The Toxic Avenger (1984)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Directors:

Michael Herz
Lloyd Kaufman

Writers:

Lloyd Kaufman (additional dialogue)
Lloyd Kaufman (story)

Release Date:

11 April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

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

Plot:

This is the story of Melvin, the Tromaville Health Club mop boy, who inadvertently and naively trusts the hedonistic...

Plot Keywords:

Health Club | Toxic Avenger | Superhero | Corruption | Toxic Waste

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Andree Maranda	...	Sara
Mitch Cohen	...	The Toxic Avenger (as Mitchell Cohen)
Jennifer Prichard	...	Wanda (as Jennifer Babtist)
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
Dan Snow	...	Cigar Face
Doug Isbecque	...	Knuckles
Charles Lee Jr.	...	Nipples
Xavier Barquet	...	Man Killed In Mexican Restaurant
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Leroy (as Pat Kilpatrick)

Also Known As:

Health Club (USA) (working title)
Health Club Hero (USA) (working title)
Health Club Horror (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min | Canada:78 min | USA:110 min (director's cut) | USA:82 min (unrated version) | Argentina:87 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 (director's cut) | Iceland:16 | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) (director's cut) | Singapore:(Banned) | Norway:15 (director's cut) | Italy:VM14 (VHS rating) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Finland:K-18 (director's cut) | France:-12 | Norway:18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Boonton, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Troma Entertainment

Trivia:

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.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the car goes off the cliff towards the end, you can see crew members watching and a red van with crew members in it.

Quotes:

The Toxic Avenger: You fat slob. Let's see if you've got any guts.
[Toxie then punches the mayor in the stomach and rips out his guts]
The Toxic Avenger: Officer O'Clancy, take care of this toxic waste.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tromeo and Juliet (1996)

Soundtrack:

IS THIS LOVE

a tinge of Ed Wood

My 10/10 rating assumes that you like this movie before you've seen it. "The Toxic Avenger" is the ultimate movie for anyone into 1980s schlock. No doubt it was intended mainly for teenage boys (I lost track of how many naked women there were here). But overall, it's great to see a movie never self-conscious or anything like that (I mean, come on, look at that ridiculous outfit that the title character wears); the movie's really gross and proud of it. Troma must still be proud of this flick.

Oh, and of course Marisa Tomei has a small appearance in the movie. Who ever would have guessed that one of the people starring in this would later win an Oscar?