This review is based on a screening of The Toxic Avenger at Fantastic Fest 2023.
Troma Entertainment peaked during the rental-store reign of colorful, violent schlock like Class of Nuke ‘em High, Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, and its cracked crown jewel, The Toxic Avenger. But once in a while, the independent film distributor still strikes gold. While the latest version of The Toxic Avenger – made in partnership with Dune and MonsterVerse studio Legendary and dubbed “not a remake” by star Peter Dinklage – isn’t in the same league of modern-day Troma triumph as 2018’s delightfully weird Mutant Blast, there are still some quality ingredients in its radioactive sludge.
The new film follows Dinklage’s Winston, who struggles to be a supportive stepfather to young Wade, played by Jacob Tremblay. Winston’s life outside the house is pretty simple on the face of things: He’s a janitor at mega-company BTH, just trying to keep his nose clean and maintain order in his corner of the world following the loss of Wade’s mother. Everything changes when Winston discovers he has an undetermined brain problem that will lead to his own death in less than a year.
If that feels like a lot of exposition for a film that eventually transforms Winston into a mutant who smashes his way through wrongdoers, that’s because it is. And, unfortunately, it isn’t even all of it: The Toxic Avenger takes a considerable amount of time to get rolling. To say it starts to fire on all cylinders once it gets there would be too kind, but it does, at the very least, improve.
When the film is relying on practical bloodshed and mutilation, it’s quite fun! The Toxic Avenger – affectionately referred to by fans as “Toxie” – rips through bad guys in an attempt to win his son over, but quickly finds himself wrapped up in a larger conspiracy between BTH, the mob, and BTH whistleblower/budding vigilante J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige). As the stakes rise, so does the body count, but there’s a misguided decision to use CGI blood in some pivotal scenes. And here’s the thing: CGI blood never looks good, but it looks downright awful compared to The Toxic Avenger’s otherwise-practical mayhem. The move is especially confusing given that it costs more – and it feels impossible that the majority of the film’s budget wasn’t spent on its surprisingly stacked cast.
J.J. and Wade are welcome additions to Toxie’s world, playing the proverbial straight men amidst the tutu-clad, mop-swinging crime fighter and Kevin Bacon’s evil CEO Bob Garbinger. The hero and villain play off of each other wonderfully, and Dinklage and Bacon clearly had a blast with writer-director Macon Blair’s shenanigan-filled script. They’re also joined by Elijah Wood in the role of Bob’s little brother Fritz – a henchman who looks like something between The Penguin and Gollum. There’s even a cameo from Jane Lynch, Wood’s co-star in Blair’s previous feature, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.
Memorable faces can be a welcome change when making the shift from Troma’s typically DIY productions, but sometimes that extra budget can make it feel like the filmmakers are trying to craft a “so bad it’s good” kind of flick. And you just can’t make those on purpose. A lot of The Toxic Avenger’s weirdness doesn’t hit, and many of its jokes fall flat. Winston’s doctor, for example, feels like a weak knockoff of 30 Rock’s Dr. Leo Spaceman. There are a lot of moments that play like a Legendary production decided to dress up as a Troma film for Halloween as a joke – despite the involvement of longtime Troma fan Blair and the studio’s founder, Lloyd Kaufman.
Its deficiencies aside, The Toxic Avenger manages to be quite heartwarming: At the end of the day, it’s just about a dad trying to win over his son. Sure, maybe he does a murder now and again, but all of that is in the spirit of self-defense or the protection of his family. And OK, maybe that one guy was just a huge jerk. But if you were shot, dumped in toxic waste, and became a lumpy oddball with super-strength and corrosive piss, you’d probably be pretty cranky too! The film’s heart, the performances of its cast and (mostly) great effects go a long way to make this one an endearing enough watch. Just probably not one with the same staying power as the original despite the added cash behind it.
