Review of The Toxic Avenger (1984) by Steff A — 04 May 2013

Here comes the King of Sleaze and Trash! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lloyd Kaufman! "The Toxic Avenger"... What can be said about "The Toxic Avenger"? This is one of the most bad-mouthed pictures in film history.

I 've heard people talking about bad acting,boobies(I lost track how many of them) bad production values, cheesy lines, extreme unnecessary violence and so on. I always say to them: "Grow-down a little!" This is everything you wanted to see as a kid but couldn't! We should thank uncle Lloydy for kickstarting his revolutionary film company with such an amazing movie!"The Toxic Avenger" is indeed one of the greatest B-movies ever.

In that value it is a masterpiece. Through this film you can see, you can sense the sheer enthusiasm that Lloyd Kaufman has for his movies. It's a product made with love and the spunk that a young filmmaker has.

You can just tell by the way this is transmitted to the actors and the whole crew. You can see it in the beautiful home-made effects and make-up. Some of them are convincing, some of them are not but there is no doubt that the people responsible for these things were qutie inventive and passionate.

You 'll understand what I'm saying when you 'll see a crushed head in the movie.But "The Toxic Avenger" goes beyond all this. This movie wants to provoke, to spoof and disqust. It succeeds on many levels.

This movie, as far the story and style goes, embodies all the rotten chliches of the 80's. It chews them up then spits them in our faces. It ends up being the most over the top of them all and the goal is achieved.

Everyone that sees these movies and doesn't think about how ridiculous 80's comedies were has not seen an 80's comedy.Also it is a great addition to the horror genre of the time. The way that the over the top violence is mixed with the goodball cheesy comedy has spawned a greater legacy that one may think.

I believe many of us have seen a little movie called "Braindead" haven't we? Watch this one and other Troma films too and see for yourself the seed of Lloyd Kaufman.Last but not least we must consider the circumstances under which the film was made.

It was a new company, unknown, with a ridiculous movie. But they stood by their stuff and today I believe that nobody can take more pride in calling himself an independent american filmmaker than Lloyd Kaufman.

Films that are not controled by corporate heads is a big thing today and those guerrillas that stand their ground should be recognised and praised for that. That is the significance of the Toxic Avenger.