It is Halloween 2025 so time for another film series to review. This time it is Troma’s flagship franchise and company mascot – The Toxic Avenger!
From the 1984 original to the modern day remake and we know how good remakes are these days.
The Toxic Avenger (1984)
“And you can tell all your scum friends that things are gonna change in this town.
I’m not just another pretty face!”
The story of a boy, bullies and finally going through puberty with a lot of help from toxic waste.
Melvin Ferd is a janitor at a gym. Nice bloke but he isn’t winning over the people there, especially the gang-members that like to engage in a spot of Death Race 2000. Eventually they decide to finally do something about him which ends with an accidental dip in some nearby toxic sludge, Melvin rises to become The Toxic Avenger!.
Well, more like screams and writhes in agony on the pavement as his body is mutated.
Despite this being a favourite of mine, it is one that I haven’t watched in decades. I have watched other Troma films such as the first three Class of Nuke ’em High films and even the sequels more often.
From them there is that Troma feel, that Troma look and lots of green toxic waste.
This meant I had forgotten that this is very bloody. The boys head being ran over by the car was particularly good.
All the classic 80s Troma is there. Chaos, bad humour, violence and as much offensive that you can fit into 82 minutes.
The Nazi chief of police was nicely understated which made it funnier.
I watched the 4K version and it is a very nice transfer. A beautiful picture considering the budget, something that was used very well.
The gory, bloody practical effects and make-up are very effective, like that boy’s head being splattered on the road, so good, as is the costume for Toxie himself. It helps that the director knew what he was doing.
This is one that will confuse and upset people today but it also defined what Troma would become at the start of their best period.
The Toxic Avenger
Part II (1989)
“I’m going to break you in half like a fucking wishbone!”
After clearing Tromaville of all crime, Melvin Junko (his surname has changed for no explained reason) starts to feel as if something is missing in his life. At the same time the villainous Apocalypse inc. is looking to take over and after a failed attempt to kill him, in a quite long and brilliant action scene where lots of blind people are killed, they decide to trick him to travel to Japan to find his father.
Cue lots of everyday Japanese people standing around in the background, fascinated with what they are witnessing.
This also is the first film Lisa Gaye appears in for Troma who would be more remembered as Professor Holt in the Nuke ’em High series.
So apparently when filming this they filmed so much that Troma decided the best thing to do is to release it as two films.
At 1hr50 this is a bit too long, or maybe it seems like that because everytime it looks as if it is going end something new happens.
And I yet I liked these bits but you could see with some, well one scene, that it was taken from a part at the start of the movie and moved to later on. Probably so it had action for the finale.
There isn’t the amount of gore as the first but it is there and whilst it might not have the impact it did it is still good.
The man being accidentally cut up at the fishmongers is excellent with really bloody good make-up effects but how can that have the impact as an innocent child having their head squashed as they are ran over?
It can’t, but it can be as much fun to watch.
Maybe if a bit shorter it might have been better received along with a bit more bad humour and offence but this is more Toxie and moving part of the film to Japan was a good idea and refreshing.
It also gave Troma the idea to make Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.
The Toxic Avenger Part III:
The Last Temptation of Toxie
(1989)
“How many times do I got to tell you,
you don’t put the Redneck Zombies in with the Disney videos!”
Starting with a fight inside a video rental shop that whilst not as lengthy as the first fight outside the home for the Blind in the previous film; it does have some nice violence that matches anything from that.
Especially the creative use of a VHS player.
From then we have a flashback telling us how Toxie became a villain by turning into a Yuppie.
Remember that this and Part 2 was filmed with the intention of only being one movie so it is impressive they filmed enough footage to make two mostly different films.
There are some repeated scenes and knowing they both were filmed at the same time explains why you see the recuring characters all dressed in the exact same clothes, but that doesn’t explain why they ALWAYS wear the same clothes.
That said Part 2 is more memorable. The Last Temptation doesn’t feel like it is too long and the final confrontation is fun, overall the film is fun, but it is more forgettable. It doesn’t have many of the expensive shots (apart from that last fight) or the gory bits. Like they used bulk of them for the last film.
But worth it for Troma fans of the series which is probably more than can be said for Part IV.
Citizen Toxie:
The Toxic Avenger IV
(2000)
“Well, fuck that,
I’m not gonna die.
Not here in Jersey!”
Citizen Toxie starts with a narration by Stan Lee (credited as Peter Parker in the credits) going over the events of the first movie.
