The Deets via Wikipedia: The Toxic Avenger Unrated^[b] is a 2023 American superhero black comedy splatter film written and directed by Macon Blair. It is the fifth installment, a reboot of The Toxic Avenger film series, and a remake of the 1984 film. The film stars Peter Dinklage as the title character, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.

The Toxic Avenger premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023, with a wider theatrical release followed by Cineverse and Iconic Events Releasing in the United States for August 29, 2025.^[4] The film has received positive reviews from critics. It grossed $754,578 on its opening night in the U.S.

The Rev-iew

I remember me and my step-brothers sneak-watching crappy late-night programming on Showtime. I’m not sure if this film was one of them, but you know the genre in which I speak. It didn’t matter what we were watching, we just knew it was “dirty by eighties Christian standards” and it was past our bedtime. We were living large and, if we were lucky, we might get to see an unscrambled boob or two.

I think I may have a secret man-crush on Peter Dinklage since binging Game of Thrones during the pandemic. His portrayal of Tyrion Lannister struck a chord with me from times and habits gone by. Also, I think we may be about the same height. He’s just the kind of guy I’d want to chill on a couch with, smoke weed, and watch Return of the King. The guy is obviously a Gen X nostalgia junkie like me and I dig watching like-minded artists do their thing.

This movie is a love letter to the low-budget early eighties films that me and mine stumbled across on midnight cable television or that section of the movie store your patents wouldn’t walk you through. To sum it up, this film is Tyrion Lannister vs K-Mart knockoff ICP vs Kevin Bacon, and I laughed hysterically from beginning to end.

You could tell that everyone involved was having the time of their lives recreating those low-budget Troma films, especially Wood & Bacon. They’re perfect “over-the-top” villains. Also, the special effects team gives us a ton of gore to gawk at during some hilarious action sequences. The movie seems overly cheesy on purpose, reportedly causing some of those who were born post-gen-x to walk out of the theater prematurely.

To that, I say, “This film wasn’t made for you; keep walking. Go gush over your CGI Marvel BS.”

To the middle-aged among us, we remember when super hero films were nothing but low-budget cable fodder. Super hero franchises weren’t a big deal until Tim Burton’s Batman flooded our every orifice in 1989. Our heroes all wore rubber suits, and looked better doing it.

I only allow myself to have a single 5-Star film review ever year. Still, for 2025, that honor belongs to “Sinners”. If you like throwback, nostalgic nonsense in which you’re not choked with too much “memba dat?” where you laugh until you cry, only to be topped with a fake-blood soaked head explosion, then this film is for you.

Sounds specific, but I wouldn’t want to know you personally if you didn’t think this film was a masterpiece aimed at our lower-middle class upbringings. This is a film made for 80’s metal thug friends, not betrothed high-school royalty daddy-MAGA twat waffles. You know who you are.

4/5, a splatterpunk good time.