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The Toxic Avenger (1984 film)

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The Toxic Avenger
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
  • Joe Ritter
Story byLloyd Kaufman
Produced by
  • Lloyd Kaufman
  • Michael Herz
Starring
  • Andree Maranda
  • Mitchell Cohen
  • Pat Ryan Jr.
  • Jennifer Babtist
  • Robert Prichard
  • Cindy Manion
  • Gary Schneider
  • Mark Torgl
Cinematography
  • James London
  • Lloyd Kaufman
Edited byRichard W. Haines
Distributed byTroma Entertainment
Release date
  • April 4, 1986 (1986-04-04) (United States[1])
Running time
82 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[3]

The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 American superhero black comedy splatter film produced and directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman (the latter credited as Samuel Weil for directing) from a screenplay by Joe Ritter, based on a story by Kaufman. The film was produced and released by Troma Entertainment. It is the first installment in The Toxic Avenger film series and generated a media franchise.[4]

A director's cut was released in 2002, notably adding a scene with Marisa Tomei in one of her first roles.[5][6][7]

Plot

[edit]

Melvin Ferd Junko III is a 98-pound janitor at a health club in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey, where a group of unknowingly murderous customers (Bozo, Slug, Wanda and Julie) regularly harass and bully him.

One day, the group tricks Melvin into wearing a pink tutu and unknowingly hugging a real sheep who he thought was Julie. He is ridiculed and chased around the health club. He ultimately jumps out of a second-story window and falls into a drum of toxic waste, which was on a flatbed truck parked outside. The toxic waste burns his skin and sets him on fire as he is getting publicly ridiculed. After running away down the street, Melvin returns home to get relief in his bathtub. However, the chemicals transform him into a hideously deformed mutant with superhuman size and strength.

Meanwhile, a group of drug dealers, led by Cigar Face, are trying to bribe a police officer. When he refuses to accept the money, Cigar Face and his gang prepare to castrate him. Melvin suddenly appears and kills the criminals, and then leaves a mop on their faces as a calling card. Cigar Face escapes, promising to take revenge.

When Melvin returns home, his mother is terrified of him and will not let him in the house. He subsequently builds a makeshift home in the local junkyard.

A gang of three men hold up a Mexican restaurant and attack a blind woman, named Sara. They kill her guide dog and attempt to rape her, but are stopped by Melvin when he attacks them. Melvin then takes Sara back to her home, where they get to know one another and become romantically involved.

Melvin continues to fight crime, including drug dealers and pimps for underage prostitutes. As Melvin gives aid to the people in the city and is celebrated as a hero, Mayor Belgoody grows worried. It turns out the Mayor is the leader of Tromaville's extensive crime ring and fears having the truth exposed. He wants Melvin gone.

A group of men, led by Cigar Face, eventually surround Melvin with guns. Just before they fire on him, he leaps up to a fire escape so they shoot each other instead.

Melvin takes revenge on the four health club bullies who caused his transformation. He first attacks Wanda in the health club's sauna and burns her backside on the heater. He then returns to the club later, pursues Julie into the basement, and approaches her with scissors; the camera cuts away before anything is seen. He finally confronts Bozo and Slug after they beat a woman and steal her car. They attempt to run Melvin down, but he leaps onto the roof and throws Slug out of the moving car. Melvin then gets in and pulls off the steering wheel, causing Bozo to drive off the side of a cliff. The car explodes, killing Bozo. Melvin climbs out uninjured and walks away.

When Melvin kills a seemingly innocent old woman in a dry cleaning store (who was, in fact, a leader of an underground human trafficking ring), Belgoody calls in the United States National Guard. Back in his junkyard home, Melvin is horrified at what he has become. He and Sara decide to move away from the city and into the nearby woods.

Melvin and Sara are eventually discovered, and the Mayor and the National Guard come to kill him. However, the people of Tromaville step in, and Melvin's mother identifies the mutant as her son. The Mayor's evil ways are revealed, and Melvin rips out his organs to see if he has "any guts." Hailed as a hero, the Toxic Avenger continues to combat crime in Tromaville.

