The Toxic Avenger (film)

The Toxic Avenger (film)

The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 American superhero black comedy splatter film. It is the first installment of The Toxic Avenger franchise. The film has generated a media franchise including three film sequels, a stage musical production, a video game and a children’s TV cartoon. In 2019, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment would be producing a reboot of the film.

About The Toxic Avenger (film) in brief

Summary The Toxic Avenger (film)The Toxic Avenger is a 1984 American superhero black comedy splatter film directed by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman. It is the first installment of The Toxic Avenger franchise. The film has generated a media franchise including three film sequels, a stage musical production, a video game and a children’s TV cartoon. In 2019, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment would be producing a reboot of the film, with original creators Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment serving as producers, and Macon Blair serving as writer and director. New Line Cinema had planned a live-action film based on the cartoon, but the project was never produced. It was released by Troma, known for producing low budget B-movies with campy concepts and gruesome violence. The movie was virtually ignored upon its first release, but caught on with filmgoers after a long and successful midnight movie engagement at the Bleecker Street Cinema in Greenwich Village in late 1985. A third independent sequel was also released, titled Citizen Toxie: The toxic Avenger IV.

An animated children’s television series spin-off, Toxic Crusaders, featured Toxies as the leader of a team of mutated superheroes who fought against evil alien polluters. The cartoon series was short-lived and quickly cancelled. It has been described as a “cult classic” by some fans of the movie, and is regarded as one of the best films of the 1980s and 1990s by others who have seen the film. The first sequel was released in 1984, and it was a huge box office success. The second and third sequels were released in 1986 and 1987, and the fourth and fifth in 1988 and 1989, respectively. The fourth and sixth sequels were also released in 1989 and 1990, but were not as successful as the previous two. The third sequel was not released at all, but was released as a special edition of the DVD version of the second sequel, titled Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxy. The fifth sequel was never released, and was released on the Blu-ray Disc.