Review: THE TOXIC AVENGER (2023) [Fantastic Fest]

Righting Wrongs While Hideously Deformed

1984’s THE TOXIC AVENGER is a film made for a very specific sensibility. This could be seen as a pubescent mindset, a stoner type, or simply a fan of the excessive, the original Troma foray is a tremendous achievement in splatter effects, gratuitous sex and nudity, scenes of outsized violence, and even broader, baser humor. It was a joy to discover at the age of 14 (though I actually was introduced years earlier thanks to the Toxic Crusaders cartoon) because it was EXACTLY what my still-forming brain needed at that time. 27 years since I first watched the movie, and my own sensibilities have changed somewhat in those intervening decades. That indie exercise in graphic adult themes is still a bit of fun, though more of it is met with an eyeroll or a groan than the teenage version of me. Now a remake comes along, written and directed by Macon Blair, and the question is whether or not it’s a worthy successor to its sleazy forefather? 2023’s THE TOXIC AVENGER doesn’t plumb as many depths as its predecessors, nor does it wallow in its gratuitous nature while embracing its low budget ways. This version is sleeker with a more coherent plot and less T&A, but it retains the anarchic spirit of the 1984 film. It has genuine heart and tremendous sense of humor aided by some awesome over-the-top gore and a truly game cast that are clearly loving every filthy second they’re on screen. It’s a slight movie that is awkwardly paced and a bit too long, but it is inventive, entertaining, and (most importantly) a lot of fun.

Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) isn’t have a great day…or life, really. His wife died, leaving him to raise his emotionally addled stepson (Jacob Tremblay). He works as a janitor at BTH factory that pumps out all sorts of gross toxic waste, which is of no concern for BTH’s CEO, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon). Winston lives in St. Roma’s Villa, a rundown, crime-infested, gross little hamlet with a population full of the sick and the wicked…and the wicked sick (from BTH chemicals). Now he finds out he has some incurable brain catastrophe going on that will certainly kill him in a year, and one can understand how that forces him into unchartered territory. But when his path crosses with that of intrepid BTH whistleblower J.J. (Taylour Paige), things go even further awry and Winston soon finds himself undergoing some drastic changes—thanks to some toxic ooze. What will he do with this newfound status and abilities? And what will people think of their new deformed hero?

The center of this whole movie, one of the chief reasons it works, is Dinklage. Not just because he’s the lead—and an awesome one at that—but because the actor completely commits to this film. He is an actual beating heart amidst the absurdity and yet game for his own bits of offbeat banter too. None of it feels forced. None of it seems like some schtick he puts on and takes off like so many layers of prosthetics. Winston Gooze (in all his forms) is a fully realized character with a devoted performer at the helm that makes it easy to buy in to the hyperreality of Blair’s world. Audiences are led by Dinklage into the heart of THE TOXIC AVENGER’s zany story, where he plays his sadness and rage totally straight, which just makes it even funnier and work all the better.

Of course, that dynamic performance and emotional specificity is also thanks to director Blair, and those broad beats and joyful comedy are the result of his enjoyable script. Blair uses the Hero’s Journey tropes (along with references to many stories and movies that have come before) to sketch out a typical story but uses that as merely the table setting for serving up absurdity, gore, and shenanigans that would befit a ZAZ production (AIRPLANE!) or a trip to the low budget horror section of a 1980s video store. Blair understood the assignment and THE TOXIC AVENGER immediately announces itself as a master of its own tone and style that runs throughout the film. Does every joke land? Of course not. Some bits go on too long while others feel pretty tired. But the filmmakers are seeing what sticks and that can be admirable in the right circumstances. Such as these.

Make no mistake—this is not high art, nor does it think it is. It has the feeling of a group of teenage friends let loose to make their own superhero horror movie with their cameras over a few weekends…but writ large with a modest budget and genuine talent. THE TOXIC AVENGER is a gleeful movie that reminds people of that serotonin surge and baser instincts of the bygone teen days when you just wanted sex and death and special effects. Though that anarchic joy is put to the test a few times when scenes run a bit too long or the story sags a bit in the second act. Troma movies are rarely praised for their cohesive storytelling, but at least those are briskly paced with no real room for padding. Oh there are plenty of stupid scenes that suck in Troma movies—many, many, many examples—but that is an excess of bad taste and not running time or narrative energy.

Still, anytime THE TOXIC AVENGER starts to feel old hat or wandering astray, along comes a solid comedic sequence. Or there’ll be a delightful action scene full of geysers of blood, and intestines, and random thugs being dispatched in the most terrifically gruesome of ways. The makeup and effects is mostly good—some of the CG just doesn’t work, but some of it does and all of the practical stuff is killer. And then there’s the stellar supporting cast, which also includes Elijah Wood looking like a cross between Simon Bar Sinister from Underdog and Riff Raff from THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Each of them follow Dinklage’s lead and commit to their roles…no matter how silly they may be, there’s an earnest approach to the goofiness. Paige and Bacon are especially awesome, constantly turning in scene stealing moments buoyed by Blair’s script.

This new TOXIC AVENGER isn’t as juvenile, crass, incoherent, or anarchic as Lloyd Kaufman’s original. Few things are—hence why that guy could make a career out of it. But it’s still truly awesome that in the year of our lord 2023 someone gave Macon Blair money—no matter how much, any amount of substantial money—and time and resources to see this whacky shit come to life. A mop is a deadly weapon and leads to viscera being pulled out of all sorts of places on the human body in a world where an Insane Clown Posse wannabe band are a gang of ruthless killers. Someone read that and said “bring me my checkbook!” and we are all the better for it.