Cast

[edit]
  • Mitch Cohen as Melvin Ferd Junko III/The Toxic Avenger
    • Mark Torgl as Melvin Ferd Junko IIl
    • Kenneth Kessler as The Voice of Melvin Ferd Junko III/The Toxic Avenger
  • Andree Maranda as Sara
  • Pat Ryan Jr. as Mayor Peter Belgoody Goldberg
  • Sarabel Levinson as Mrs. Ferd Junko
  • Dan Snow as "Cigar Face"
  • Dick Martinsen as Officer O'Clancy
  • Gary Schneider as "Bozo"
  • Robert Prichard as "Slug"
  • Jennifer Babtist as Wanda
  • Cindy Manion as Julie
  • Chris Liano as Walter Harris
  • David Weiss as Chief of Police
  • Doug Isbecque as "Knuckles"
  • Charles Lee Jr. as "Nipples"
  • Pat Kilpatrick as Leroy
  • Larry Sulton as Frank
  • Michael Russo as Rico
  • Al Pia as Tom Wrightson
  • Dennis Souder as Drug Dealer
  • Steven Zmed as Gaseous Maximus, The Human Trash Can
  • Xavier Barquet as Man Shot In Restaurant
  • Reuben Guss as Dr. Snodburger
  • Matt Klan as Boy Hero
  • Dominick Calvitto as Skippy, Boy On Bicycle
  • Marisa Tomei as Girl In Locker Room (director's cut only)

Production

[edit]

In 1975, Lloyd Kaufman had the idea to shoot a horror film involving a health club while serving as the pre-production supervisor on the set of Rocky. Years later at the Cannes Film Festival, Kaufman read an article that stated horror films were no longer popular, so he decided to produce his own take on one based on his idea. It was given the original working title of Health Club Horror, and eventually retitled.[3][8]

Filming

[edit]

Principal photography for The Toxic Avenger took place at various locations in New Jersey, with most of it shot in and around Boonton. The car chase scene, which ends with a car driving off a cliff and exploding, was filmed in Jersey City.[9] The scene was inspired by the final truck scene in George Miller's film Mad Max 2.[10] Filming was completed in 1983.[1]

Release

[edit]

Theatrical

[edit]

Troma Entertainment released The Toxic Avenger initially in 1984, receiving an early review from Variety in late December.[11] During the next year, the film had a long run as the midnight movie on the single screen of the Bleeker Street Cinema in New York City.[12] On April 4, 1986, the film opened on 45 screens and earned $140,000 for its opening weekend.[1]

Home media

[edit]

The Toxic Avenger was released by Troma on VHS and Betamax in 1986,[13] and for the first time on DVD on March 25, 1998. It was later re-released by Troma on November 20, 2000 and again on September 3, 2002; with the latter release of the film being a part of a 4-Disk Toxic Avenger movie pack. The film was later picked up for distribution by Prism, who released the film on DVD on February 2, 2004. Troma then released its own 21st Anniversary Edition version of the film on March 29, 2005. On March 7, 2006, the film was released again on DVD by Koch Entertainment. The film would not receive another home media release until Troma released a "Japanese Cut" of the film on December 11, 2012. Troma released the film for the first time on Blu-ray on August 12, 2014. On November 18, later that year, it was again released on Blu-ray by Import Vendor.[14]

Reception

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Critical response

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Toxic Avenger holds an approval rating of 70%, based on 20 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. Its consensus reads, "A silly and ribald superhero spoof, Toxic Avenger's uninhibited humor hits more than it misses."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 42 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".[16]

Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, calling the film, "A funny spoof... Not without violence and gore but still entertaining."[17] Stephen Holden of The New York Times rated the film a score of 3/5, complimenting the film for its "maniacally farcical sense of humor", while also noting that the film itself was "trash."[18]

TV Guide gave the film a negative 1/5 stars, writing "Though it is silly, sleazy, and graphically violent, The Toxic Avenger does hold a bit of warped charm for fans of this sort of thing."[19] Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club was highly critical of the film, writing, "As for the movie itself, it's still a piece of trash, if a marginally entertaining one: it's too self-consciously parodic to be good kitsch, and too gross to be all that fun."[6]

Reboot

[edit]
Main article: The Toxic Avenger (2023 film)

In 2010 a remake of The Toxic Avenger was announced,[20] set to be co-written and directed by Steve Pink.[21] In 2016 Variety reported that Conrad Vernon will direct the film, while Mike Arnold and Chris Poole were attached to rewrite the screenplay by Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell.[22] In 2018 Legendary Pictures won the rights to reboot The Toxic Avenger, with the original's directors–producers, Kaufman and Herz, returning as producers.[23] In 2019 Macon Blair was announced to write and direct the upcoming film.[24]

