First announced in 2010, The Toxic Avenger has had a rough road to release. Filming did not begin until 2021, one year after Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage came aboard to star. It then premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2023, but by 2024, it had not found a distributor. Now, it’s finally back.
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Cineverse bought the rights in January this year, aiming for a summer release. The main reason it was struggling to find a distributor, according to producer Adam Masnyk, was because it was “not safe enough to market” due to its intense gore. This did not stop critics from loving it however, as it currently sits at 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Toxic Avenger Could Be One Of The Most Controversial Movies Of The Year
It may be that the score doesn’t highlight just how divisive the film could be, however. Firstly, these are festival reviewers, less likely to be repulsed by gore than the average viewer. While 92 percent is impressive, it’s also a score The Toxic Avenger is hanging onto – its average rating is 7.0/10, while Metacritic has it at 66 based on four reviews. However, the story around the movie is as compelling as the film itself, and fans will be eager to see this first look.
A movie being abandoned for 18 months due to being too disgusting to watch is marketing that does itself, and expect that to feature heavily when The Toxic Avenger nears its August 29 release. With the recent success of The Substance during award season, it seems like body horror is in. Whether The Toxic Avenger will use it as a metaphor or just try to impress us with practical effects remains to be seen, but there’s quite an appetite building – even if some viewers might lose theirs after watching.
Though based on the original 1984 movie, The Toxic Avenger is “not a remake” according to Dinklage, meaning we should get a fresh story. Dinklage stars as new character Winston Gooze, a janitor who becomes mutated after a freak accident.
He then decides to do what every person in that situation dreams of doing – becomes a superhero. This summer, we’ll see if he’s a hero worth rooting for – if we can stomach looking at him at all.
