‘The Toxic Avenger’ (2025) Review: A Gory Funfest

It’s been forty years since Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz unleashed the most underrated superhero of all time on the big screen in The Toxic Avenger. While their red-soaked romp wasn’t for everyone due to the over-the-top violence, eye-popping special effects and a completely bonkers story that didn’t work on paper, it certainly all made sense for director Macon Blair (Blue Ruin, Green Room). He’s now introducing a whole new audience to the ultra-graphic story of Toxie in his latest feature. While The Toxic Avenger clearly has pacing issues and feels just a bit too long, the fans of the 1984 work will certainly savour every minute of this entertaining, sleek and explosive horror movie.

If you’ve seen the original film, this feature will feel extremely familiar. There might be bigger stars gracing the screen this time, but the work is still filled with goofy jokes, gaudy gore effects and some trashy (in this case, it’s a compliment) performances. This reboot of Toxie, the freakish but good-hearted superhero, will be as divisive as its predecessor. However, one thing is for sure, though: the forceful commitment of Peter Dinklage to lead this feature wonderfully and thrillingly. Whether it’s as the bullied janitor Winston Gooze, who, as a single parent, wants to do everything for his stepson Wade (Room and Wonder‘s Jacob Tremblay) or as the Hulk-like grotesque creature, Dinklage ensures that you’ll find someone and somewhat human emotions to connect with.

As the beating heart of this feature, the Game of Thrones and Dexter: Resurrection actor battles the extreme brutality with his own on-point humour. None of it feels too scripted or forced as Dinklage guarantees that his character becomes a well-rounded one with both the necessary strength and sentimentality. Even when movement artist and actor Luisa Guerreiro takes over physically when Toxie emerges, the toxic avenger keeps his crudeness, wittiness, determination and rage thanks to Dinklage.

Without that emotional connection, The Toxic Avenger would have just been a messy homage, and the dragging feeling would certainly have set in sooner. However, Blair has countered that by creating a story with which we can relate in some way or another. Before transforming into a powered-up green monster, Winston starts as a low-level warden at BTH, Bob Garbinger’s (Kevin Bacon) so-called health empire. While Winston clearly believes in his boss’ vision, he’ll soon find out that his loyalty means nothing when Bob declines financial help to cover Winston’s cancer treatment.

To make sure that his malpractices remain hidden and to silence Winston, the egocentric CEO orders his minions to throw his employee into the brightly coloured waste. However, as we know, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and Winston literally finds out firsthand after he reemerges from that green goo more powerful and more determined than ever to reveal Bob’s true nature.

The Toxic Avenger is certainly a revenge movie that explores themes such as family, sickness, and self-discovery (in the case of Wade). These topics are clearly the hooks for audience members who want something more than just great splatter gooiness for laughs. However, make no mistake, for the majority of the time, the actor-turned-director bombards the audience with vulgar humour, gross-out gags and visceral killings.

There certainly are some flashes of humanness and tenderness, but don’t expect this movie to find the right balance between drama and horror. The typical superhero story is merely a jumping-off point for the gore, absurdity, and bloody shenanigans that follow. Does every joke or scene land? No, certainly not! Blair tests your patience and love for energetic special effects and gallons of blood during the dragging scenes, even more so in the second act, when the story loses its strength a little bit.

Still, when the movie finds its right pacing, that’s when the A-list cast and the delightfully gruesome action scenes truly come to life. Despite the somewhat off-putting CGI, the practical effects and makeup elevate the story to a whole new level, just like the supporting cast enriches Dinklage’s lead performance even more. Whether it’s the sleazy Bacon (Digging to China, Tremors) delivering a scene-stealing performance or the almost unrecognisable Elijah Wood (The War, No Man of God) balancing out the goofiness and weirdness of his character with stellar and unexpectedly earnest acting, each gives a performance that’s confident, witty, and sharply comedic.

It might not be horror of the highest quality, as The Toxic Avenger feels more like a school project with a low budget or no budget whatsoever, but its own gleeful and exuberant tone and style turn this film into a gory funfest!

The Toxic Avenger will be released in cinemas on the 29th of August courtesy of Cineverse.