The Toxic Avenger (1985)

Man I haven't laughed so hard in a while> This movie was a good trip from the first time I saw it and it still is now. Especially the directors edition with all the added goodies. I really wanted to say that. WATCH THE DIRECTORS EDITION! it will reignite your love for MR. Avenger. :)

Well, this has got to be one of the strangest films I've ever seen in my whole life. Considering that I've probably seen THOUSANDS, that's really saying something. This movie is pretty basic, telling the story of a kid named Melvin who falls into toxic waste and becomes a creature with superpowers. The acting is among the weirdest I've ever seen. It seems like these actors are just pointing their eyes around. They seem to all be shaking all the time. The strangest bit might be where the Toxic Avenger constantly grunts, but then speaks intelligibly for a long time. We finally get to see the creature's face and how it moves.Did I find myself rooting for the Avenger in this? Yeah, I guess. I mean, he does come off as sympathetic. This is just a movie where everything is so ridiculously over the top and outrageous you can't help but at least be somewhat entertained by it. It did amuse me with how preposterous it was. It's better than something like "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes". Having done some research on Troma, I was interested in seeing a movie made by them. The effects are as goofy as you'd imagine. These characters are just dumb. This one criminal repeatedly attacks the avenger even though he had a shotgun. Nothing in this film made any sense, but it was certainly like a bizarre theme park ride seeing it. If you want to see something that defines "over the top", check this out! **1/2

The Toxic Avenger is a classic B movie about a nerdy mop boy who is turned into a meathead by way of nuclear waste. It sounds over the top, which is a fair assumption. The violence is gory, brutal, and at times, despite its sometimes cartoonish nature, unsettling. That being said, I can't help but call this a grindhouse film because of that. It's a wacky, unorthodox premise that is carried out in an equally wacky way.One particular scene that was great, albeit disturbing, was the infamous "head-crushing" scene, which was cut from the original release. Just the couple of minutes before the crush is enough to make you squirm (and some may notice the throwback to Death Race 2000, another fine B movie), but the actual crush is nothing short of brutal, even by today's standards.This outlandish film is a hidden gem, a true grindhouse classic. If you can stomach the violence, it's definitely worth seeing. It has great humor, decent acting, and some of the most memorable violent scenes in cinema.

Oh man, I freaking' LOVE this movie! When I fist saw it, the movie blew my freaking mind! This is the movie that made me obsess over Troma! So, anyways, let's get on with the review! Melvin Ferd III (played by Mark Torgl) is a socially awkward geeky mop boy who works at the Tromaville Health Club. He is a 90 LB. weakling who isn't liked by any of it's visitors, but there are a certain number of visitors that REALLY hate Melvin, they take it too far by making him dress up in a pink tutu in order to kiss Julie (who pretended to be in love with him), Melvin is tricked and is laughed at bye all of the health club visitors. He runs away, and they chase him, up until he falls out of a window and lands in a barrel of toxic waste, thus making him become... The Toxic Avenger! And so on, Toxie stomps out crime, corruption, and finds a blind girlfriend! The movie is great! Mark Torgl's acting as Melvin is great! I especially love the facial expression he makes when he walks in on Slug and Wanda making love, just priceless! The action scenes are REALLY great (if you dig gore, I know you'll love it!), and the way Toxie kills off the baddies are great! The one line I'll always remember is when Toxie is killing Slug and Bozo. Slug gets thrown out of the car and killed, thus leaving only Bozo, Toxie gets close up to Bozo and takes control of the wheel, Bozo demands the wheel and Toxie says: "You want the wheel?", rips out the wheel, and says "Here! Take the wheel!" Classic! It's great! I give the movie 7.7/10 stars!