The Toxic Avenger is a 1980s cult classic that solidified Troma Entertainment's reputation as an indie horror powerhouse. Remaking such an adored B movie is no easy task. Instead of merely rehashing the plot, writer/director Macon Blair decided to keep the general concept but add other elements.
Peter Dinklage stars as the downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze, who eventually turns into Toxie. Unlike the initial film, the remake tackles an unjust healthcare system and a father and foster son relationship between Winston and Jacob Tremblay's Wade. Of course, the film also includes lots of gore. Toxie wields his mop to wipe out bad guys, in this case, a corrupt CEO named Bob Garbinger, played by Kevin Bacon, and his henchmen, including Elijah Wood's creepy Fritz.
The film is currently available on VOD and coming to 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 28. We spoke with Blair about the challenges of remaking such a beloved classic and receiving Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman’s blessing to reimagine The Toxic Avenger for a new audience and long-time fans.
1428 Elm: What made you want to remake such a cult classic and what would you say to Troma fans that may be skeptical because they love the original Toxic Avenger so much?
Macon Blair: It was something that the studio approached me with to write the script. I did have to think about it for probably the same reasons I’d say to the fans. The original is so singular, and it’s so its own thing. What would the new version be? I was hesitant that they would maybe ask for a PG-13 version or a dark and gritty version.
I ultimately went in and went through the process of pitching the script with the idea that the way to approach it was to find what was special and singular about the original. To me, that’s about tone and a sense of humor more than plot points. It’s a dude in a tutu fighting bullies with a mop. It’s silly and sweet and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously.
I feel like it’s not going to please everyone, but my hope was to make something that the fans of the original would be seen first. Hopefully, beyond that, we attract a larger audience, but I really wanted to make sure the original Troma fans would feel like the spirit, fun, and sweetness of the original was something we preserved.
1428 Elm: What was it like working with Peter Dinklage as Winston/Toxie? This is a side of him we typically don’t see.
Macon Blair: It’s why I thought he would be great for that role. He has this charisma and likeability, even when he’s playing vaguely sinister characters. People are drawn to him. He has that on-screen charisma. I thought it would be funny to employ that in a character who is unlike a lot of his other characters, not self-assured, not super smart, not super capable. He’s [Winston] totally out of his depth in a lot of ways.
I thought he could bring a lot of weight to that kind of character. I thought having a really strong actor in that central role would help ground it and keep it from flying off into something so silly with nothing you can emotionally connect to.
I felt very grateful when he said yes. With an actor like that, anchoring the whole thing, you could be silly but have an emotional clarity to it that keeps people hooked especially as the story gets more ridiculous.
1428 Elm: This version of The Toxic Avenger differs from the original because there’s a father and son dynamic between Dinklage’s Winston/Toxie and Jacob Tremblay’s Wade and another narrative about Winston’s lack of health insurance and terminal diagnosis. Can you talk about how those two factors drive the narrative?
Macon Blair: In the original, Mark Torgl did a great job of playing Melvin. His whole thing, to me, was trying to connect with somebody his own age. He tries to get a girlfriend. That relationship in that movie was central. It’s the beating heart of the movie around all the gross-out gags. I wanted a version of that, but I didn’t want to go back to the same well. What made sense to me is that if he’s an older character, the emotional hook was trying to figure out his relationship with his foster son.
In the same way that we wanted a strong actor for the Winston character, we wanted an equally strong character to play Wade so they could have that dynamic. There’s not a deep bench of younger kid actors that are really, really emotionally sharp. He’s at the top of his class in my opinion. We took a shot, and luckily, he said yes. I feel like he anchored that side of the movie.
Pretty early on, Winston turns into Toxie and goes off on his own adventures. You spend a lot of time with Wade going through his own thing. That’s a lot to put on that character’s shoulders.
As far as the health insurance thing goes, I knew we’d have Toxie fight street gangs, nasty punks, and weirdos. That’s part of the fun. You want to see the street fight aspect of it, but I felt like there needed to be a larger, systemic evil. In the original movie, it was pollution. Don’t put toxic waste in our neighborhood. Who’s going to argue with that? Everyone gets behind Toxie because he fights for this fundamental, basic thing.
With this movie, it’s not one bad guy. It’s a larger system that’s impenetrable and unkillable. It was a matter of creating the most substantial, dramatic bad guy for Toxie. It’s a formidable force to fight against. There’s also a personal connection for most people.
Troma Entertainment's co-founder and CEO Lloyd Kaufman has a cameo near the end of The Toxic Avenger. What was it like working with him, and did he give you any advice about the remake?
Macon Blair: He was great. Even before I knew what the story would be, I knew there would be a Lloyd cameo in there. I knew I wanted the nature of the cameo to be him yelling at me and telling me to shut up, which is why I put myself in that character so I could be there at the end for him to chastise. That was the whole point. I felt like we needed to have him in there. It’s his baby and his legacy.
He was very supportive and very kind. He was the first person, when I got hired to write it, that I checked in with. I wanted him to know my intentions were pure. I wanted to do right by him and his legacy. I asked for his blessing, and he was very kind.
He would pitch gags every now and then and call to check in and offer support, but it was really mostly him being a cheerleader. He really did stick to that. He would check in to give support and high-fives.
The Toxic Avenger is currently available on VOD and will release on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 28.