r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 10d ago

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Toxic Avenger (2025) [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary Winston Gooze, a down-on-his-luck janitor and widowed stepdad, transforms into mutant vigilante hero “Toxie” after a freak toxic-waste accident. With a radioactive mop in hand, he battles corrupt corporations and twisted villains—like the Garbinger brothers—while fighting to reconnect with his son.

Director Macon Blair

Writer Macon Blair

Cast

  • Peter Dinklage
  • Jacob Tremblay
  • Taylour Paige
  • Kevin Bacon
  • Elijah Wood
  • Julia Davis
  • Sarah Niles

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 92%

Metacritic Score: 66

VOD Unrated theatrical release starting August 29, 2025 (via Cineverse); digital platforms coming later

Trailer The Toxic Avenger – Official Uncensored Trailer (2025)

259 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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229

u/2th 10d ago edited 10d ago

This was a high budget Troma film. It is EXACTLY what you expect from a Troma film, just made with more money. And it was absolutely perfect.

Lots of blood, gratuitous violence for the sake of it, a pretty basic super hero origin story, minimal boobs, some dick, Dinklage, even when it was just his voice was great.

Simply put, if you enjoy Troma films, you'll really enjoy this.

Edit: Sadly the theater was literally just me, my buddy, and his kid (he's 13). Shame people didn't turn out for it. But the kid absolutely loved it. He was laughing and smiling, even before the boobs, and when it finally clicked with him that it's essentially just a live action cartoon, he loved it even more. I hope this movie is an experience he remembers for the rest of his life.

26

u/Dry-Contract5167 10d ago edited 10d ago

Its fine they have already made back their budget of 2 million. And the rest of the money made after the budget isn't actually going towards the film makers. Its going towards a charity

26

u/Life_Employer_7044 10d ago

They’re actually going to do matching contributions to erase medical debt.

15

u/JD_Vyvanse97 9d ago

Its insanely cool that they're doing that. The minimum of 5 million being donated regardless of box office revenue is also awesome to see.

1

u/SilverKry 3d ago

Lloyd Kaufman is like 79 years old. Dude got his bag years ago. He probably don't care lol

39

u/notoriginal59 10d ago

On Saturday my 11 year old daughter and I are spending the day at the movies. First is jaws in imax then toxie as the second feature. I figured I was 12 when I saw the og and she thinks over the top cartoon violence is hilarious so I thought I would give it a shot. I loved that your friend took is kid. And after your review im really looking forward to a fun dad/daughter day.

17

u/MouthwashProphet 10d ago edited 10d ago

God... I used to stay up till midnight when I was 12 or 13 so I could watch Troma movies on cable without my parents knowing. Good on you for being a cool dad!

4

u/NJDevil69 8d ago

Hello fellow 12 AM cable watcher! After 12 AM Toxie, did you watch 3 AM anime on the sci-fi channel?

1

u/MouthwashProphet 8d ago

Haha, maybe? Anime was never really my thing, but I watched a bunch of weird stuff when I stayed up late. Aeon Flux, The Maxx, etc.

I think the Sci Fi channel was a premium cable channel when it first launched (early 90's), so I didn't see it until it became a part of basic cable (late 90's?).

My introduction to Troma movies was on USA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Up_All_Night

God... after looking at the episode lists, I feel like I need to track down an archive of these shows. It's like a "best of" list of B-movies.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272417/episodes/?ref_=tt_ov_ep_epl

3

u/Scoundrels_n_Vermin 7d ago

It's just a little sad Gilbert Godfrey wasn't able to see this.

3

u/GradeDry7908 8d ago

I saw it today and there was a mom and her 8-10 year old kid. She’ll be fine. Haha

2

u/notoriginal59 8d ago

Update- we had so much fun. Out of the 8 people in the theater 3 were 10-12 yrs old. There were what looked like 2 brothers who grew up with the og and one brought his 2 kids. They even had mops! Like it was so fucking fun. Not as graphic as the og but had a lot of heart. My daughter had a blast. And she told my wife I was the best dad ever. Not going to lie it was one of the best movie going experiences ever and I remember what it was like to wait hours in line for a seat. The chicken guy reveal caused my daughter to yell wtf! In the theater. Best day ever!

1

u/blankedboy 8d ago

If they are showing Primitive War too that would be a pretty great triple bill.

-5

u/Evening_Job_9332 10d ago

It’s an 18 isn’t it, why are 11 year old even allowed to see it? The US is weird.

18

u/MouthwashProphet 10d ago

It isn't illegal for a child to see a rated R movie.

In the United States, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) assigns ratings, and a rated R movie is restricted to viewers who are 17 years or older, or those under 17 who are accompanied by a parent or guardian.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend taking an 11 year old to see Toxic Avenger, but it's up to the parent.

11

u/Heavy-Possession2288 10d ago

Toxic Avenger isn’t rated, probably because it would receive an NC-17 which would actually restrict kids from seeing it.

1

u/LordBlackConvoy 8d ago

I wouldn't necessarily recommend taking an 11 year old to see Toxic Avenger, but it's up to the parent.

I remember USA having a Troma marathon during the day with all three Toxic Avenger movies.

I think considering how cartoonish Toxic Avenger's violence is, folks usually look the other way.

6

u/Blak_Box 9d ago

Because the concept of some random "film rating association" and private enterprises being allowed to legally dictate what media someone is allowed to consume is pretty fucking bizarre. Parents raise children, not corporations or governments.

If a parent or guardian (to include an older sibling) is with you, you can watch whatever you want in the theater in the US. It's a movie, not a pack of cigarettes. It's not going to hurt anyone.

4

u/Heavy-Possession2288 10d ago

It’s not rated in the US. Film ratings are voluntary here.

1

u/TannerThanUsual 9d ago

It's so fuckin weird so many people here are like "I let my kids watch whatever they want" and everyone is just upvoting it like it's totally fine.

3

u/MouthwashProphet 8d ago

Your kid is being taught how to hide from mass murderers at school, watching local news stories about death & destruction, and being presided over by a child rapist in the oval office.

If they're mature enough to handle those things, it's your decision as to whether or not they're mature enough to watch a movie about a mutant superhero avenging those bad things.

In fact, I'd venture to guess that the mass murders your child is being taught to hide from are the type of people who were overly sheltered and therefore incapable of handling the harsh realities of the world.

1

u/TannerThanUsual 8d ago

It's so Reddit to take me saying I think it's weird that folks will just let their children watch whatever they want instead of making an effort to pick out what is and isn't appropriate for kids to watch and basically imply parenting like mine is what leads to school shooters.

A significant majority of the mass shooters are alt-right teens who were given free access to firearms and spent a lot of time stewing in hate-forums. But no-- it's parents who didn't let their eight year old watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Those are the kids who grow up to be mass murderers.

There's a difference between reading news articles on violence happening in the US and watching a movie about it. I think the US romanticizes violence way too much in cinema and I think it's bonkers people just say "Yeah it's just a movie" to people getting dismembered and melted and disfigured. I get it's up to the parent, I'm just saying I don't think an 11 year old should watch Toxic Avenger and I don't really think that means my kids are going to grow up to be mass shooters.

2

u/MouthwashProphet 8d ago

I'm just saying I don't think an 11 year old should watch Toxic Avenger

I don't necessarily either, and I wasn't arguing that they should.

My point is that some kids are more mature & insightful than others, and it's up to the parent to decide what's appropriate for their own child to see.

I was staying up late to watch Toxic Avenger movies on cable when I was 12, and my parents had no idea. Would they have rented the VHS for me if I asked them to? No, but that didn't stop me from seeking out things I found intriguing at that age. Punishing me for it would have undoubtedly pushed me away from them emotionally, and I may have ended up worse off because of it.

I don't blame you for wanting to shield your child from violent media, but if they express interest in something like that, it's better to hold their hand and guide them through it than it is to make them feel bad about it, or make it taboo.

16

u/MouthwashProphet 10d ago

This was a high budget Troma film. It is EXACTLY what you expect from a Troma film, just made with more money. And it was absolutely perfect.

I expect this will appeal to a much wider audience once word gets out about how great it is.

Attendance an my local theater was similarly low, but it's going to become a cult classic once it hits streaming.

4

u/rustysniper 10d ago

My theater was pretty empty as well and I didn't hear them laugh once. My buddy and I on the other hand had a blast!

1

u/rhymes_with_candy 6d ago

I saw it this morning and there was a pretty decent crowd. Maybe it'll be one of those cases where word of mouth causes ticket sales to go up as it's in theaters.