The tagline for Macon Blair’s 2023 adaptation of Lloyd Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger is “The Hero We Need Now,” and this rings even more true upon its wider theatrical release in 2025. Environmental protections are down in favor of corporate profits. Private insurance denies claims to protect profit margins. Ignorance and cruelty are rewarded while the decent suffer. The circumstances described make the hero colloquially known as Toxie as relevant today to our own world as he is within the world of the fictional Tromaville. It’s a little distressing to acknowledge that those same descriptions could easily match that of 1984 when Kaufman’s original horror action comedy released in theaters. As greed continues to pump literal and figurative sludge into the general populace, frequently disguised as something nurturing, Toxie shows us just how accustomed to the ridiculous we’ve become as so much of writer/director Blair’s (I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore) satirical script isn’t funny because of how much truth is jam-packed into it, even if surrounded by copious gratuitous violence.
L-R: Peter Dinklage as Winston Gooze and Jacob Tremblay as Wade in the action, comedy, horror film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
It’s been a year since Winston’s (Peter Dinklage) wife died and left him and her son, Wade (Jacob Tremblay), behind. Despite his loyal service to town company BTH for the last 13 years, he’s unable to keep up with the therapy payments for treatments Wade’s received and, making things worse, he learns that he himself has only a short time left due to a medical condition. Going from bad to worse, an attempt to secure the funds he needs to get healthy lands him in the middle of an altercation between the mysterious J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige) and local celebrities/monstercore band The Killer Nutz resulting in him being exposed to the toxic waste produced by BTH and transformed inside and out into the figure locals will call The Toxic Avenger.
Taylour Paige as J.J. Doherty in the action, comedy, horror film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
Focusing solely on the ‘84 Avenger as a point of comparison, there’s a lot within Blair’s adaptation that harkens back to that era and works while other aspects don’t. What doesn’t work has more to do with where audiences are now and the state of superhero-related projects than anything Blair as a filmmaker has done. Blair’s central figure is Winston (not Melvin Ford, the first of several smart sidesteps to separate the works) who is positioned as a loving, albeit-awkward, father whose issue (beyond his health) is a lack of fortitude. An example of this, as shown in the trailer, is when a neighbor, Daisy (Annette Badland), is harassed by a goon who wants to buy her property and threatens her cat in the process. As Winston, he believes he lacks any ability to interfere, even if he recognizes that what’s happening is wrong. As Toxie, he has strength, rejuvenating powers, and a nuclear mop with a blistering impact. Whereas an argument could be made for Toxie being part of the body horror subgenre, the focus isn’t so much on the change unto Winston and the ways this transformation impacts his relationships (recent examples: Wolf Man (2025); Together (2025)), but is like any other superhero story where a central figure is bestowed abilities and the transformation is less important than what the individual does with the abilities. For Winston, this includes a belief that he now has the ability to battle the people responsible for his condition, those who threaten Wade, and those who endanger the people of Tromaville. To make the point that Winston always possessed this pre-transition, Blair introduces J.J., a character involved in the narrative setup that establishes the crookedness of Tromaville and that it’s up to individuals to fight the establishment in order to effect change. Of course, in the effort to get to various sequences of gory violence (think Evil Dead II-level bloodletting with Army of Darkness-style comedy), this isn’t really delved into; yet, without J.J.’s influence within the story, Toxie would wander a lot more — both the man and the film.
Peter Dinklage/Luisa Guerreiro as Toxie in the action, comedy, horror film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
This aspect may be the only subtle thing about the entire enterprise as nothing else possesses an ounce of refinement. The hostage situation on the restaurant Miss Meat teased in the teaser and other marketing elements are prime examples. The gripe of the self-proclaimed “Nasty Lads” with the restaurant is that it used to be “Mister Meat” and, among their other list of complaints they want addressed is “science.” Dressed like counter-culture militia, The Nasty Lads wave guns, threaten customers, and spout a litany of nonsense because — despite nothing changing beyond the name of the restaurant — they are so profoundly upset that they must use violence to get things to return to the way they were. It’s a moment played for laughs, for sure, but Blair’s specificity in the complaints speaks to a larger notion of the danger possessed by the willfully ignorant who desire a need to feel powerful by subjugating others through the forced return to a version of the world they find comfortable. This is, of course, counter-balanced by Kevin Bacon’s BTH CEO Bob Garbinger who doesn’t care who gets hurt in his quest for physical perfection and wealth. He’s a bullshit artist, a conman through and through, yet he rests on the same spectrum as The Nasty Lads, even if at a different point, as he uses violence to get what he wants, to protect what’s his, and take what isn’t. Only Toxie and those who stand with him, those who would protect, to nurture, are presented as actually worth a damn in this world, the rest taking up valuable resources while destroying what remains. Audiences aren’t necessarily going to find something progressive within Blair’s The Toxic Avenger, but that doesn’t mean that this Troma Entertainment co-produced adventure has lost its punk streak. Rather, like the recent Troma alum James Gunn release Superman, the rebellious thing to do is be kind. It just so happens that the kindness is wrapped up in mutants, malcontents, and blood-raining carnage.
Kevin Bacon as Bob Garbinger in the action, comedy, horror film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
Where the film falters is less an issue with Blair’s story, the prosthetics and makeup work, the jokes, gags, or performances – especially Luisa Guerreiro (Snow White; Wicked; Baldur’s Gate III) who does all the body work once Winston transforms. There have been superhero stories for decades now going back to the silent era and the last 20 especially in the run-up to and birth of the MCU has been rife with cape stories. So, while The Toxic Avenger has the look between the prosthetics to create Toxie (the eye gag is especially great in its use) and there’s a fascinating hyperreal visual style to the horizon around Tromaville, the whole of the film feels uninspired merely because of how inundated we are with these types of stories. Additionally, and again, no fault of Blair’s, but just like in the ‘80s and ‘90s when corporations were narrative villains because they were corrupting the Earth, we’re still in that world as regulations are being rolled-back in favor of corporate greed. On August 19th, the FDA had to issue a warning of shrimp being sold at Wal-Mart containing a nuclear substance and this is before the FDA removes 52 standards they believe to be obsolete. How are audiences supposed to find the humor within the satirical greed of Troma when everywhere is turning into it? While it’s positively delicious to see transphobic, racist, and downright ill-informed surrogates get their justifiably violent comeuppance, when the stand-ins come off as a little too real, the humor loses some of its bite as the reality of what we’re laughing at sets in.
Elijah Wood as Fritz Garbinger in the action, comedy, horror film, THE TOXIC AVENGER, a Cineverse release. Photo courtesy of Yana Blajeva/Legendary Pictures.
If all you’re looking for is a mutant adventure filled with violence, you’re going to get your monies’ worth. Unfortunately, if you’ve seen the marketing, you’ve seen most of the bloodshed already, so hopefully you’re going in as unaware as possible. Doing that, you’re not only going to enjoy the manner in which the various shitbirds get their due, you’ll be able to revel in the beauteous modern interpretation of our loveable Toxie as he learns to stand up for himself and those he loves, righting wrongs with the mop of justice. Even if you have embraced the marketing, soaking up as much as you can prior to wide theatrical release, there’s still plenty to enjoy, regardless of how deep you want to take Toxie’s adventure.
In theaters August 29th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Cineverse The Toxic Avenger webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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