In September of 2023, Fantastic Fest opened with a rather fitting film: Macon Blair’s remake of the 1984 Troma Pictures cult classic film The Toxic Avenger, the tale of a down-on-his-luck janitor exposed to vast amounts of toxic waste and becoming the most unlikely of heroes. Despite the rave reviews and 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating following its premiere, the film would be stuck in the hellish dimension of release limbo, struggling to find a distributor due to its violent content. One studio head, who remains anonymous to this day, dubbed the film “unreleasable,” crushing any hope the film would have of seeing the light of day. 

Release limbo can either make or break a film. The struggle to find a distributor can delay release and potentially butcher marketing and staying power in pop culture. It’s trickier than it sounds to get audiences to see a film that they have known about for years, only to get a measly release later on. 

Fast forward to January 2025, when it is announced that Terrifier series distributor Cineverse has acquired the rights to the film and will release it unrated later that year. It was likely due to the success of Art the Clown’s iconic franchise that the film got the release it deserved by making unrated film releases more mainstream and proving their possibility to succeed. Genre fans around the globe rejoiced, as the grotesque hero with a heart of gold would finally return to the big screen. The real question is, do the years of hype lead to a satisfying payoff? 

I am happy to report that The Toxic Avenger (2023) is one of the most positively chaotic times at the movies I have had all year. Director Blair’s commitment to true Troma style without the mean-spiritedness of the original Toxic Avenger films provides a return to what makes splatter films so great: how unabashed every aspect of the film remains. Every time and place subtitle comes with a gag that calls attention to tropes and clichés, and the actors play everything with as much commitment to staying true to Troma as possible. The biggest compliment I give the film is its ability to both take itself seriously and also not take itself seriously at all.

 The entire cast shines in their own way and provides something fresh to each role. Peter Dinklage is perfect as Winston Gooze/The Toxic Avenger, and he explores the character with infinitely more depth than the original film allows. Surrounding Dinklage are the likes of Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige (who many will recognize from A24’s Zola (2021)), Kevin Bacon, and Elijah Wood. There is also an entourage of nu-metal-coded henchmen of Bacon’s character called the Killer Nutz that drive around causing mayhem, which stands out to me as one of the best ensembles of the film. Every performance is sincere and genuine, recognizing the love people have for Troma Pictures and the fanbase surrounding Toxie. 

The budget certainly allows for top-tier talent while staying true to B-movie roots and practices. This comes in many forms, from the physical sets that, while small, are vital in creating the Village of St. Roma and the surrounding area. Another aspect working in the film’s favor is the fantastical gore and practical effects for Toxie. Any other director would have resorted to CGI and digital imagery for the film’s effects, and while Toxic Avenger has spots of CGI, the practical effects take center stage and create the B-movie aesthetic that the film aims to pay homage to.  

Despite these positives, the film’s pacing leaves some room to be desired, losing steam by the third act. The rather lazy climax of the film, featuring Toxie and Bacon’s character battling it out, felt smaller than the film tried to make it seem. Luckily, the rest of the film’s bizarrely charming humor and style make up for it. This film thrives off the weird and unconventional, and falling into a middling third act weighs down the film more noticeably than I expected. 

This film achieves its goals when it sticks to the bizarre and chaotic. Blair clearly has a deep love for Troma Pictures and The Toxic Avenger films of the 1980s, and a director pouring his soul into a remake like this is pretty hard to come by nowadays. In a way, this film is a love letter to every B-movie that came before and pays homage to the genre as a whole instead of remaking one specific film. 

The Toxic Avenger is a movie that always deserved to be released to the public. Even though it’s not perfect, the concept of an unrated film being as widely released as this one would have been laughed at just a decade ago. The Toxic Avenger remake is evidence that there is an audience for unrated films that push the boundaries of studio filmmaking and push the audience to their cinematic limits. As rightfully divisive as they are, we owe it to the Terrifier franchise’s success that Toxie got the big-screen return he deserved. 

Review Courtesy of Nadia Arain

Feature Image Credit to Cineverse via IMDb