervising art director.
Yosif Mladenov and Ioannis Skafidas are the set designers.
Elizabeth Boller serves as the supervising set decorator. Asen Bojila serves as the set decorator.
Vanessa Porter (The Whitest Kids Y’Know, Joe Pera Talks with You, Archive 81, Companion) serves as the costume designer.
Anna Andreeva serves as the key makeup artist.
Desislava Manasieva serves as the key hairstylist.
The Cast of The Toxic Avenger
Peter Dinklage (Underdog, Game of Thrones, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Avengers: Infinity War, I Care a Lot, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Wicked) portrays the titular Hero protagonist, Winston Gooze, also known as “The Toxic Avenger”, shortened to “Toxie”.
Luisa Guerreiro plays Toxie’s body.
Kevin Bacon (Friday the 13th, Tremors, Flatliners, Hollow Man, Super, X-Men: First Class, MaXXXine) portrays Robert “Bob” Garbinger.
Elijah Wood (The Faculty, The Lord of the Rings film franchise, Sin City, Cooties, Yellowjackets, The Monkey) portrays Fritz Garbinger.
Julia Davis (Shaun of the Dead, Black Mirror Season 1, Phantom Thread, The Regime) plays Kissy Sturnevan, Garbinger’s associate.
Taylour Paige (White Boy Rick, Zola, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together”, It: Welcome to Derry, I Love Boosters) portrays J.J. Doherty, the “Wild Card”.
Jacob Tremblay (Room, Before I Wake, The Predator, Good Boys, Doctor Sleep, Luca, Harley Quinn, The Little Mermaid, Orion and the Dark, The Life of Chuck) portrays Wade, Winston’s stepson, the Kid.
David Yow portrays Guthrie Stockins, the “Wise Hobo”.
Jonny Coyne portrays Thad Barkabus, the town’s Big Boss.
Abraham Lewis portrays Spence, Thad’s “Shithead Heir”.
Secondary Roles
Shaun Dooley portrays Melvin “Mel” Ferd, the “Crusading Reporter”.
Annette Badland portrays Daisy, a shopkeeper of Daisy’s Super Market Sweet Grocery store.
Margo Cargill portrays Sarah Weatherwax, also known as “Sneaky Cheetah”.
Macon Blair appears as Dennis, the “Noisy Slob” and J.J.’s roommate.
Spencer Wilding (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Batman Begins, The Wolfman, Clash of the Titans, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Guardians of the Galaxy, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) portrays Monster Garbinger, “his Imperfect Self”.
Kitodar Todorov and Sophia Vassili portray Kupp and Sawser, science geeks in Garbinger’s basement. Konstantin Ikonomov plays Wally, Garbinger’s butler.
The Killer Nutz gang is comprised of Julian Kostov as the crazy/dangerous Budd Berserk; Needa Spasova as DJ Cool Cthulu on the tables & black magic; Wilding as “Him Under the Hood” on the mysterious guitar; Nencho Stefanov-Ninio as Nightmare Josh as the “rhythm of madness”; Duke Nwamerue as Venus Devalero on the “sex bass”; and Mako-Dimitar Bozhilov as Zodiac 3000 as the hype & parkour.
Minor Roles
Sunil Patel plays Dr. Walla.
For Team 7 News, Lee Eddy portrays C.J. Doons, formerly Miss Fall Harvest; Ev Lunning portrays Rick Feet, the Silver Pro; Sarah Grode as Bonnie Dimble; and J.R. Esposito as J.R. Gile.
Chris Sharp plays C.S. Hawley, a payroll guard at BTH.
Rebecca O’Mara appears as Shelly, Winston and Wade’s dearly missed family member.
Randy E. Aguebor plays Coach Bobby Stanwyck of New Chemistry High School.
Sarah Niles (I May Destroy You, Ted Lasso, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) plays Mayor Togar. Valentin Ganev appears as Cardinal Rooney.
Atanas Srebrev portrays Chief Wormer. Derek Morse plays Detective Swofford.
Nikola Mutafov plays Officer Dingus, while Emmanuel Todorov plays a beat cop. Euan Macnaughton plays Fritz’s cop.
Ioan Karamfilov and Lenart Dorkle play thugs Ponytail and Keg-Stand.
