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Review: ‘The Toxic Avenger’ is a Goofy and Gory Tribute to the Original and a Love Letter to the B-Movie Genre
August 27, 2025Ben MK
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From The Crow to Darkman, moviegoers are no stranger to tales of vigilantes who have cheated death to wreak bloody vengeance on those who have wronged them. Still, even though the genre itself has been done to death, it's the characters themselves that keep audiences coming back for more. Whether it's a rocker resurrected by supernatural forces or a disfigured scientist who's impervious to pain, you won't find a more colorful assortment of antiheroes this side of the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes. And with The Toxic Avenger, writer-director Macon Blair is hoping to add another cult classic to the mix, in this blood-splattered tale of one man's quest for revenge and redemption. The setting is Saint Roma's Village, a cesspool of crime and corruption where lawlessness runs rampant and where those who do abide by the rules live under the shadow of the mob and corporate greed. It's here that Robert Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), the ruthless CEO of a health and wellness company called Body Talk Healthstyle, has forged a formidable business empire, one built on a foundation of disreputable deals and questionable manufacturing policies. However, when a relentless reporter named Mel Ferd (Shaun Dooley) and his street-smart protege, J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige), threaten to expose the irreversible harm BTH's products have done to consumers' health, Robert sets into motion a plan to silence these whistleblowers once and for all. Calling upon his music manager younger brother, Fritz (Elijah Wood), whose monster-core rock band, the Killer Nutz, does double duty as assassins-for-hire, Robert will stop at nothing to protect BTH's sinister secrets. What he doesn't expect, though, is for one of his own employees to get in the way of his dastardly scheme. Enter Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a down-on-his-luck janitor at BTH whose luck is about to get much, much worse. A single father to his anxiety-prone stepson, Wade (Jacob Tremblay), Winston has never had many good things happen to him other than meeting and falling in love with his late partner, Shelly (Rebecca O'Mara). But when he's diagnosed with a particularly nasty brain disease, Winston must suddenly find a way to pay for the expensive drug treatment needed to save his life, if only to ensure that there's someone around to take care of Wade. Lacking adequate health insurance and desperate to drum up the cash, Winston even tries begging his boss for help. However, when that doesn't go according to plan, it's what happens next that changes Winston's life forever, as he runs afoul of the Killer Nutz, is thrown in a vat of toxic waste, and is transformed into the grotesque, mop-wielding mutant vigilante affectionately known to the citizens of Saint Roma as Toxie. A violent, tongue-in-cheek remake that also serves as an unabashed love letter to the 1984 original, and to the B-movie genre in general, the result isn't quite the over-the-top splatter-fest that fans of Troma's beloved schlock classic would hope it to be. Still, despite all its missed opportunities and half-hearted attempts at replicating the genre's most infamous tropes and clichés, what The Toxic Avenger lacks in genuine shock value it more than makes up for with a committed cast, with Dinklage and Bacon going head to head, not just as the hero and the villain of the film, but as two actors out to chew the scenery each and every time they're on screen. It all adds up to a ridiculous and fun, though easily forgettable, time at the movies. Nonetheless, if you're a fan of Troma's original films and yearn for the days where cheesy '80s B-movies were a more prominent part of the cinematic landscape, The Toxic Avenger handily fills the void left behind by decades of prestige films, big-budget blockbusters and superhero franchises. Make no mistake, this is one remake that still leaves much to be desired. However, if you're simply in the mood for a goofy, gory and crowd-pleasing adventure, then it certainly makes for a welcome way to spend an end-of-summer trip to the multiplex. The Toxic Avenger releases August 29th, 2025 from VVS Films. The film has an MPAA rating of R for strong violence and gore, language throughout, sexual references and brief graphic nudity. Its runtime is 1 hr. 42 min. |
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