Peter Dinklage stars in "the biggest underrated film of all time." So claims the new trailer for The Toxic Avenger, a remake of the 1984 cult classic about a nobody who falls in a vat of toxic goo, gets deformed, gets superpowers, and gets revenge. He's part superhero, part vigilante, part Bugs Bunny. He's the Toxic Avenger, and he's coming to a theater near you:
Peter Dinklage is Winston Gooze, a janitor and single father who works for a sleazy chemical company. After he gets dosed and transforms into a monster, he wages a one-man war against the criminals of the city, slapping off their jaws with his big green glowing pole thing. Passersby were amazed by the unusually large amounts of blood.
The original Toxic Avenger movie was made by Troma, who specialized in low-budget schlock. The new one seems to be channeling that spirit, but with a bigger budget. How else could you afford Dinklage?
And he's not the only big name in the cast. Kevin Bacon plays the greedy CEO of the chemical company. As his henchman, Elijah Wood looks way more like Gollum than Frodo under heavy pancake makeup and the world's saddest string of barely-there hair; I didn't know they bothered to made wigs that look like bad comb-overs. Of course, the wig is nothing compared to the bulky monster suit that Dinklage has to wear; I assume that's him under the blotchy green skin.
The Toxic Avengers slurps into theaters on August 29. I have no idea how this film will do. Is there still a market for low-rent gross-out horror with a sarcastic vibe? I feel like the new crop of edgy kids who made the first movie a midnight movie phenomenon are now on Reddit and such. Would people who are impressed by names like Kevin Bacon and Peter Dinklage see a movie like The Toxic Avenger? We'll find out later this summer!
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