The Toxic Avenger- Fantastic Fest 2023
September 23rd, 2023
MOVIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER- FANTASTIC FEST 2023
STARRING: PETER DINKLAGE, JACOB TREMBLAY, TAYLOR PAIGE, ELIJAH WOOD, KEVIN BACON
DIRECTED BY: MACON BLAIR
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 3 STARS (Out of 4)
When I was a kid, I would see advertisements for The Toxic Avenger, often on the back page of a comic book. Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz’s outlandish concoction of sex, violence, and gore arrived the year I was born in 1984. It was a strange globby-looking figure, holding a mop, with big bold orange lettering hovering above. I found it interesting to look at but it may have been too odd, too obscure for me to truly take an interest, and I certainly know my mother wouldn’t let me watch it. Those are often the kind of movies that deserve to be remade, reimagined, and made with someone else’s spirit. This brings us to Macon Blair’s new version of The Toxic Avenger. It’s a labor of love in many ways, keeping the spirit that the Troma production company created in the 1980s. It won’t be for everyone’s taste, but there is plenty of outrageous gore, oddball characters, tons of laughs, and one cool Toxic hero at the center, that will make everyone a fan of The Toxic Avenger.
The town is St. Roma Village (The S is faded and looks like Troma village), where the rivers run green with pollution from the evil power plant in town. The head of the evil company is the narcissistic Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon having a lot of fun), who promotes healthy living, while his plant churns out toxic sludge. The janitor at the plant is Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a lonely working stiff, who takes care of his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay) after his mother passed away from cancer. The other plot is that journalist J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige) is looking to take down Garbinger’s trash factory, but when Winston finds himself in the wrong place, wrong time, he’s tossed into a vat of acid by Garbinger’s goons, led by devilish brother Fritz (Elijah Wood looking like Danny DeVito’s Penguin).
For those that want the original tone of the 1984 Toxic Avenger– which was made for a measly five hundred thousand at the time– have no fear because that spirit is oozing all over. For many, it will not be their “cup of sludge”, but in the hands of Blair, this is a spot-on revival. Blair’s screenplay shifts the story from Toxy finding love and saving the day, to being a hero to his stepson, and then he’s a hero for everyone else. That’s also not to say this is a bloodless version, where heads are decapitated, arms ripped off, and brains fly high. That’s because Blair understood his assignment and the point is that this is not your conventional superhero.
What helps carry the glowing green mop in style is Peter Dinklage’s fearless approach, coated in green hulking makeup, with an eyeball that pops out from time to time. Watching him kick the crap out of a rock group called the Nutz Boys delivers all the excitement that audiences will seek, whether they are in on what The Toxic Avenger is going for. And yes, some jokes won’t land, plus there is not enough from Elijah Wood, but it’s impossible not to leave with a big green slimy smile on your face.
It all circles back to The Toxic Avenger being the kind of movie we want to celebrate. Similar to Terrifier 2 last year or a spirited production like 2015’s Turbo Kid, The Toxic Avenger is a big hit for genre cinema. Not just because it’s this story of an outcast taking on the evil corporation or a hero that isn’t the Adonis. You celebrate it because Macon Blair has made a movie in his way and without a studio hovering over his back. The Toxic Avenger is a kick-ass good time. Hold your mop up high with pride.
THE TOXIC AVENGER PREMIERED AT FANTASTIC FEST 2023.
3 STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com
