Bad Movie Month #26: The Toxic Avenger

This won't prepare you.

The Toxic Avenger (1984)

Directed by: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman
Produced by: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, Stuart Strutin
Written by: Lloyd Kaufman, Joe Ritter
Budget: $500,000

Starring: Mitch Cohen, Mark Torgl, Andree Maranda, Pat Ryan, Jr.

In Tromaville, New Jersey (the pollution capital of the world), Melvin Ferd (Torgl) is a tiny little nerd regularly harassed by the thugs who visit the gym where he works. When exposure to toxic waste turns Melvin into a superhuman freak, he uses his abilities to get revenge.

The Toxic Avenger was Troma Entertainment's first big hit after originally producing sex comedies and exploitation films during the 70s. When Lloyd Kaufman had the idea to film a horror movie, this was the result. Watching a Troma movie is an experience; there's something strangely surreal about each production, and The Toxic Avenger is no exception.

This is one of those movies that opens with a "sexy gym" montage, so that should give you a good clue about it already. Straight from the start we get the extremes of all the necessary 80's tropes: sexy gym, big hair, murderous bullies, thug in a headband, girl in a WHAM! shirt, sexploitation scene, and a clear shot of a skull getting crushed under a car tire.

The Good
Though there's not much real "horror" to the movie, the transformation scene where Melvin's skin bubbles and breaks as his hair falls out is actually pretty unnerving. It all looks practical and impresses even compared to today's effects.

And that goes for the gore, too. When someone gets a finger put through their eye or a bloody jaw, it looks good, if a little over the top. There are several moments where people have their skulls cracked, broken, or crushed, and each one looks pretty convincing.

The fight choreography, when there is any, is actually not bad. It's goofy, sure, but you can at least tell what's happening throughout. The stunts are also fairly well done, far better than I would have expected.

The Bad
The worst part about this movie is that there's so little you can really criticize when the entire thing is 100% intentional. Calling the acting bad is redundant, because no one bothered to be anything but camp. To say the writing is bad is to describe every Troma picture's script. It leaves little to say except that you shouldn't bother watching if you aren't prepared for one of the (intentionally) worst movies you'll ever see.

The Rest
Dividing the good and the bad in this one was really difficult, because Troma is in a league of its own. It's definitely the strangest superhero movie I've seen, and not in a bad way.

Gee, there's talk of a remake. Not interested. There are already a lot of sequels, and I think that's plenty of Toxic Avenger for now.

Should You Watch It?
Yes, but I think this is probably something to prepare for, instead of having it sprung on you.