Atomic Hero

Lacklustre direction by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, a goofy script (by Joe Ritter), truly poor FX and even worse acting all add up to, for some strange, abstract reason, a stupidly enjoyable film experience.

Maybe it's the camp sounding music, the over the top (and in some cases *way* over the top) 'acting', or perhaps it's just the fact that it's so unashamedly weird and downright cheesy that makes it such fun to watch, who knows? Whatever the reason this definitely isn't a film to spend long hours contemplating such things, instead just sit back and enjoy the crazy show.

Performance wise, as already mentioned, none of the actors give even remotely decent performances, with the exception of Andree Miranda who's actually pretty good in her role as Toxie's blind girlfriend. All of the other actors are so far over the top (or indeed just so downright terrible) that by films end they too have somehow managed to take on their own distinctly cheesy charm and add greatly to the whole 'so bad it's good' motif.

As I may have mentioned once or twice before 'The Toxic Avenger' is cheesier than a block of cheese factories, and as such it takes a special type of person to enjoy 'this type of thing', however for those with their tongue planted firmly in cheek, and for lovers of schlock cinema and 50's z-grade monster movies this is a must see. For most everyone else though it's probably best avoided and will most likely induce headaches and annoyance rather than belly laughs and amusement. Which of the above descriptions best suits you I'll leave you to decide for yourself.

7/10

As a child I loved to stay up late and watch "USA Up All Night" (with Gilbert Gottfried or Rhonda Shear, I wasn't picky). This allowed me to sample pretty much every major Troma movie, and I discovered the meaning of the phrase "guilty pleasure". As I got older I stayed away from Troma, as their movies radiated the kind of feeling you get from wearing a shoddy Halloween mask too long and getting nauseous inhaling the cheap rubber fumes. But after sampling the delightful "Tromeo & Juliet" I decided to return to my roots and check out the directors edition of the classic "Toxic Avenger".

While I was right in remembering the films as the guiltiest of pleasure, the cheap charm of the film was undeniable, and there was a ton of gore in the movie that I never saw on T.V. Arms are severed, guts are ripped out, seeing-eye dogs are shot, and children's heads are crushed- and it all looks pretty good! Some of the acting will make you wince, some of the jokes are atrocious (there are mother-in-law jokes), and some scenes go on too long (the idiotic out-of-control-car sequence) or too short (Toxie taking his revenge on his tormenters is strangely gore-free, which is explained in the director's commentary), but I can't bad-mouth a movie that has it's hero stuff a little old lady in a washing machine. If you're a gore fan with a high thresh hold for bad taste, then give the Toxic Avenger another shot- I did, and I'm a better person for it. I think.

The king of trash movies. It's so effortlessly entertaining that things that should be offensive are easily laughed off. It's the only movie I can think of that can make a young child getting run over by a car side splittingly hilarious.

The Toxic Avenger is one of those Troma horror flicks you should have watched at least once in your lifetime befor entering the next level - if you love horror comedies, of course. What you get is perfect cheesy horror 80s style with a lot of humor, overacting, some naked boobs, weird stuff happening scene after scene, fueld with crazy characters, and last but not least, some gory moments and violence. Still great fun for the connoisseur of sleazy 'n' trash. Don't forget: there are a couple of sequels, quality ranging from okay to solid.

You always have to take Troma films with a grain of salt, and that's exactly what I did. I enjoyed this film quite a bit. Though it's a typical B-movie, the premise is creative and I actually felt sympathy for the character of Melvin before his mutation. I know what it's like to be the underdog, so I was able to somewhat relate to him. So while some may have laughed at his quirky antics, I was too busy feeling sympathy for pool little Melvin.

The film is filled with quirky, low-brow humor, which often works. I just felt that the premise wore thin after a while, and that's when the film seemed to simply go through the motions.

Despite that, I had a good time and can understand why this is the film that put Troma on the map. So if you're in the mood for a funny, low-budget, low-brow horror-comedy, then please check out "The Toxic Avenger."

My score: 6 (out of 10)