Tired of the endless stream of Marvel and DC superhero flicks? Then The Toxic Avenger might be the fresh jolt you need. This outrageous superhero comedy, directed by Macon Blair, is a remake of the 1984 cult classic of the same name. Starring Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon, the film brings a wild, tongue-in-cheek spin to a genre that’s been running on fumes lately.
J.J. (Paige) works as a whistleblower for a corrupt pharmaceutical company that’s been dumping toxic waste. When her bosses, led by the ruthless Bob Garbinger (Bacon), send hired goons to silence her, things take a violent turn. Meanwhile, Winston (Dinklage), a janitor at the same company, struggles with a terminal illness and mounting financial pressure that drives him to steal company funds. In a chaotic twist of fate, Winston crosses paths with the goons and is dumped into a vat of toxic waste. Instead of dying, he’s transformed into a deformed yet super-powered antihero — The Toxic Avenger.
Unlike the ultra-low-budget 1984 original, Blair’s remake embraces a deliberate B-movie aesthetic — trashy, over-the-top, and gloriously self-aware. The screenplay leans fully into absurdity, offering a blend of unhinged action, cartoonish gore, and laugh-out-loud moments that turn stupidity into an art form. It’s a satire of the modern superhero template — mocking its self-seriousness with gleeful abandon. The cast, clearly in on the joke, throw themselves into the chaos with infectious enthusiasm.
With its blend of grotesque humor, absurd violence, and sincere affection for grindhouse cinema, The Toxic Avenger is both a loving homage and a wicked parody of the superhero myth. It’s the kind of film made for true cinephiles who appreciate the anarchic spirit of B-movies, rather than audiences expecting glossy CGI spectacle. Much like Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse double feature (Death Proof and Planet Terror, 2007), this one feels like a tribute to an era of gleefully unrefined filmmaking — and it might meet the same commercial fate. Still, for those who crave something weird, wild, and unapologetically offbeat, The Toxic Avenger is not to be missed.
