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126 reviews in total

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26 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
The posterchild for the 'so bad it's good' film brigade..., 1 July 1999

Author: Adec

Lacklustre direction by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, a goofy script (by Joe Ritter), truly poor FX and even worse acting all add up to, for some strange, abstract reason, a stupidly enjoyable film experience.

Maybe it's the camp sounding music, the over the top (and in some cases *way* over the top) 'acting', or perhaps it's just the fact that it's so unashamedly weird and downright cheesy that makes it such fun to watch, who knows? Whatever the reason this definitely isn't a film to spend long hours contemplating such things, instead just sit back and enjoy the crazy show.

Performance wise, as already mentioned, none of the actors give even remotely decent performances, with the exception of Andree Miranda who's actually pretty good in her role as Toxie's blind girlfriend. All of the other actors are so far over the top (or indeed just so downright terrible) that by films end they too have somehow managed to take on their own distinctly cheesy charm and add greatly to the whole 'so bad it's good' motif.

As I may have mentioned once or twice before 'The Toxic Avenger' is cheesier than a block of cheese factories, and as such it takes a special type of person to enjoy 'this type of thing', however for those with their tongue planted firmly in cheek, and for lovers of schlock cinema and 50's z-grade monster movies this is a must see. For most everyone else though it's probably best avoided and will most likely induce headaches and annoyance rather than belly laughs and amusement. Which of the above descriptions best suits you I'll leave you to decide for yourself.

7/10

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22 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Revolting, disgusting, stupid- I loved it!, 3 May 2000
Author: zmaturin from Pleasant Valley

As a child I loved to stay up late and watch "USA Up All Night" (with Gilbert Gottfried or Rhonda Shear, I wasn't picky). This allowed me to sample pretty much every major Troma movie, and I discovered the meaning of the phrase "guilty pleasure". As I got older I stayed away from Troma, as their movies radiated the kind of feeling you get from wearing a shoddy Halloween mask too long and getting nauseous inhaling the cheap rubber fumes. But after sampling the delightful "Tromeo & Juliet" I decided to return to my roots and check out the directors edition of the classic "Toxic Avenger".

While I was right in remembering the films as the guiltiest of pleasure, the cheap charm of the film was undeniable, and there was a ton of gore in the movie that I never saw on T.V. Arms are severed, guts are ripped out, seeing-eye dogs are shot, and children's heads are crushed- and it all looks pretty good! Some of the acting will make you wince, some of the jokes are atrocious (there are mother-in-law jokes), and some scenes go on too long (the idiotic out-of-control-car sequence) or too short (Toxie taking his revenge on his tormenters is strangely gore-free, which is explained in the director's commentary), but I can't bad-mouth a movie that has it's hero stuff a little old lady in a washing machine. If you're a gore fan with a high thresh hold for bad taste, then give the Toxic Avenger another shot- I did, and I'm a better person for it. I think.

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22 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
Undeniably fun, 30 March 2003

Author: mattymatt4ever from Jersey City, NJ

You always have to take Troma films with a grain of salt, and that's exactly what I did. I enjoyed this film quite a bit. Though it's a typical B-movie, the premise is creative and I actually felt sympathy for the character of Melvin before his mutation. I know what it's like to be the underdog, so I was able to somewhat relate to him. So while some may have laughed at his quirky antics, I was too busy feeling sympathy for pool little Melvin.

The film is filled with quirky, low-brow humor, which often works. I just felt that the premise wore thin after a while, and that's when the film seemed to simply go through the motions.

Despite that, I had a good time and can understand why this is the film that put Troma on the map. So if you're in the mood for a funny, low-budget, low-brow horror-comedy, then please check out "The Toxic Avenger."

My score: 6 (out of 10)

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21 out of 27 people found the following review useful:
The beginning of a new era..., 3 November 2003

Author: Miyagis_Sweaty_wifebeater (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

The Toxic Avenger (1985) was the flagship of Troma's movie line during the early to mid 80's. This film was responsible for keeping the company a float during this time period and it also marked a turning point in the company's history. For years, Lloyd Kaufman and company were making cheesy sex comedies. With the birth of the Toxic Avenger, they started to expand their horizons, focusing on low budget horror/comedy trashy spoofs films. Instant cult classics were being produced by Team Troma. The Toxic Avenger is a Charles Atlas tale gone a wry. A weak nerd is transformed into a superhero of "superhuman size and strength." Melvin Junko is his name. Melvin was a mop boy for a local health spa. One day when a mean prank turned into a horrible accident, he was exposed to an open drum of toxic waste. That unfortunate mishap transforms and mutates Melvin into an avenger, a TOXIC AVENGER. Troma becomes a worldwide phenomenon and the Toxic Avenger becomes one of the most famous cult films of all time. A must for all campy cult film fans!!

Highly recommended!

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
The "Citizen Kane," uh, Citizen Toxie of b-pictures..., 11 April 2006

Author: dee.reid from United States

For those that don't know, there are intentionally "bad" movies, and then there are intentionally bad movies; "The Toxic Avenger" is the latter. Troma Entertainment is the undisputed king of bad b-pictures, but the 1985 cult hit "The Toxic Avenger" ranks as their finest effort. Essentially a take on superhero movies and sci-fi pictures, "The Toxic Avenger" is Troma's "Citizen Kane."

