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The Toxic Avenger shows that not only is the titular character the hero we need now…
…but as it goes into the problem of unwanted sewage being dumped in once-clean rivers, who’d have thought 40 years ago, that pop singer Feargal Sharkey would also be that hero, as he takes the water industry to task? A good heart like his is hard to find, and I’ve got news for you, since when it comes to companies like Ofwat, to their CEO, David Black, I say: “I bet you never listened to your father”.
Thanks to Mel Ferd’s (Shaun Dooley – Saltburn) investigative reporting, he’s been looking into BTH’s illegal dumping of toxic waste in the lakes and rivers, but is interrupted by the Killer Nutz, who are like Kneecap on acid. Instead of being disruptive, they act as hitmen on behalf of this film’s baddie, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon – The Bondsman).
Meanwhile, Winston (Peter Dinklage) is still trying to do his best for his son, Wade (Jacob Tremblay), following the death of their wife and mother, respectively. Unfortunately, he works for BTH where workplace injuries far outnumber those at Homer Simpson’s nuclear power plant. Oh, and his doctor has just given him 6-12 months to live, due to lesions in his brain.
He’s not the only one with problems, as shopkeeper Daisy (Annette Badland – Inside No.9) is being forced to capitulate to a nasty landlord and sell her property for peanuts.
Unfortunately, for Winston, things get even worse, since as you’ll discover, once we get into the second act, circumstances have led to him being thrown into toxic waste, and turning him into Toxie, the Toxic Avenger. But can he win over the public when he goes in to tackle an alt-right bunch of nutjobs taking over a burger joint, because it changed its name from Mr Meat to Miss Meat?
As this was a ‘Scream Unseen’, meaning no-one would know for sure in advance which film this was*, it led to an awful lot of walkouts, to the point where I nipped out to the toilet just before it started, and thought the film had been cancelled, as so many were coming out as I got back (the BBFC title card had only just been shown).
(*Odeon post 3 clues in the week leading up to the screening, but it can only be so many films, and in this case, it was listed as an 18-cert, which negated the two most obvious alternates as they are 15-cert films, and then Vue listed the running time on their equivalent as 102 minutes, whereas Odeon just list a placeholder “2 hours”.)
As for my thoughts on this film – first released in festivals in 2023, but only now just getting a general release – I absolutely loved it! It’s a near-perfect mix of gore and laughs – big and regular, plus some neat Troma references – it’s set in St. Roma’s Village, with the sign not quite clear, hence “T Roma Vill…e” stands out the most, and Killer Nutz appear at the St. Roma’s Festival, which reads “T Roma Fest”.
There’s also the spoofing of genres, such as when Toxie is essentially going on a JOURNEY to sort it all out. Peter Dinklage is on top form (same also for Dexter Resurrection, where there’s also an errant landlord situation), and Jacob Tremblay has come a long way since Room!
Oh, and I was the only one there for the post-credits scene! Missed it? Well, check out the video below.
Elijah Wood (The Monkey) – as Bob’s brother, Fritz, looks like he’s auditioning for Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I also saw 3 days before this, on its 50th Anniversary screening; there are locations given names such as Shithead Town and Depressing Outskirts, and a moment where a baddie is talking to a friend on the phone, “Blake was gutted! …no, not unhappy, he was disembowelled!”
But I won’t give away any more of the jokes, even though it’s safe to know that there are plenty more, and I’m going to have to see this again in order to catch them all!
NOTE: There is both a mid- and post-credits scene, as per the video below.
The Toxic Avenger is in cinemas from Friday August 29th, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 102 minutes
Release date: August 29th 2025
Studio: Signature Entertainment
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 9/10
Director: Macon Blair
Producers: Alex Garcia, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, Mary Parent
Screenplay: Macon Blair
Creators: Lloyd Kaufman, Joe Ritter
Music: Brooke Blair, Will Blair
Cast:
Winston / Toxie (The Hero): Peter Dinklage
Wade (The Kid): Jacob Tremblay
J.J. Doherty (The Wild Card): Taylour Paige
Bob Garbinger (The Villain): Kevin Bacon
Fritz Garbinger (His Creepy Brother): Elijah Wood
Kissy Sturnevan (His Associate): Julia Davis
Monster Garbinger (His Imperfect Self) / Him Under The Hood (Mysterious Guitar): Spencer Wilding
Toxie (The Bod): Luisa Guerreiro
Guthrie Stockins (The Wise Hobo): David Yow
Daisy (The Shopkeeper): Annette Badland
Dr. Walla (Who Means Well): Sunil Patel
Agent Sarah Weatherwax (aka Sneaky Cheetah): Margo Cargill
Mel Ferd (The Crusading Reporter): Shaun Dooley
Shelly (Dearly Missed): Rebecca O’Mara
Dennis (The Noisy Slob): Macon Blair
Lloyd (The Hospital Grump): Lloyd Kaufman
Kupp (A Science Geek): Kitodar Todorov
Sawser (Another Geek): Sophia Vassili
Wally (The Butler): Konstantin Ikonomov
Budd Berserk (Crazy/Dangerous): Julian Kostov
DJ Cool Cthulu (Tables & Black Magic): Needa Spasova
Nightmare Josh (Rhythm of Madness): Nencho Stefanov-Ninio
Venus Devalero (Sex Bass): Duke Nwamerue
Zodiac 3000 (Hype & Parkour): Mako-Dimitar Bozhilov
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.