Review of The Toxic Avenger (1984) by Marshallonfilm_ — 09 Apr 2020
“And you can tell all your scum friends that things are gonna change in this town. I'm not just another pretty face.” ☣️.
A tour de farce for the longest running independent movie studio of all time, Troma’s triumph of trash is unapologetically cruddy, putrid and vulgar, particularly in its aggressive first act, but miraculously mutates into a veracious tongue-in-cheek superhero spoof thanks to a toxic vat of camp and fun. Striking big on a shoestring budget, directing duo Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman turn up the violence and gore to an extreme eleven with cheap special effects work that sometimes sickens, yet never detracts from the film’s goofy and warped charm. A few sleazy standouts include Mitch Cohen as the titular monster, the sadistic fan favourite Gary Schneider and Sandy Farina’s cheesy theme, “Body Talk”. 1984 saw this splatter comedy romp released to almost no reaction, yet today Tromaville’s flagship crime fighter has destroyed evil in three subsequent sequels, an animated kids’ tv series, a video game and even his own successful musical. Not just another pretty face after all.
8/10 mops to the face.
This review of The Toxic Avenger (1984) was written by Marshallonfilm_ on 09 Apr 2020.
The Toxic Avenger has generally received mixed reviews.
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