A bit of backstory with my Troma knowledge going into the bloodbath that is The Toxic Avenger (2025). I didn’t grow up on Troma, in fact the only run-in I had with the brand was Cannibal! The Musical and that was solely for the involvement of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Neither did I get introduced to Toxie or his accompaniment of films since last year when the 4K set was released and I had the opportunity to watch the first film for the first time. The Toxic Avenger is a wild experience and the same can be said about the newest iteration, but unlike the one from 1984, I could fully commit to this one’s insanity. 

 

Macon Blair had to watch his film be put on the backburner for years after its initial premiere at Fantastic Fest 2023 because distributors didn’t feel comfortable it had an audience. Terrifier 3 changed that trajectory and now we have Toxie incoming in all his biohazardious glory. 

 

Unlike the original film (as far as I can remember) there’s much more emotional depth and backstory given to Winston (AKA Toxie) in this portrayal of the character. Peter Dinklage (Dexter: Resurrection) is terrific as a soft spoken, earnest man that is just living trying to make the best of the current situation - that is until he finds out he’s terminally ill. Realizing that his insurance doesn’t cover the bill, he sneaks into an exclusive gala to ask his boss for help as a last ditch effort. Things from there don’t quite go the way Winston might have imagined. 

 

Kevin Bacon (Tremors) functions incredibly well as a villain these days and in Toxic Avenger as a spoiled billionaire it’s no different. Bacon’s Bob is looking for that next hit of inspiration and when Toxie miraculously comes into the picture - Bob will stop at nothing to capture and replicate the genes inside. At Bob’s literal side at every foreseeable moment is his associate, Kissy played by Julia Davis (Fighting with My Family). Kissy is obsessed with everything Bob and is clearly in love with him, blind to his evil BTH ways in the name of attraction. Elijah Wood (Wilfred) plays Fritz, Bob’s creepy brother who is in charge of the goons that do all of Bob’s dirty work around town - including violent murders. The film is very anti-corporation, especially the ones in charge of said corporations that illegally take advantage of their consumers. Taylour Paige (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F) plays J.J. Doherty, a covert investigator with one sole mission - take down BTH. She is a plot device to wind up getting Winston in the position to be killed and transformed into the creature we know best. 

 

Jacob Tremblay (Room) plays Wade, AKA “The Kid” and as a whole, Tremblay is fine as a reluctant stepson, still unsure if it’s the time to embrace his stepfather (Winston) after his mother’s death. Blair attempts to give Wade a bigger backstory than expected with a talent show that is suddenly halted due to state fright, this issue is never built upon so when this receives a resolution near the close of the film — it felt unnecessary. This is one of the film’s biggest issues - its attempt and failure to capture emotional depth between characters. While the objective of fighting back and retrieving your kidnapped son is a rational thing to do in any circumstance, there’s just this lack of care between the two. Winston is terminally ill and needs the insurance to survive and that’s a valid reason to fight back (and a topical one at that), throwing in a kidnapping tips the scales into an emotionally manipulative way that doesn’t land triumphantly. The inclusion of characters like Paige and Wade are ultimately just a way to stretch the runtime, which is one of the biggest issues the film has… it’s too long.  

 

As an outsider looking at the original 1984 runtime of 82 minutes compared to the new runtime of 102 minutes, you might not think that extra twenty minutes could really hinder the experience. It unfortunately does, while the film is a bloody absurd blast with several phenomenal murder sequences between Toxie and his victims, the film outstays its welcome. Nonetheless the excessive murder spree is hilariously dark, for the true gore heads out there, there’s just an unfortunate amount of digital blood and guts. I implore that if you haven’t seen any trailers going into this - you remain against it as a mass majority of the coolest explosive kills are spoiled within the advertisements. 

 

Toxie looks incredible once he becomes his true form, his makeup is truly terrific in every regard with only a minor complaint here and there with sudden changes to his appearance. For those unaware Dinklage confirmed in an interview that he is not in the makeup and costume and he is only supplying the voiceover, Luisa Guerreiro is the person within the performance and her execution of Dinklage’s lines is truly remarkable and convincing above all else. While I have some gripes with the run, the CGI elements and some of the repetitive nature of the chaos that ensues, the performance of Guerreiro and the voice of Dinklage is what holds everything together in one gloriously cheesy B-movie. 

 

His villainous rivals and popular heavy metal band The Killer Nutz are hired goons set out to murder and dispose of Toxie and anyone against BTH are really terrifically over the top. They remind me of the Schwarzenegger The Running Man and the assortment of wild characters that tried to kill Ben Richards. The band's animosity towards literally anything and everyone is well… toxic.  

 

Go in with the proper expectation, fans of the original should still have a lot to love here as the film doesn’t hold back the carnage, but if you’re hanging around for the outdated humor - it’s not present here. Macon Blair has set out to make his own path for The Toxic Avenger and it’s a better film in every way over Lloyd Kaufman’s original, but in doing so removed some of the charm. It’s a gory good time that never lets up and once the toxins are in Winston, there’s no delay to his crimson path of revenge - don’t forget to stay after the credits for some helpful cooking tips from Toxie himself.