With co-directors Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman at the helm, respective veep and president of Troma Entertainment, "The Toxic Avenger" begins with a humiliating prank gone horribly wrong. Melvin, the resident 90-pound geek and janitor of the Tromaville health club, is fooled into thinking a blonde bimbo wants him. But instead the prank, which involves a stuffed goat and pink tutu (don't ask), goes wrong and ends with Melvin diving out a second-story window and landing in a vat of misplaced toxic waste.

What emerges from the bubbly green goop is Tromaville, New Jersey's hideously deformed, bloodthirsty vigilante mutant monstrosity who sets out on a vendetta against all forms of evil in his hometown, particularly against the jocks (who are too sick to be believable) who made him what he is. Meanwhile, Toxie eventually finds romance with a blind woman who is unaware her boyfriend is responsible for the recent wave of gruesome vigilante killings (in essence, they're the perfect couple).

A sick and depraved sense of humor is flaunted throughout this low-budget film project, which is in itself (to the politically-correct), an inspired, mean-spirited, overtly racist, funny, and completely, utterly insane cult flick that also reveals a slight penchant for animal cruelty.

The acting is atrocious, the gore is plentiful and the low budget shines, but there's no question I loved this flick. Like any horror film, it's rightfully found its place in this film lover's heart.

Vote for Citizen Toxie in 2006!

10/10

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
the epitome, 24 June 2001

Author: rutt13-1 (rutt13@yahoo.com) from IN, USA

Troma's best to this day, I still believe. Actually, I haven't seen the vast majority of their movies, but this has got to be the one on top. I love this! Deservedly the companies' most widely recognized film, it can't be ignored for it's willingness to go ahead and do whatever the hell it wants! The acting is completely ridiculous, but when was the last time you had so much fun watching??? The effects are pretty good, nice and gooey in all the right parts....If you've got a special place in your heart for satire, or just like bad, goofy movies, this is the one to see. All the pieces fall into just the right places.

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9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
one of the goofiest, funniest, stupidest, goriest and politically incorrect cult classics ever made., 19 January 2000

Author: cygnus x-1 from roanoke, va

first off, if you love B-movies like i do, you've probably seen this classic cheese-fest numerous times.

But for the uninitiated, what better film to introduce yourself to the wild wonderful and cheesy world of Troma films (and B-movies in general) than The Toxic Avenger.

this film has it all:over the top graphic violence and gore including head crushings, dismemberments, eye-gougings, animal cruelty; offensive portrayals of blind people and the elderly, some truly inventive murders and acting that is all over the map.

what sets this film apart is that a lot of the humor is actually intentional (though the movie does have it's fair share of deliberately unintentional humor.)

the version to see is the unrated-director's-cut that is only available through Troma Team Video. it has all the gore that had to be cut out to earn an R-rating in the U.S. (some versions in other countries were even more severely cut!)

a genuine cult classic and B-movie-making at it's most inspired.

rating:9.5 (on a B-movie scale)

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Troma's masterpiece!, 9 December 2007

Author: John Lindsey from Albuquerque New Mexico

In the town of Tromaville New Jersey, janitor nerd Melvin Fern (Mark Torgel) has been picked on and bullied by the jocks at the Tromaville gym until a prank goes horribly wrong when he falls into a barrel of toxic chemicals. The material somehow transforms him into a muscular and powerful mutant creature called "The Toxic Avenger" (Mitchell Cohen) and has a powerful instinct to kill only evil people and save Innocent people. He soon becomes the town's monster hero and falls in love with a lovely blind woman named Sarah (Andree Maranda) but the local crooks especially the wicked Mayor Belgoody (Pat Ryan Jr.) who all wants him dead.

A brilliantly hilarious, entertaining and gory as hell horror comedy that became Troma's landmark film and made the studio the popular cult independent studio that it is today. Yes the acting is laughable and the film gets a little cheesy, but this is pure escapism at it's best! The film was originally given an "X" rating for it's extreme violence and gore such numerous head crushing and brutality. But the movie went on to become one of the greatest cult movies of all time, this is definitely a movie for those with a strong stomach and warped sense of humor.

A must see!

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
a tinge of Ed Wood, 5 August 2006

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

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?

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5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Kick Ass Troma film!, 8 September 2007

Author: BunninDatPiff420 from Canada(Montreal, Quebec)

Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore,Sexuality,Nudity and Language.

The Toxic Avenger is one of those "so bad its good" Troma made films.This is the only Troma film I have seen fully though I saw a bit of Class Of Nukem High.I saw this a while back on the channel Drive In Classics.The Toxic Avenger is a great movie.Yes it is cheaply made but it has a great mix of gore and comedy.The movie is about a geek who one day falls into a batch of toxic waste.He then becomes this deformed "superhero".He basically then fights crime while befriending a blind girl.The Toxic Avenger spawned three sequels, none of which I have seen.The Toxic Avenger is a great movie and if you like those entertaining "so bad its good" films, then I recommend it.

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