Directed by Macon Blair and produced by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, The Toxic Avenger follows janitor Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), who, after a freak accident, transforms into a mutant vigilante known as the Toxic Avenger aka Toxie. Armed with his mop, the unlikely hero battles freaks, gangsters, and corrupt CEOs while trying to save his relationship with his son.
In 1974, the independent film studio Troma Entertainment was founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, who would become notorious for producing many low-budget independent films and B-movies over the years, primarily of the horror comedy genre, all geared exclusively to mature audiences. The most famous of all of their wild films was a 1984 superhero black comedy splatter film called The Toxic Avenger, which focused on the story of a meek mop boy who transforms into a monstrous hero called the Toxic Avenger after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
Despite its low-budget production, offensive campy humor, and boundary breaking over-the-top violence, the film earned itself a cult following and made Troma a household name in the independent film industry. 39 years later a reimagining of the Toxic Avenger, produced by Troma and Legendary Pictures, was made, having first premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023 but is now finally having its wider theatrical release after struggling to find distributors. After such a long time, was it worth the wait?
In all honesty it was very much worth the wait. This reimagining of The Toxic Avenger is a gory good time that not only manages to improve upon the original film in various ways but it also maintains what made the original a memorable cult classic with its own brand of over the top violence, dark humor and willingness to push as many boundaries as it can in ways that most films these days would never really do. This film is Troma to the core, looking and feeling like a high budget exploitation B-Movie and, given just how uncomfortably unhinged it can be like the original, it is not for the faint of heart and therefore it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But compared to most B-Movies I’ve seen in recent years you can tell this one had a lot of heart and passion put towards it, while also delivering tons of fun that I personally enjoyed from start to end.
In the original, the cast was mostly composed of unknown faces with no prior acting experience, whose dedication to their wacky roles made them very memorable and made the original film enjoyable to watch. In this reimagining, we have a primary cast comprised of very well-known cast members who manage to show equal amounts of dedication to their own respective roles, alongside some unknowns, making this film a blast to watch especially since they were going all in with their characters.
Peter Dinklage provides heart and humor with his performance as Winston Gooze and then later the Toxic Avenger. He is simply a stepfather that just wants the best for his kid but ends up inadvertently becoming a hero to the people when a string of bad luck leads to him becoming a mutated monster. Dinklage makes us feel emotionally invested in the character both before and after the transformation, therefore making us root for him when gets to work dispatching the bad guys in gruesome and darkly hilarious fashion. It’s also refreshing to see a stepfather role be done in a positive light after years of seeing films treat stepfathers negatively.
However, not all the credit goes to Dinklage for his performance as the Toxic Avenger since he only provides the voice for the character after he transforms. The Toxic Avenger’s physical performance is done by actress Luisa Guerreiro who does an outstanding job playing the character physically and matching with the character’s initial mannerisms provided by Dinklage. Most people don’t give suit performers enough credit these days so it’s always important to recognize them for their work, especially when they have to wear extensive make up or animatronic parts on their body for a grueling amount of hours.
Playing opposite of Dinklage is Kevin Bacon as corrupt businessman and main villain of this film Bob Garbinger, who goes all in with the performance, delivering a perfectly campy over the top character that fits perfectly with tone of the film and makes for an excellent foil for the Toxic Avenger. He delivers great amounts of charm, sleaze, and hilarious intensity. He makes for a far more memorable villain compared to the original and manages to make him a true love to hate character, especially with the way he treats his brother Fritz Garbinger, played by Elijah Wood.
Initially I was expecting Elijah Wood to deliver an insanely over the top performance given his creepy as hell look but he actually ended up being a much more sympathetic character than I expected. Granted, he and his goons, known as the Killer Nutz, commit horrible crimes on behalf of Bob Garbinger, but given the way Bob treats him horribly you can’t help but feel awful for Fritz, especially thanks to Elijah’s more quiet and reserved performance. It was an unexpected subversion of expectations but a welcome one.
Julia Davis also plays an enjoyable role as the kiss ass assistant of Bob Garbinger that ends up being just as cruel and awful of a person as he is.
Jacob Tremblay’s performance as Wade Gooze, Winston’s stepson, initially took me a bit to get used to since I didn’t like the way his character was treating Wade when he’s trying his best to support him, but as the film progresses the character did improve along with Tremblay’s performance so I wasn’t annoyed at him for long, especially since he also adds some heart to the film.
Taylour Paige delivers a solid straight role in her performance as J.J. Doherty, though she manages to deliver her own hilarious comedic and badass moments throughout the film, making for a fun supporting character.
The rest of the cast including supporting roles and extras all do a fantastic job committing to the tone of the world they are inhabiting, much like the cast of the original film.
This film has a more cleaner and straightforward narrative compared to the original but while the original was focused mostly on its exploitative elements and campy tone this reimagining aims to have more heart at its center, making you feel more engaged with the titular character amongst the insanity that surrounds him. The original certainly had its brief moments of genuine heart but this reimagining leans more into that by exploring our hero’s life more in depth, from his relationship with his stepson to the numerous hardships he faces right before he is thrown into the chaos.
There’s also some great moments of world-building throughout the film that is done in a darkly humorous way to get us more invested in the setting our characters live in while simultaneously poking fun at real world events, people and politics in the modern age. This all makes the narrative feel more compelling compared to original, which is by far one of the biggest improvements this reimagining has over it, but that doesn’t stop the film from remaining unhinged in tone.
It certainly doesn’t have the exact same kind of offensive humor or dialogue as the original but that doesn’t stop the film from being darkly comedic and pushing boundaries in other ways that most other films by major studios wouldn’t do these days. The kind of stuff you see in this film is similar to that of other Troma projects and the show The Boys, so if that is something you can handle seeing on the big screen then you should be fine watching this.
When it comes to the technical elements of the film it’s clear that this film is a big technical upgrade over the original in many ways, but that doesn’t stop it from having the look and feel of a Troma entertainment project in terms of visual style. A lot of passion was put towards this part of the film, especially with its immense use of practical effects and sets over CGI. The Toxic Avenger’s design looks absolutely amazing and the over the top gore is absolutely insane to witness, thanks to all the practical effects work done, making this film stay true to its Troma roots whenever possible.
CGI does occur a few times throughout the film and as expected from a Troma production it doesn’t look the best in some sequences, but I wouldn’t say it was the worst either, especially since I’ve seen much worse in other B-Movies. The cinematography is aesthetically pleasing to look at, giving a massive visual improvement over the original yet still maintains that low budget charm of the original.
As for the film’s music, the score by composers Will and Brooke Blair is definitely fun as it incorporates orchestral and electric remixes of the Toxic Avenger song by the Dickies and Night on Bald Mountain, which was heavily used as the Toxic Avenger’s theme in the original film. As for the soundtrack of songs featured in this film, I will admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of most of the song choices, with only a few of them turning out to be solid needle drop moments.
I don’t expect this reimagining to be liked or loved by everyone, especially by those unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the exploitative style of Troma, but I personally found it to be an entertaining and well crafted new take on the cult classic that I couldn’t help but have a good time with. It wasn’t afraid to go to crazy places and break boundaries while also inserting some genuine heart amongst graphically bloody chaos. If you are a fan of the original or want to see something truly unhinged and different then I recommend giving this film a go. Also stay for the post credit scene at the end for its hilarious parody of end credit scenes in most superhero films. I’m going to give The Toxic Avenger (2025) a B+ = 88.
You can find more of my writing on instagram, and check out my channel on YouTube!