The Toxic Avenger (1984)

Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when mop boy Melvin Junko falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.

Directors:

Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman

Writers:

Lloyd Kaufman (story), Joe Ritter (screenplay),

Stars:

Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Prichard

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andree Maranda	...	Sara
Mitch Cohen	...	The Toxic Avenger (as Mitchell Cohen)
Jennifer Prichard	...	Wanda (as Jennifer Babtist)
Cindy Manion	...	Julie
Robert Prichard	...	Slug
Gary Schneider	...	Bozo
Pat Ryan	...	Mayor Peter Belgoody (as Pat Ryan Jr.)
Mark Torgl	...	Melvin Junko
Dick Martinsen	...	Officer O'Clancy
Chris Liano	...	Walter Harris
Dan Snow	...	Cigar Face
Doug Isbecque	...	Knuckles
Charles Lee Jr.	...	Nipples
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Leroy (as Pat Kilpatrick)
Larry Sulton	...	Frank

Storyline

This is the story of Melvin, the Tromaville Health Club mop boy, who inadvertently and naively trusts the hedonistic, contemptuous and vain health club members, to the point of accidentally ending up in a vat of toxic waste. The devastating results then have a transmogrification effect, his alter ego is released, and the Toxic Avenger is born, to deadly and comical results. The local mop boy is now the local Superhero, the saviour of corruption, thuggish bullies and indifference. Troma classic with good make-up effects and stunts, a pleasant surprise indeed.

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Plot Keywords:

health club | boy | toxic waste | mayor | corruption | 

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Taglines:

"Melvin was a 90lb. weakling until nuclear waste transformed him into..." [The Toxic Avenger]

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Officially sanctioned Toxic Avenger fan site Troma

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 April 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Health Club

Filming Locations:

Boonton, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$475,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Troma Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min 82 min (unrated) 87 min 78 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mark Torgl caught fire from the police officer's flaming hands. You can see the fire drop on him during an overhead shot.

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Goofs

During the Mexican Place scene, Toxie throws away one of the mobs in the kitchen. When he lands, he's covered in tortilla chips. In the next shot, he's covered in taco shells.

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Quotes

Cigar Face: I owe you for the other night monster faggot. So now we're going to give you six new assholes. Compliments of me Cigar Face.

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Goodbye, My Friend (2009)

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Soundtracks

"IS THIS LOVE"
Performed by Mark Hoffman and Race
Written by Mark Hoffman and Dean Simmons
Produced by Tony Camillo for Marc Katz and Royal K Productions

User Reviews

a tinge of Ed Wood

My 10/10 rating assumes that you like this movie before you've seen it. "The Toxic Avenger" is the ultimate movie for anyone into 1980s schlock. No doubt it was intended mainly for teenage boys (I lost track of how many naked women there were here). But overall, it's great to see a movie never self-conscious or anything like that (I mean, come on, look at that ridiculous outfit that the title character wears); the movie's really gross and proud of it. Troma must still be proud of this flick.

Oh, and of course Marisa Tomei has a small appearance in the movie. Who ever would have guessed that one of the people starring in this would later win an Oscar?