The Toxic Avenger: The Japanese Cut (1984)
Studio: Troma
Theatrical Release: May 1984
DVD Release: December 11, 2012
Directors: Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
I still remember being at a friend's house for a sleepover back in the 8th grade. We had rented a bunch of slasher films which I wasn't allowed to see at home. As we watched what I think was Friday the 13th Part V, his older sister and her boyfriend came home and had us turn the movie off as they had something much better. I remember seeing the white VHS box and seeing the title: The Toxic Avenger. I had heard of the movie and had always passed by it at the video stores, not wanting to see it mainly because some stores had it in "comedy" while others had it in "horror". What was this goofy movie? What we end up watching was a movie I couldn't stop laughing over and one where I realized that if these guys that made this movie can make a film at such a cheap level and still make it entertaining, maybe I could. The Toxic Avenger became my own cult movie in high school as I forced everyone who had not seen it to revel in its absurdness and pure shock.
In a way, The Toxic Avenger was ahead of its time as film makers Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman wanted to make a spoof on body building and aerobics and yet set it as a horror/superhero film about the classic 98 lbs weakling who gets his revenge on the people who made fun of him. Filled with jokes that are racist, misogynistic, and highly offensive, gore effects that are borderline cheap but yet gross, and plenty of female nudity to make every adolescent boy jump for joy (I remember how uncomfortable my friend's sister got as we watched a woman topless masturbating to pictures of dead kids). This is the kind of film that must have inspired Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The premise is simple: the nerdy weak janitor that all the body builders hate is conned into a prank that makes him suddenly jump out the window of the health club and land in a barrel of toxic waste. Melvin soon turns into The Toxic Avenger, a new superhero born in the suburb of Troma which is outside New Jersey. Armed with a mop, Melvin aka The Toxic Avenger fights crime and corruption by tearing the limbs off bad guys or poking their eyes out. Superman he aint. When Melvin meets the blind Sara by saving her from a bunch of criminals holding up a taco restaurant, he soon finds love and the two decide to run away together until the corrupt mayor orders the National Guard to take care of Toxie.
Sure the movie is cheap and the acting is over the top and the jokes range from funny to shocking to dumb, I love The Toxic Avenger and was thrilled to see Troma's new, uncut version that was only available in Japan until now. This uncut version does have a few seconds of nudity and gore but there are much longer sequences involving the mayor as well as the aftermath of Julie and Wanda at the hands of Toxie. I really enjoyed seeing these deleted scenes (some of them have been shown on the older DVD in the deleted scenes section) but certain scenes just don't seem to fit right. The love montage between Sara and Toxie ends but then suddenly the music starts back up again and continues with the deleted sequences. Not much thought went into editing these scenes back in properly.
Sadly, the DVD looks like absolute shit. I'm sorry to say but the picture and sound quality are crap, like an old VHS tape. I know us fans should be thankfully to have this version but what is up with the murky picture quality? I would show Toxic Avenger virgins my older DVD and not the Japanese cut for this very reason. There are also barely any special features on this DVD as oppose to the older releases from the past. Aside from some trailers and a brief intro by Herz and Kaufman from years ago, there is nothing worth watching once the film is finished.
Movie - [Rating: 4.5]
DVD of Japanese Cut - [Rating: 1.5]
Theatrical Release: May 1984
DVD Release: December 11, 2012
Directors: Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
I still remember being at a friend's house for a sleepover back in the 8th grade. We had rented a bunch of slasher films which I wasn't allowed to see at home. As we watched what I think was Friday the 13th Part V, his older sister and her boyfriend came home and had us turn the movie off as they had something much better. I remember seeing the white VHS box and seeing the title: The Toxic Avenger. I had heard of the movie and had always passed by it at the video stores, not wanting to see it mainly because some stores had it in "comedy" while others had it in "horror". What was this goofy movie? What we end up watching was a movie I couldn't stop laughing over and one where I realized that if these guys that made this movie can make a film at such a cheap level and still make it entertaining, maybe I could. The Toxic Avenger became my own cult movie in high school as I forced everyone who had not seen it to revel in its absurdness and pure shock.
In a way, The Toxic Avenger was ahead of its time as film makers Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman wanted to make a spoof on body building and aerobics and yet set it as a horror/superhero film about the classic 98 lbs weakling who gets his revenge on the people who made fun of him. Filled with jokes that are racist, misogynistic, and highly offensive, gore effects that are borderline cheap but yet gross, and plenty of female nudity to make every adolescent boy jump for joy (I remember how uncomfortable my friend's sister got as we watched a woman topless masturbating to pictures of dead kids). This is the kind of film that must have inspired Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The premise is simple: the nerdy weak janitor that all the body builders hate is conned into a prank that makes him suddenly jump out the window of the health club and land in a barrel of toxic waste. Melvin soon turns into The Toxic Avenger, a new superhero born in the suburb of Troma which is outside New Jersey. Armed with a mop, Melvin aka The Toxic Avenger fights crime and corruption by tearing the limbs off bad guys or poking their eyes out. Superman he aint. When Melvin meets the blind Sara by saving her from a bunch of criminals holding up a taco restaurant, he soon finds love and the two decide to run away together until the corrupt mayor orders the National Guard to take care of Toxie.
Sure the movie is cheap and the acting is over the top and the jokes range from funny to shocking to dumb, I love The Toxic Avenger and was thrilled to see Troma's new, uncut version that was only available in Japan until now. This uncut version does have a few seconds of nudity and gore but there are much longer sequences involving the mayor as well as the aftermath of Julie and Wanda at the hands of Toxie. I really enjoyed seeing these deleted scenes (some of them have been shown on the older DVD in the deleted scenes section) but certain scenes just don't seem to fit right. The love montage between Sara and Toxie ends but then suddenly the music starts back up again and continues with the deleted sequences. Not much thought went into editing these scenes back in properly.
Sadly, the DVD looks like absolute shit. I'm sorry to say but the picture and sound quality are crap, like an old VHS tape. I know us fans should be thankfully to have this version but what is up with the murky picture quality? I would show Toxic Avenger virgins my older DVD and not the Japanese cut for this very reason. There are also barely any special features on this DVD as oppose to the older releases from the past. Aside from some trailers and a brief intro by Herz and Kaufman from years ago, there is nothing worth watching once the film is finished.
Movie - [Rating: 4.5]
DVD of Japanese Cut - [Rating: 1.5]
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