The Toxic Avenger (1984)

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

Directors:

Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman (as Samuel Weil)

Writers:

Lloyd Kaufman (story), Joe Ritter (screenplay)

Stars:

Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Babtist

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andree Maranda	...	Sara
Mitch Cohen	...	The Toxic Avenger (as Mitchell Cohen)
Jennifer Babtist	...	Wanda (as Jennifer Baptist)
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
David Weiss	...	Chief of Police
Dan Snow	...	Cigar Face
Doug Isbecque	...	Knuckles
Charles Lee Jr.	...	Nipples
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Leroy (as Pat Kilpatrick)

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:

absurd violence | absurdism | troma | superhero | pollution | 

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Taglines:

Not all monsters are scary to people. Not if it's one fighting crime in the Garden State.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

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. In addition, the special effects makeup, which took six hours to apply, became stuck to Torgl's skin. He ultimately had to be taken to the local YMCA and soak under the showers there, until the material peeled off.

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Goofs

Before the Mayor gets killed at the end, his car window is rolled down. By the next shot, it's rolled up.

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Quotes

Cop: [Police chasing the monster] Its my first day in the force and I am chasing monsters.

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Alternate Versions

The Norwegian DVD titled Unrated Director's Cut runs 91 minutes. It includes the smashing of the head of the biker boy, and also includes the scene where the female leads are shown as survivors at the police station. This version also has some strange montages with résumés from earlier in the movie with the soundtrack looping.

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Connections

Featured in Adjust Your Tracking (2013)

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Soundtracks

Body Talk
Performed by Sandy Farina
Written by Bob Feldman and Cosmo Wilder
Produced by Bob Feldman for Marc Katz and Royal K Productions

User Reviews

The beginning of a new era...

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!

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:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$475,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Troma Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 78 min (R-rated) 91 min (Japanese cut) 75 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1