The Toxic Avenger (1984)

If you're a movie fan looking to broaden your horizons and sample some B-grade schlock, you'll find none greater than the movies produced and distributed by Troma Entertainment. Founded in 1974 by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman, Troma got its start distributing raunchy sex comedies before making a transition to cheesy monster movies and horror flicks. I was introduced to them primarily through USA Up All Night, which would run practically any low-budget horror and sexploitation movies they could get their hands on.

Troma made a name for itself by creating its own niche market, specializing in cheaply-made movies loaded with violence, sex, bad acting, and an endearing feeling of tongue-in-cheek campiness. And of their rather extensive catalog of productions, perhaps their most famous is The Toxic Avenger. The tale of a 98-pound weakling who transforms a superhero through a series of misfortunes was Troma's first huge hit, the title character even eventually becoming Troma's official mascot. There are four movies in the Toxic Avenger saga, but the others will have to wait, as I'm here to review the first one right now.

Meet Melvin Ferd (Mark Torgl), a scrawny loser from Tromaville, New Jersey. Employed as a janitor at the Tromaville Health Spa, poor Melvin is constantly being bullied and tormented by the spa's customers. After a particularly cruel prank that ends with Melvin wearing a tutu and kissing a sheep, Melvin falls out of a second-story window into a misplaced barrel of toxic waste.

The toxic waste leaves Melvin horribly disfigured, mutating him into a superhuman monster (Mitch Cohen, with the voice of Kenneth Kessler) compelled to hunt down and destroy evil wherever it may be. Though his vigilante activities usually end up with somebody dead, Tromaville's citizens proudly support their monstrous hero. That doesn't sit too well with Tromaville's corrupt mayor (Pat Ryan, Jr.), who views the Toxic Avenger as a threat to the local organized crime rings he sits atop. So of course, things will come to a head in the typically over-the-top Troma fashion.

Where does one even begin when critiquing a movie like The Toxic Avenger? I mean, it's one of those movies that's practically critic-proof, simply because Troma's movies are more about the experience than the actual quality. None of their movies are all that good, but as long as you had fun watching them, they got the job done. And speaking personally, I had a lot of fun watching The Toxic Avenger.

Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman (credited as "Samuel Weil") and Michael Herz are at the helm of this little adventure, and considering what they had to work with and what they were aiming for, I can't say I thought they did all that bad. I mean, there's only so much you can do with not a lot of money, right? So yeah, the movie may be cheaply made and a bit on the sleazy side, but Kaufman and Herz keep the movie lively and entertaining. It's shot and edited remarkably well, even in spite of the other shortcomings it may have.

The screenplay is credited to Kaufman and Joe Ritter, and like all Troma movies, you're a fool if you go in expecting Hemmingway. And really, the script is secondary. Everything is just a backdrop for nudity and violence. And maybe some corny jokes, if there's time. In all honesty, the script is fairly light, with cheesy characters and dialogue, and a plot so thin that it's practically transparent. But like I said, that doesn't really matter.

Last on my list is the cast. If you've seen any Troma movie in the past, you know exactly what to expect from the cast of The Toxic Avenger. They're not very good at all, but everyone is so committed to what they're doing that I can't bring myself to dislike them. But oddly enough, as goofy as the acting is, everyone did everything I'd have expected from them. Take, for example, Mark Torgl, who plays the scrawny little dweeb who becomes the Toxic Avenger. The character is an annoying pain in the neck that still remains somewhat endearing, and Torgl does it perfectly. It's always a little odd when that happens, but I'm not going to complain.

There's no right or wrong way to enter The Toxic Avenger, or any Troma movie for that matter, when you see it for the first time. The best you can do is prepare to see something wacky and something weird. It's been roughly fifteen years (give or take a few) since I first saw The Toxic Avenger, and even I haven't fully comprehended its insanity yet. Is it a great film? No. Is it good? By most standards, no. But is it awesome? You bet your ass it is. And because of that, I'll gladly give The Toxic Avenger four stars and a seal of approval. Go check it out if you haven't seen it, because it's one heck of a silly ride.

Final Rating: ****