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The Toxic Avenger

The Toxic Avenger

Action · Comedy · Horror · 1984

A gang of thugs devise a cruel hoax that goes horribly wrong as Melvin, a nerdy emaciated janitor at the local health club, is cast through a third story window into a vat of hazardous toxic waste.

Movie details

The Toxic Avenger

“He was 98 lbs. of solid nerd until he became...the Toxic Avenger!”

1984 Action · Comedy · Horror 1h 50m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

A gang of thugs devise a cruel hoax that goes horribly wrong as Melvin, a nerdy emaciated janitor at the local health club, is cast through a third story window into a vat of hazardous toxic waste.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Toxic Avenger?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Lloyd Kaufman · Michael Herz

Written by

Joe Ritter · Lloyd Kaufman

Andree Maranda

Andree Maranda

Sara

Mitch Cohen

Mitch Cohen

The Toxic Avenger

Jennifer Prichard

Jennifer Prichard

Wanda

Cindy Manion

Cindy Manion

Julie

Robert Prichard

Robert Prichard

Slug

Gary Schneider

Gary Schneider

Bozo

Pat Ryan

Pat Ryan

Mayor Belgoody

Court is in session

Put The Toxic Avenger on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.