The Toxic Avenger Unrated (2025)
Directed by: Macon Blair
Premise: A remake of the 1984 film. An encounter with toxic waste turns a janitor (Peter Dinklage) into a superhero. He battles a corrupt CEO (Kevin Bacon) and attempts to rescue his son (Jacob Tremblay).
What Works: The Toxic Avenger was the signature character of Troma Entertainment, an independent film company whose heyday was in the 1980s and 90s with films such as Class of Nuke ’Em High, Cannibal: The Musical, and Surf Nazis Must Die. The new Toxic Avenger film was produced by Troma working with Legendary Pictures, a company known for mainstream hits including The Dark Knight and Godzilla vs. Kong. Nevertheless, 2025’s The Toxic Avenger retains the wild and organic style associated with Troma. It’s a slightly more polished version, made with contemporary filmmaking tools, but the independent and subversive Torma spirit remains. The initial series of Toxic Avenger films became so popular in part because of their outrageousness but also because of their humor and good heartedness. Those qualities carry over to the new version. The filmmakers create a comic-book-like setting for their superhero that is gritty but stylized. But this movie also has heart. Winston, as the hero is known prior to his transformation, is a single father struggling to raise his son and the filmmakers play this part of the movie relatively straight. This creates a relatable human center that the cartoonish material is built around. In human form, Winston is played by Peter Dinklage but as the Toxic Avenger the character is played by Luisa Guerreiro under heavy prosthetics. Dinklage voices the character in both guises and the merging of the two actors is flawless. The film also includes colorful supporting characters, namely Elijah Wood as the villain Fritz Garbinger.
What Doesn’t: The Toxic Avenger is not for everyone. This film is made for a niche audience who love the cartoonish violence that so often characterized Troma productions. The picture succeeds at what it is trying to be but that success also inherently limits its appeal. Much has been made of the unrated release of this film. The word “unrated” even appears in the movie next to the title card. As such, viewers might expect some extreme violence that goes beyond what we’d typically see in an R-rated movie. There are certainly some extremely gory images throughout the picture and it is obvious that a few additional shots were inserted—a few of them stick out—but there’s nothing here that is beyond what we’ve seen in other gory horror pictures.
Bottom Line: The creators of 2025’s The Toxic Avenger know exactly what they are making and who they are making it for. General audiences may find their reactions vary but the intended viewers ought to love it.
Episode: #1063 (September 7, 2025)