Mops, Mutants, and Megalomaniacs: Why the 2025 Toxic Avenger Reboot Doesn’t Suck

I have a soft spot for the absolute lunacy of Troma. The original 1984 Toxic Avenger was a DIY middle finger to everything “prestige,” and I never thought a modern reboot would work. I figured some corporate suit would sanitize it into a PG-13 mess. But I just finished watching the new Toxic Avenger movie (2025), and I have to say… I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s an irradiated thumbs up for me—a gritty, blood-soaked jaunt that actually has a soul.

Radioactive Mop Slinger

Peter Dinklage as Winston Gooze is inspired casting. He’s not playing a hero; he’s playing a desperate, widowed janitor who’s just trying to be a decent father to his stepson, Wade (Jacob Tremblay). Dinklage brings this heavy, tragic weight to the role before the transformation that makes the later violence feel… well, earned.

Once he becomes the monster, it’s all practical effects and motion capture, but the heart is still there. It’s a redemption arc wrapped in a pulsating, mutated skin. The relationship with Wade is the emotional anchor here, mending through the chaos of corporate whistleblowing and mutant-on-mutant violence.

Corporate Scum, Goat-Headed Villains

Kevin Bacon is absolutely fantastic as Bob Garbinger. He’s this image-obsessed, megalomaniacal pharmaceutical CEO who treats the environment like his personal cesspool. He’s the kind of villain you just want to see get his head ripped off. And Elijah Wood? He’s doing some weird, creepy Riff Raff-style character work as Bob’s brother, Fritz. It’s unsettling, it’s jarring, and I loved every second of it.

The climax is where things get truly “Troma.” It’s reminiscent of Wes Craven’s Swamp Thing, with Garbinger and his secretary drinking a serum made from Toxie’s blood. Seeing Bacon transform into a goat-headed Beelzebub for the final showdown was the kind of over-the-top madness I was hoping for.

The “Acidic Pee” and Other Delights

Look, this movie isn’t for everyone. Apparently thers were walkouts at advance screenings, and I get it. If you can’t handle a scene where a mutant urinates acidic pee to melt through metal manacles, you’re in the wrong theater.

Director Macon Blair clearly loves the source material. He kept the practical effects front and center, which gives the film a tactile, spine-melting quality that CGI just can’t touch. It’s a “rowdy” movie—the kind you want to watch with a crowd of people who don’t mind a little bloodletting with their popcorn.

The Wrap Up

Is it a masterpiece? No. It’s an acquired taste that even the pre-initiated might find a bit much. The plot is a bit unoriginal—corrupt company causes mutations, underdog fights back—but the execution is pure adrenaline.

It’s a reboot that actually understands why the original worked. It swaps the sexualized violence of the 80s for a sharper focus on corporate exploitation and environmental harm, which feels much more relevant today.

Rating: 7/10. If you want something gritty, honest, and utterly ridiculous, give it a watch. Just don’t expect a “deep dive” into high art. It’s Toxie. He’s gross, he’s radioactive, and he’s exactly what we need right now.