The original “Toxic Avenger” made do with a microscopic budget and stars who weren’t recognizable then … or now.
The inevitable remake boasts three top-flight actors and a similar sense of comic glee. Writer/director Macon Blair doesn’t take full advantage of the monumental gains made for indie filmmakers since the roarin’ ‘80s.
“The Toxic Avenger” remains a silly, splattery good time that’s both lightweight and a missed opportunity.
It’s not a “Toxic” film if those eeeevil corporations don’t take it on the chin. This time, it’s a mega company called BT Healthstyle that holds sway over society. Enter Winston (Peter Dinklage), a company janitor trying to be the best parent possible to his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay).
Winston struggles to bond with the lad, but that issue gets bumped to the back burner by a tragic diagnosis. Winston has a terminal illness, and a new medical procedure is his only hope.
His company’s insurance policies won’t pick up the tab, alas. It’s an obvious stab at our flawed healthcare system, but it packs some of the story’s better satirical punches. So does the sequence where Winston learns his fate.
Even the company’s leader (an over-the-top Kevin Bacon) can’t, or rather won’t help poor Winston. A twist of toxic fate turns this stepdad into a gloopy-faced creature with a nuclear-soaked mop.
Lookout, world. There’s a new superhero in town ready to take out the trash!
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“New” is subjective, of course. This IS a remake and one that sat on someone’s shelf since 2023.
You don’t need to know anything else about the film save its dedication to gross-out gags and offensive kills. Except the film’s “offensive” nature is nothing of the kind. We’ve seen similar shlock for decades, rendering the remake as acceptable as a Hallmark Christmas movie for horror hounds.
That was less true in the ‘80s when Toxie first hit the scene.
FAST FACT: The “Toxic Avenger” franchise features three sequels: “The Toxic Avenger Part II” (1989), “The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie” (1989) and “Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV” (2000).
Blair elevates the material by spotlighting Winston’s attempts to connect with young Wade, a subplot that proves surprisingly effective. Heck, Dinklage and Tremblay are terrific actors, and they balance the film’s genre shtick with real emotional beats.
And then there’s the relentless killing and carnage. That should satiate genre fans, but every time the film feels ready to step up to the horror-comedy plate, a new scene dampens our expectations.
It’s dumb for dumb’s sake, and a better screenplay could have taken advantage of the film’s IP cache. Imagine if Blair and co. took a few shots at the corporate Left, shaking up the franchise’s template?
Now, that would be outrageous.
The film’s delayed release suggests the finished product deserved to be buried. Not so. Still, “The Toxic Avenger” is best served as a streaming platform watch, not a theatrical event.
HiT or Miss: “The Toxic Avenger” is both an obvious upgrade over the source material and a predictable mashup of blood and social commentary.