The Toxic Avenger

The Toxic Avenger (1985)

  • 63% of critics liked it
    (16 reviews)

  • 59% of users liked it
    (22,345 ratings)

In a crazy spoof of heroic monster movies that spawned two sequels, The Toxic Avenger is about the transformation of a mild-mannered, scrawny janitor into a thundering, muscular hero out for justice, morality, and in one case, a bit of sex. Melvin (Mark Torgl) has a job as a custodian at a work-out… More

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R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By
Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz
Genres
Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy, Cult Movies
In Theaters
Apr 11, 1984 Wide
On DVD
Nov 10, 1997
Troma

Critic Reviews

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    Cruddy, primal, extremely violent, and fairly entertaining, it captures some of the snot-flicking spirit of the old EC comics.

  • , Variety

    An outlandish mix of gory violence and realistic special effects.

  • Stephen Holden, New York Times

    [It] may be trash, but it has a maniacally farcical sense of humor, and Tromaville's evildoers are dispatched in ingenious ways.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    Though it is silly, sleazy, and graphically violent, The Toxic Avenger does hold a bit of warped charm for fans of this sort of thing.

  • Geoff Andrew, Time Out

    It all falls apart after an hour, chunks of the preceding entertainment reappearing as random montages.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • AJ V


    The cult classic of a disgusting mutant superhero, is itself a disgusting movie. If you like absurdity and gore you'll love it.

  • Alexis N


    Wow, I don't even know where to start with this thing. It's so bad, it's good. 80's to the max. It's really cheesy, there's a lot of gore and who could forget all the boobs with tanlines?! It's weird.

  • Tim S


    Why do I love The Toxic Avenger? Running over 10 year olds on bicycles, beating up sweet old ladies, shooting animals, sticking midgets in washing machines and having sex with blind women. Ah, Troma, bless you. :) Oh and probably the best line in movie history: "It is our destiny… More

  • Curtis L


    The more I see Troma films, the more I don't want to see any others.

  • Cassandra M


    In the town of Tromaville New Jersey, janitor nerd Melvin Fern (Mark Torgel) has been picked on and bullied by the jocks at the Tromaville gym until a prank goes horribly wrong when he falls into a barrel of toxic chemicals. The material somehow transforms him into a muscular and… More

Read all 16 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips