It’s time to get messy. Peter Dinklage, Emmy-winning Game of Thrones legend and possibly the last actor you’d expect to star in a deranged superhero horror-comedy, is leading the charge in The Toxic Avenger.
The film is an unhinged reboot of the cult 1984 gorefest. Landing in UK and Ireland cinemas on August 29, this new version is part B-movie bloodbath, part eco-parable, and part heartfelt father-son story with a radioactive twist.
Think Deadpool meets The Fly, with a dash of Napoleon Dynamite and gallons of neon green sludge.
The Toxic Avenger was originally the brainchild of Troma Entertainment, the notorious indie outfit known for making films with titles like Class of Nuke 'Em High and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.
It became an underground sensation thanks to its gleeful gore, politically incorrect humour and a protagonist who looks like a melted bin bag but fights for justice. Naturally, it spawned sequels, a stage musical, a cartoon, and a rabid cult following.
Now, nearly 40 years later, director Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore) has resurrected Toxie with an A-list cast, a proper budget, and a surprising amount of heart. At the centre of the chaos is Winston Gooze, played by Dinklage.
His role is of a mild-mannered janitor who, after a catastrophic chemical mishap, transforms into a lumpy, mop-wielding mutant with superhuman strength, a new moral compass, and very little skin left on his face.
But this isn’t just gross-out nostalgia. There’s a stacked cast elevating the madness: Kevin Bacon plays the film’s sleazy CEO villain with giddy menace, while Elijah Wood channels something halfway between Gollum and The Penguin.
Rising star Taylour Paige (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F) brings sass and soul as the female lead, and Gavin & Stacey’s Julia Davis pops up for a perfectly bonkers turn. Even Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep) gets in on the action as Winston’s son.
Despite all the mayhem, including exploding heads, gangsters with ridiculous names, and a frankly obscene amount of toxic waste, The Toxic Avenger somehow finds time for actual emotional stakes.
Winston’s motivation isn’t just vengeance; it’s his desperate attempt to reconnect with his estranged son. Touching, if you can get past the flesh-melting.
Of course, Dinklage isn’t your typical superhero lead. That’s the point. “It’s a role that shouldn’t work,” Blair has said in interviews, “but Dinklage brings so much sincerity and weird pathos to it, it kind of does.”
Somehow, watching him wield a mop like Thor’s hammer in full prosthetic makeup ends up being… oddly moving?
The film also benefits from the involvement of Legendary Pictures the studio behind Dune and the Godzilla MonsterVerse — who’ve given it just enough polish without sanding off the rough edges.
There’s still plenty of old-school absurdity, from gloriously fake gore to knowing one-liners, but it’s been turbocharged for the post-Marvel age.
If you’ve never seen the original, don’t worry: This reboot stands on its own as a bizarre, blood-soaked romp that both honours its trashy roots and evolves into something funnier, smarter, and kind of cool.
One thing’s for sure: this isn’t your average superhero movie. There are no capes, no multiverses, and certainly no CGI sky beams. Just a radioactive janitor with a heart of gold, a villainous Kevin Bacon, and a whole lot of mop-based justice.