Svetoslav Dobrev plays an incompetent mob doctor.
Brent Werzner plays a Toxie eyewitness.
Jane Levy (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) voices a cheerful insurance representative.
Producer and The Toxic Avenger co-creator Lloyd Kaufman appears as Lloyd, the hospital grump.
The Miss Meat Scene
The Nasty Lads are played by Nathan Cooper, Max Kraus, Adam Othman, and Simon Feek.
The Miss Meat fast food restaurant hostages consist of Owen Davis as Louis the “brave fry cook”; Nikolay Stanoev as the gut-shot manager; Kexin Wang as the cashier; Alen Angelov as a “bike helmet kid” (no car for you); Laura Gioash Narkov as a distraught mother; Mariana Kovacheva as a Toxie fan hostage; and Ulyana Chan as a protective hostage.
Performances and Character Developments
Blair and the casting department did brilliant work at bringing in all the right faces for this film. Where everyone etched their names in stone in their respective past work, they had fun in The Toxic Avenger.
Bacon’s villain role as Bob Garbinger is miles better than as drug lord, Jacques, in James Gunn’s Super. While Sebastian Shaw in Matthew Vaughn, Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, and Jane Goldman’s X-Men: First Class is my favorite of the actor’s comic book movie roles, he at least portrays Garbinger’s insanity with love. I don’t know if it’s because he has blood transfusions with undiluted gorilla DNA, but this man is just not right in the head. The antagonist mirrors Jekyll and Hyde, but more so the Apocalypse Inc. Chairman of The Toxic Avenger Parts II and III, a character who eventually turns out to be the Devil in human disguise. Simply put, Bacon is entertaining in this role.
Whereas Bacon is a sweet fit as Garbinger, Wood’s role as Garbinger’s baby brother, Fritz, is awesome. Wood shows a side of himself that is drastically different from his iconic role as Frodo Baggins. For an antagonist, I have nothing but praise for the actor’s performance. Arguably, he’s even better than, say, Kevin from Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s Sin City. Fritz Garbinger is a foil to his brother in terms of being psychologically unstable. Then again, I believe he’s more of a foil to Gooze in his physical appearance and what contributions to humanity he brings.
The Heroes
Dinklage’s role as Winston Gooze is no Tyrion Lannister. Still, it’s easily one of my favorite dramatic performances of his after that, as Eitri in the Russo Brothers, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely’s Avengers: Infinity War, and to a degree, as Doctor Dillamond in Jon M. Chu, Winnie Holzman, and Dana Fox’s Wicked: Part I. The actor displays Gooze’s fatherly love for Wade with touching pathos, especially in a few scenes that show his facial expression, “I would live longer for the sake of this kid.” The character is morally good, but his choices paint him in a bad light. Thus, he frequently has to justify everything he does, to either comedic or dramatic effect.
Having only seen Paige in Janicza Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris’ Zola and in the music video for Kendrick Lamar’s “We Cry Together”, I really like how the actor maintains dramatic composure, even in comedic scenes. Paige is a terrific scene partner for Dinklage, and I commend Blair for exchanging the Chester/ Lardass character from Citizen Toxie for an actual partner-in-crime. Doherty also briefly pairs well with Wade, especially in a scene that looks ripped from the pages of the Scary Movie film series.
Tremblay represents a nice archetype for the protagonist’s story, replacing the love interest at Toxie’s side. As Gooze’s stepson, Wade has a psychological condition that isn’t disclosed to the audience. It further lends credence to the main character’s internal conflict between self-regard and selflessness. The actor does decently in the role, but the thing is, the narrative isn’t exactly focused on him.
Final Thoughts on Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger
Sadly, there’s no miracle cure for superhero fatigue. However, The Toxic Avenger effectively remedies Troma’s long-term sores. There is still an opportunity for the independent film company to make The Toxic Avenger V: The Toxic Twins, but to be honest, a fully rebooted series is the proper way to go. Blair’s remake keeps the hilarity and the horror of the original film while offering fresh, relatable ideas and attempting to avoid overdone clichés and tropes. Without a doubt, the unrated version of The Toxic Avenger is a must-see and my favorite superhero film of the year.
4.5/5 stars
The Toxic Avenger is now playing in theaters!
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