In November 2020 it was announced that Peter Dinklage would star in the film.[25] In April 2021 Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige were added to the cast.[26][27] In June 2021, Kevin Bacon, Julia Davis, and Elijah Wood joined the cast.[28][29] That month principal photography commenced in Bulgaria and wrapped on August.[28][30]

The Toxic Avenger remake premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Catalog - The Toxic Avenger". AFI.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  2. ^ "The Toxic Avenger (18)". British Board of Film Classification. November 5, 1986. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "The Original Toxic Avenger". Troma Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  4. ^ Westbrook, Caroline (2003-11-07). "Lloyd Kaufman". Something Jewish. Archived from the original on December 26, 2003. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
  5. ^ "(official studio site)". ToxicAvenger. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Phipps, Keith (29 March 2002). "Toxic Avenger: The Unrated Director's Cut". AVClub.com. Keith Phipps. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. ^ Hallenbeck, Bruce G. (2009). Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914–2008. McFarland & Company. pp. 145–147. ISBN 9780786453788.
  8. ^ Leitner, Lucy (23 November 2004). "Read your own damn story - about making your own damn movie". The Pitt News. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22. Retrieved August 3, 2006.
  9. ^ Parisi, Albert J. (1984-12-09). "New Jersey Journal". New York Times.
  10. ^ The Toxic Avenger DVD - Lloyd Kaufman commentary track
  11. ^ "The Toxic Avenger". Variety. 31 December 1984.
  12. ^ Knipfel, Jim (2019-04-11). "The Toxic Avenger: A Brief History of Troma's Superhero Franchise". Den of Geek.
  13. ^ The Toxic Avenger [VHS] : Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Babtist, Cindy Manion, Robert Prichard, Gary Schneider, Pat Ryan, Mark Torgl, Dick Martinsen, Chris Liano, David Weiss, Dan Snow, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz, Gay Partington Terry, Joe Ritter, Lloyd Kaufman, Stuart Strutin: Movies & TV. ASIN 6303592570.
  14. ^ "The Toxic Avenger (1984) - Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman". Allmovie.com. Allmovie. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  15. ^ "The Toxic Avenger (1984) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Flixster. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  16. ^ "Critics Reviews for The Toxic Avenger - Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  17. ^ Jonathan Harchick (28 October 2013). Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide. Createspace Independent Pub. p. 1448. ISBN 978-1-4936-2083-8.
  18. ^ Holden, Stephen (4 April 1986). "FILM: 'TOXIC AVENGER' - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  19. ^ "The Toxic Avenger - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  20. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 6, 2010). "'The Toxic Avenger' Mops Up In Redo Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010.
  21. ^ Lesnick, Silas (November 5, 2010). "Steve Pink to Reboot 'The Toxic Avenger'". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  22. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 14, 2016). "'Sausage Party' Co-Director Conrad Vernon to Helm 'Toxic Avenger' Remake". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  23. ^ Pearson, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Toxic Avenger Remake Still Developing as Legendary Scoops Up the Rights". SlashFilm. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  24. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 21, 2019). "Macon Blair to Direct and Write 'Toxic Avenger' Reboot for Legendary". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  25. ^ Kroll, Justin (30 November 2020). "Peter Dinklage To Star In Legendary's 'Toxic Avenger' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  26. ^ Kroll, Justin (14 April 2021). "'Toxic Avenger': Jacob Tremblay Joins Peter Dinklage In The Legendary Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  27. ^ Kroll, Justin (3 May 2021). "'Toxic Avenger': 'Zola' Star Taylour Paige Joins Peter Dinklage In The Legendary Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  28. ^ a b Kit, Borys (June 11, 2021). "Kevin Bacon Tapped for Villain Role in Legendary's 'Toxic Avenger' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
  29. ^ Kroll, Justin (June 16, 2021). "Julia Davis and Elijah Wood Join Peter Dinklage In Legendary's 'Toxic Avenger' Reboot". Deadline Hollywood.
  30. ^ "The Toxic Avenger". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  31. ^ Complex, Valerie (2023-08-15). "Fantastic Fest Sets 2023 Lineup; Legendary Pictures' 'The Toxic Avenger' To Open, Blumhouse Horror Comedy 'Totally Killer' Closes". Deadline Hollywood.
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