Plot
J.J. Doherty, an employee at the corrupt and polluting pharmaceutical company BTH (Bi-Toxiphetamine Hydroxylate), manages to sneak secret information to an investigative reporter, but the pair are attacked by The Killer Nutz, a violent gang and popular rap-rock group on BTH's payroll. The Nutz manage to kill the journalist, but J.J. escapes – much to the annoyance of Nutz manager Fritz Garbinger.
In nearby St. Roma's Village, BTH janitor Winston Gooze is struggling to support his stepson Wade, whose mother died of cancer. Winston sees his neighbor Daisy being threatened by a goon sent by mobster Thad Barkabus but doesn't intervene, much to Wade's disgust. At BTH, owner Bob Garbinger and assistant Kissy fret over the company's struggling financials – especially as Bob owes money to Barkabus and payment is coming due. Fritz tells Bob that J.J. escaped and Bob demands he hunt her down.
Winston discovers that he has an advanced brain disease that is likely to kill him, and that his only hope is a medication not supported by his health insurance. In desperation, he attends a fundraising gala held by Bob and begs for help getting the medication; Bob and Kissy trick him into leaving the building and lock him out. Winston then breaks into BTH, uses toxic sludge to turn a mop into a radioactive weapon, and uses it to steal a bag of money from the company's vault, tying up the unharmed security guard.
As Winston leaves the alley behind the building, J.J. arrives, chased by the Killer Nutz. J.J. escapes again and the Nutz shoot Winston in the head, killing him. They dump his body in a vat of toxic sludge and leave, unaware that it has revived him and transformed him into a grotesque mutant.
The mutated Winston returns home and tries to climb in through an upstairs window, but the terrified Wade knocks him off the fire escape and onto a sports car belonging to the goon who was shaking down Daisy earlier in the film. The goon shoots at Winston, who instantly heals the wounds and then rips off the goon's arm. The police arrive and Winston flees to the nearby woodlands, where hermit Guthrie Stockins gives him a pep talk and tells Winston to show Wade who he is on the inside.
Winston returns to town armed with his mop and confronts terrorists The Nasty Lads, gruesomely killing them and saving the hostages. The people of St. Roma hail him as a hero – The Toxic Avenger – and he becomes a news sensation. Wade sees the news report and recognises Toxie as his stepfather, but so do Bob and Fritz.
J.J., who picked up Winston's ID in the alley incident, arrives at Winston's home and meets up with Wade, who resolves to help his father. Just then, the Killer Nutz arrive, kidnapping Wade and shooting J.J. in the stomach. Winston arrives and heals J.J. with his toxic blood. Later that day he goes to a Killer Nutz concert and slaughters the band.
Winston and J.J. raid Bob's compound to get Wade back but are captured. Bob extracts Winston's blood to create a transformative elixir, hoping to get Winston's super strength and enormous penis without the other mutations, but he is too impatient and drinks the untested cocktail, transforming into a sentient, hairy beast. Thad Barkabus arrives to collect his money and Bob kills him and his men.
Meanwhile, Winston and J.J. escape and head to the shed where Wade is being kept, but a gunfight ensues and the shed is accidentally blown up. Bob emerges and engages an enraged Winston in combat; Winston wins, but before he can deliver a killing blow, he discovers that Fritz had helped Wade escape the shed before it was blown up. Wade pleads with Winston not to kill Bob, but Bob makes one final attack and Winston and J.J. kill him. Kissy arrives, also mutated after drinking the dregs of Bob's elixir, and also attacks, but Winston manages to blow both of them up using gasoline from J.J.'s car.
Winston wakes up in hospital, where he is hailed as a hero, and told that his mutation has cured him of his brain disease. Bob's crimes have been exposed, and Wade, J.J. and Fritz are still alive – although the latter has been arrested. Winston is celebrated as a hero by the townsfolk, and hugged by Wade, who has accepted him as his father.
In a post-credits scene, Kissy is revealed to be alive but horribly burned, while Winston teaches the audience how to make the best grilled cheese sandwich.
Production
In April 2010, a remake of The Toxic Avenger (1984) was announced. [9] The remake, said to be aiming for a "family-friendly" PG-13 release similar to the animated Toxic Crusaders television series, was set to be co-written and directed by Steve Pink. [10] In May 2013, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in talks for a role in the film. [11] He eventually dropped out to work on Terminator Genisys (2015). [12]
In September 2016, reports indicated that Conrad Vernon would direct the film, with Guillermo del Toro of Double Dare You, Bob Cooper and Alex Schwartz of Storyscape Entertainment, and Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans of Weed Road Pictures executive producing, while Mike Arnold and Chris Poole were attached to rewrite the screenplay by Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell. [13] In December 2018, Legendary Pictures won the rights to reboot The Toxic Avenger, with the original's producers, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment, returning. [14] In March 2019, Macon Blair was announced to write and direct. [15] Of the script, Kaufman said, "Macon Blair knows Troma better than I do. He's seen everything. He's seen the cartoon [Toxic Crusaders], he's seen the Halloween special, he's seen everything. And he loves our movies... I've read the script and it's better than the original and I leave it to him. If I'm called upon, I'd be happy to jump in. I learned on the musical to leave the creative to the creative. I learned to let them ask so if they want me, I'm there... I hope that Legendary keeps going. If they let Macon Blair direct it, I think it will be terrific. He knows the Troma sense of humor, the combination of slapstick, and satire with the environmental theme." [16]
In November 2020, Peter Dinklage came on board to star. [17] Additional cast members were revealed from April to June 2021. [18] [19] [20] [21] Principal photography commenced on June 21, 2021, in Bulgaria and wrapped on August 14, 2021. [20] [22] [23] In December 2021, Dinklage said the film was "not a remake". [24] In January 2022, Blair confirmed the film will employ practical gore effects, and the time period setting will be a "little bit of both" in the past and present. [25] Luisa Guerreiro wore the full-body suit and makeup of the Toxic Avenger with Dinklage dubbing the dialogue in post-production. [26]
