The Toxic Avenger
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman
A nerdy janitor becomes a toxic mutant superhero in this essential cult classic that put Lloyd Kaufman's Troma Entertainment on the map. Tromaville, New Jersey is being terrorized by criminals while the corrupt mayor does nothing. After a gang of thugs pull a cruel prank on Melvin, the janitor, he winds flying into a vat of toxic waste. But when an unexpected metamorphosis takes place, he becomes the Toxic Avenger, and starts using his superpowers to rid the city of the bad guys in no time at all. Contains strong language, sexual scenes, violence and gore.
A nerdy janitor becomes a toxic mutant superhero in this essential cult classic.
Cast: Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Babtist
Member Reviews
It takes a while to become watchable (pre-metamorphosis Melvin is a real little creep and not in a charming way) but it really picks up once Toxie starts avenging. Messy, crude, very tongue-in-cheek, and with a few bits that haven't aged well (little bit of mild racism and Sarah's blindness is heavily played for laughs) it ends up being oddly wholesome and a lot of fun. The quality of the acting makes 70s porn acting seem Oscar-worthy by comparison but that's all part of it. Classic.
The ultimate avenger.
At first, I was feeling a 3. 5/5 skulls rating for this film, but towards the middle, I started to appreciate its absurdity so much more so I gave it a full fourth star. This film is that 80s camp cheese in low budget horror. Melvin is a great antihero and a fun one to watch as he brutally (sometimes not so much brutally) kills his victims who are not innocent people. I am excited to see what the rest of this franchise has in store. So yeah.
Fun movie
Brillant! Even better than I remember! would give 5 skulls except the sound quality is super dodgy.