Last night I watched the 1984 cult film the Toxic Avenger. I’ve known about this movie for a long time! I know it’s not very popular, and only gained a cult following because it would tour and show as a midnight movie, but it gets positive reviews. And it’s fun! It’s extremely fun, but only if you’re into this kind of movie. Seriously though, it’s full of depraved acts of sex, extreme amounts of violence, lots of drug use, and it’s gross. But it’s so fun. If you’re okay with those things, you’ll find yourself laughing throughout the whole movie! Looking at it critically, it’s not a great movie, but it’s “so bad” that it becomes a masterpiece. It’s jokes and humor hit a lot more than they miss. And this movie spawned a whole series of movies that happen in this style. And they’re also super fun. Director Lloyd Kaufman really hit gold with this one, with the help of Michael Herz. One review I read about this movie sums up my thoughts perfectly about this gruesome movie, “It’s a movie of extremes. It’s homophobic, transphobic, sexist, and astoundlingly ableist. But because everything is cranked up as obscenely high as possible, it all works well. This devotion to extremity applies to fully to every aspect of the film, problematics included, that it becomes transcendent. It’s hilariously brilliant, that in its own offensive way, becomes a celebration of life.”
I recommended this movie to another friend on mine, and all he has to say was “Robert, what the hell am I watching.” He genuinely had no idea what to think of it after watching the movie. So take everything here with a grain of salt, do some homework, and be ready to get grossed out watching it. If you’re interested in The Toxic Avenger, take all of the warnings above very seriously. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for one hell of a shock. Otherwise, it’s a fun movie, that is definitely NOT for everyone. Do a little research before you see this if you don’t think you’ll be able to handle some aspects of this movie.
I’m going to give this one 5 out of 5 stars because of how much I get pure enjoyment from it – You can see what I’m currently watching by following me on Letterboxd @ roberthawk
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