"I don't think I was supposed to feel emotional during The Toxic Avenger, a movie in which the title character pulls someone's intestines out through their asshole. But the truth is that I genuinely did get a little teary the first time Toxie triumphantly enters the scene of a hostage situation wielding his radioactive mop and preparing to dole out justice in generous gouts of red-dyed Karo syrup and fake viscera."
"The 1984 Toxic Avenger, the brainchild of famed schlock slinger Lloyd Kaufman and the start of the flagship franchise for his indie studio, Troma Entertainment, was a revenge-of-the-nerds fantasy. Its scrawny protagonist, Melvin, may have been turned into a hideous mutant after an encounter with a drum of chemical waste, but the incredible strength he gained allows him not only to become the town protector but to wreak havoc on the bullies who made his life hell."
The Toxic Avenger reboot reimagines a grotesque cult classic as a more emotionally grounded revenge fantasy. The original 1984 film featured Melvin, a scrawny man transformed into a monstrous protector after falling into chemical waste, who used brute strength to punish his tormentors. The new film centers on Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), a struggling janitor raising his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay) while facing poverty and a fatal brain ailment that requires prohibitively expensive medication. Corporate malfeasance by BTH, led by Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), has polluted the environment and exploited people, and whistleblower J.J. (Taylour Paige) connects Winston to broader corruption. Dinklage's restrained performance provides dignity amid the film's silliness and prosthetics.
Read at Vulture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]