This ignores Parts 2 and 3.
Here a gang, The Diaper Mafia, have taken over a special needs school and are holding the pupils hostage, executing them until their demands are met.
Toxie and his sidekick – Lardman – stop them but Toxie is thrown into an alternative universe as his evil counterpart, The Noxious Offender, is flung into Toxie’s world.
Noxie finds Toxies girlfriend, Sarah, (her name from the first film) whereas Toxie finds her counterpart in the alternative dimension who is named Claire (Sarah was renamed Claire for some reason in the sequels so this is a nice little easter-egg) as they navigate their new worlds.
There are many references or cameos from the three previous films and a good number of cameos including Lemmy from Motorhead (he was great in Eat the Rich 1987), Julie Strain, Corey Feldman and the original Melvin actor, Mark Torgl makes a welcome return to the role.
I did say in the review for the Part II that there wasn’t as much bad humour or offence and that is not a problem here.
In fact there might be an argument to be made that bad humour and offensiveness has taken priority over making a Toxic Avenger film.
It comes across too juvenile and gross a fair many times so if pre-warned before watching this. It isn’t your normal TA film.
I don’t think this will win over any new fans, especially in todays let’s-find-something-to-be-offended-over climate or maybe because of the current climate it could be just what some people are looking for.
The Trailer is age-restricted for no reason it needs to be so you’ll have to go to the YouTube website to watch it.
The Toxic Avenger (2023)
I can’t remember anything quotable to go here
Continuing the trend of re-making/booting something usually beloved but using the same name so internet searches bring up your shitty copy instead of the superior original – We have The Toxic Avenger.
A typically modern use of a classic IP.
We have drama, melodrama, modern issues addressed… I swear this was written by someone from Tick Tock.
It is about a grieving step-father struggling to connect with his son who has some sort of mental health issue he is working to overcome. Doesn’t that sound like Toxic Crusader and Troma!
There’s another plot involving an investigator trying to prove Kevin Bacon’s company is evil. She ends up teaming with Toxie. You’ve seen this in every film.
It is very pedestrian. She has no personality other than being right and boring and Toxie is just there to look stupid and useless around her.
Think Thor.
It spends too much time on this crap and we end up with a very playing it safe, standard film structure that is a very predictable and done to death, modern story about medical insurance.
The café fight scene in the original happens happens here with some gang of, I’m guessing they are supposed to be incels, and the fight is over in 30 seconds. Pointless and I’m surprised it didn’t end with a smash the patriarchy comment.
Remember how Troma promotes itself on being independent and upsetting the movie industry? Where is that in this? This film is everything Troma rallies against.
The jokes are sporadic, the gore is ok but lacking in the creativity the Troma TA films have and the offence comes from the fact this was made by an apparent fan.
That reminds me of Rob Zombie’s The Munsters.
Yes Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood and Julia Davis are good but they can’t carry a film when they aren’t in it enough.
I thought this would be bad but this bland?
Maybe it is for younger viewers with no knowledge of Troma who need their content to be sanitised so not to trigger their neuroses.
Conclusion
The first is an absolute classic, something about it just works. It all comes together nicely. The sequels never quite match that but they are Troma through and through and give you plenty of moments to chuckle or be revolted at.
The remake/reboot – If you don’t like the originals then you might like this.
Bonus
The Toxic Avenger:
The Musical (2008)
“Hey have you noticed a
new smell in town lately?
It’s giant vats of toxic, nuclear waste!
Well that makes sense.”
Based on the 1984 original film but going it’s own way to suit a musical we have a new retelling of the story of Melvin Ferd, not Junko.
This time he already knows Sarah, not Claire, who despite being blind is a librarian.
Melvin wants to make a change and clean up Tromaville and win Sarah over.
Instead he is rejected by her and accidentally dropped into a vat of Toxic Waste by the town’s bullies causing him to be mutated into the hero Tromaville needs.
The music is composed by with lyrics co-written by Bon Jovi’s Keyboardist David Bryan and gives us some very catchy, very humourous and very offensive songs.
This is how you adapt someone else’s work and remake it.
With classics such as Who Will Save New Jersey? or
A Brand New Day in New Jersey, or
My Big French Boyfriend, Thank God She’s Blind, Hot Toxic Love and of course…
Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore!
It is a musical based on The Toxic Avenger. What are you expecting?
This is not your usual West End production which was the one I watched.
Unless it is, I’ve only been to the West End once.
Either way, this is fun and something fans will like.
