Macon Blair’s slop-tactic relaunch of “The Toxic Avenger” is a reminder that just because a movie is cheeky, crude, and excessively gory doesn’t mean it can’t also be made with love. A reboot of the 1980s pseudo-successful film series and children’s cartoon, from the infamously schlocky cinematic saboteurs at Troma Entertainment, “The Toxic Avenger” has been cooking in radioactive sludge for over a decade, with its release delayed a further two years due to producorial concerns of its alleged degenerative nature. Are these heinous rumors founded, you might be wondering? Is “The Toxic Avenger”, of all things, a disgusting display of flatulent nose snubbing, hyper-violence, and toilet humor? Yes. And thank God for that.
The name “Troma” might mean nothing to you, but it has had a seismic influence in the world of independent cinema for over fifty years. Exhumed in 1974 by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, Troma Entertainment made a niche for itself by staging grand, exploitative, and downright degenerative films that cost very little and could be sold off to drive-in sickos and video store weirdos across the country. Their ideas were gonzo, meant to upset, and gleefully perverse, yet like other independent film studios of the era, like Roger Corman’s American International Pictures, Troma fostered a talent base that would go on to become household names, with Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thornton, and Samuel L. Jackson all appearing in Troma films early in their careers. If you’ve seen “Superman” this year, you’ve seen the work of another Kaufman acolyte, as James Gunn cut his teeth in the Troma trenches with “Tromeo and Juliet” in 1998. Undoubtedly, the studio’s greatest achievement was “The Toxic Avenger” in 1984. Somewhat pre-dating the superhero movie craze of the late 1980s, the gargantuan, mop-wielding Avenger, lovingly named “Toxie”, became a pseudo-national sensation, despite the film’s inherent preoccupation with sensational violence, yuppie cruelty, and excessive excrement. The film was even somewhat political, with Toxie himself being the byproduct of improperly disposed of toxic waste and proclaiming an environmentalist message, like an uglier, bloodier Captain Planet. The original film spawned multiple sequels and even a syndicated animated cartoon for kids, which is only surprising if you’ve forgotten that everyone’s favorite PTSD ridden Vietnam Vet John Rambo also had his own cartoon for a short time. With scum as its currency and a bulbous heart on its sleeve, “The Toxic Avenger” became shorthand for cult classic and has now, through the work of Writer/Director Macon Blair and Emmy Winner Peter Dinklage, returned to movie screens with a bigger budget, glorious practical effects, with all of its patented poor taste intact.
“The Toxic Avenger” (2025), like most Troma films, is set in the hellscape called Troma-Ville, a metropolis run mostly by organized crime, edge lord music mercenaries, and the sale of murderous healthcare products, while the citizens suffer in squalor, with no savior to call their own. Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) has no aspirations to be a hero; his focus is on raising his stepson (Jacob Tremblay) on the meager salary he makes as the janitor of a pollution-spewing factory run by a corrosive wellness conglomerate, BTH. Unfortunately, Gooze learns he has inoperable brain cancer, and his BTH insurance is on the wrong tier to cover the lifesaving medication. Desperate and despondent, Gooze attempts a robbery of the BTH factory only to be shot by a local metal band/security squad called the “Killer Nutz”, and pitilessly dumped into a pool of toxic sludge. In classic superhero origin story fashion, the waste incepts itself into Gooze, warping and rebirthing him as a green-skinned, ghoul-like creature with super strength, the ability to heal from any wound, and, incidentally, acidic urine. Armed with his trusty mop, itself a pestilence-spewing tool of righteous destruction, Gooze returns home to become the Dad his stepson needs and the hero he was always meant to be.
Peter Dinklage is one of the most endearing actors of his generation, as evidenced by his rampant Emmy success for “Game of Thrones,” but equally obvious in his film work. His recent performance in the musical “Cyrano” left me devastated and weeping in the theater. “The Toxic Avenger” couldn’t be further from either of those widely heralded performances. Yet still, Dinklage masterfully utilizes every ounce of heart and humor that made him an international star to humanize the crud colored world of Troma-Ville. An early scene where Gooze argues with an insurance telemarketer over the phone, desperate to understand why “Platinum Coverage” isn’t enough to save his life, is devastating and really, really funny. He is somehow able to make the heartbreaking hilarious and the silly sentimental with a dexterity largely alien to this kind of schlocky presentation; a performance that truly elevates this version of “The Toxic Avenger” into something more personal and gentler than its original incarnation. Once Toxie’s transformation is undergone, Dinklage transfers to a voice role only, with actor Luisa Guerreiro masterfully taking over the green-suited physicality of the character.
The world of Blair’s Troma-Ville is a rich one, with each performance expanding and enriching its fetid reality. Particular standouts include Taylour Paige as J.J., Toxie’s ally with a personal vendetta against BTH, and a preening Kevin Bacon as Bob Garbinger, BTH’s Gorilla Blood guzzling CEO. Perhaps stealing the movie is Elijah Wood as Garbinger’s monstrously balding, hunchbacked brother, Fritz. Wood, caked in pale makeup and costuming that implies the hell child of Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Brad Dourif’s Gríma Wormtongue, hobbles through the film in pure Igor mode, leading the “Killer Nutz” to do his brother’s bidding in the hopes of one day being appreciated. Wood, along with every performer and creative contributing to the film, understands the tone of Troma and is down to play in the muck, combining their collective talents to craft a film that is as earnest as it is oozing, a true triumph of top-tier trash.
“The Toxic Avenger” is the kind of movie where irradiated urine is used to break free of chains, heads are lopped in half by a glowing mop head, and an interpretive dance is the film’s emotional climax; the platonic ideal of the sentimental and the septic. What’s not to love?
Get Toxic.
You’ll be glad you did.
“The Toxic Avenger” is playing at Prytania Theatres at Canal Place.
