Did You Know?
The violent-looking crushing of a child's head in the movie was accomplished by injecting a melon with corn syrup and red food dye. A wig was placed on the melon and it was fitted onto a dummy. Though cheap, the effect is highly unsettling.
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The scene where the seeing eye dog gets shot received the most complaints by Troma up to that time.
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Patrick Kilpatrick who played Leroy (the face-painted criminal at the Mexican restaurant) quit the film after having to point a shotgun at a baby.
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The fast food robber who has his arm ripped off actually only had one arm. In the scene one can see that his right arm is a prosthetic, as he never moves or uses this arm until Toxie rips it off.
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There was no driver in the car we sent off the cliff, so I'm not sure who wrote this or why. We rigged the car to drive straight, gas pedal to the floor. ====> incorrect: The rollbar installed in the car that is wrecked off of a cliff malfunctioned, almost killing the stunt driver.
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The crew reportedly ate the large sandwich that Pat Ryan lay on top of for his role as The Mayor.
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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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While shooting in Shinbone Alley, a homeless man stole a prop gun from one of the trailers and threatened the crew.
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Although Andree Maranda was dating one of the film's main producers, she won her part through an audition.
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It took four hours to get Mitch Cohen into the Toxic Avenger costume. While wearing it, he could only eat through a straw.
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The head-crushing scene was based on a time when Lloyd Kaufman was backing a car out of his garage and accidentally hit his younger sister. Nobody was harmed, but the memory haunted him for years.
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The seeing eye dog that was shot had been trained to glide across the floor on command and its "guts" were spaghetti covered in gray paint.
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The sheep that Mark Torgl had to kiss was infested with lice, but he did not find that out until after the scene was shot.
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A deleted scene, which is available on the DVD, shows Toxie throwing a Peanut Butter and Drano sandwich, smacking the face of Sara's next door neighbor. Playing Sara's next door neighbor is Mitch Cohen without his Toxic Avenger make-up.
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The monster Melvin turns into was never actually referred to as the Toxic Avenger by any actor in the film besides the narrator. They did not have a name for the character as the film was being made. This is proved further by the kids in the film wearing t-shirts that say "I love the monster hero".
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After going behind the scenes on Rocky, Lloyd Kaufman decided to make a movie in a health club with his friend Michael Herz. After reading a magazine article with the headline "Horror Film Is Dead", Troma decided to change it into a horror movie. The film's working title was "Health Club", and lobby cards bearing this title can be viewed on Troma's website.
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The scene where a toxic waste drenched Melvin soaks in his bathtub was largely directed by Mark Torgl himself. The water in the tub was ice cold, and attempts were made to warm it up. Ultimately, Torgl chose to bear the discomfort and get the shot finished.
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