THE TOXIC AVENGER PART 2

Melvin (Ron Fazio) narrates over the opening of this sequel, explaining how his mutant superhero exploits from the preceding film helped make the small New Jersey town of Tromaville a better place to live. So much so, there are no villains left for him to beat into bloody pulps.

While this has resulted in a nauseatingly Utopian community where people literally dance in the streets, Melvin is a little bored by the lack of action he now sees. He’s content with sightless girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere), certainly, and quite happy to assist in the running of her home for the blind on the town’s outskirts … but he’s missing kicking bad guys’ arses.

So it’s almost a blessing in disguise when Apocalypse Inc’s oversized limo pulls up, literally filled with baddies of all descriptions (a Ku Klux Klan knight; a dead ringer for De Niro in ANGEL HEART; a big-busted drag queen, and so on). They’re there to take possession of the blind home and transform it into a toxic waste-dumping site.

But not if Melvin has any say in the matter.

Before you know it, he’s back to his old self and is smashing heads, crushing folk in their wheelchairs until their guts spill out of their compressed stomachs, ramming his fingers into eye sockets etc.

The few surviving villains do a runner at the end of this bravura 20-minute opening set-piece. Back in their secret lair, we learn that all of Tromaville’s most dastardly nasties have been forced underground by Toxie’s do-gooding antics – even Cigar Face (Dan Snow) from the first film is there – but are busy plotting ways to pollute the world with their toxic terror, bringing it to its knees while they reign supreme. There’s just one problem: they need to get rid of their most formidable adversary, Melvin/The Toxic Avenger.

Fortunately for them, this task is easier than they at first thought when Apocalypse Inc’s chairman (Rick Collins) manages to bribe Melvin’s psychiatrist (Erika Schickel) into persuading the big guy to go and seek out his absent father in Tokyo.

With Melvin out of the way, Apocalypse Inc are free to take over the blind home – and indeed Tromaville – causing violence and chaos wherever they go. Meanwhile, Melvin has his own adventures on foreign soil, learning the local ways and eventually tracking down the man he believes to be his dad: the nefarious Big Mac (Rikiya Yasuoka) …

Co-directed by Troma bigwigs Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, this second instalment of the company’s most successful franchise is – as if the above synopsis hasn’t already revealed – even more cartoonish than its predecessor. The violent scenes are so overblown, the villainous characters so colourfully exaggerated, that it’s impossible not to liken what you’re seeing to something like a Tex Avery cartoon. Silly sound effects complement punches and kicks, seemingly existing to continually reinforce this fact.

With lines like "I’m Big Mac, the big cheese. You could say I’m a Big Mac with cheese", you soon appreciate how daft this film aspires to be. Indeed, midway through the lengthy opening fight sequence – all gore, comedic music, fast-motion action and CARRY ON-style gongs to the bollocks – it struck me that THE TOXIC AVENGER PART 2 is, in spirit, a super-gory Mel Brooks superhero film. And the titular character is Troma’s very own "man in tights".

So if you’re a fan of extreme, unrelenting goofiness served up with an extra-large dose of irreverence, this film will positively thrill you. If you’re not, you need to steer well clear: there’s nary a serious moment in Kaufman and Herz’s crazy sequel.

For all its manic energy and inventive insanity, however, it has to be observed that PART 2 doesn’t measure up to the iconic original. It’s gorier, faster-paced and more ambitious (a $2.3 million budget allowed the Troma team to actually shoot on location in Japan). But it also feels bloated in length, struggles to squash too many peripheral characters into the mix, and lacks the heart of its predecessor. Oh, and Legere, impressively shaped as she is, is no match for the original film’s charming Andree Maranda (I assume both actresses are meant to be portraying the same character, although her name has inexplicably been changed from Sarah to Claire here …).

That said, PART 2 is a lot of fun and even manages some sly, deceptively astute comments on ecology and American attitudes towards foreign cultures while it’s being busy entertaining you. There are also some great, wildly imaginative and out-there gore set-pieces to be enjoyed during the riotous Japanese footage.

The film has been subject to heavy cuts on both sides of the Atlantic in the past (remember the furore when fans realised Troma had included the truncated R-rated version as part of their Tox Box collection a few years back?). But 88 Films’ region-free blu-ray brings THE TOXIC AVENGER PART 2 to HD in its full uncut form – all 108 minutes of it.

The picture quality, an anamorphic widescreen MPEG4-AVC file, is excellent. Full 1080p resolution results in increased clarity of detail, much boosted colours and deep blacks which add great depth to the action. Although very clean-looking, there’s a pleasing lack of DNR evident, helping the image retain a naturalistic quality throughout.

English Master HD 2.0 audio is just as good, tendering an evenly balanced, clean and clear playback for the film’s duration.

The disc opens to a static main menu page. From there, a pop-up menu allows access to the film via 8 chapters.

Extras begin with an entertaining audio commentary track from Kaufman which offers more facts than you’d expect from this perpetual bullshitter (I use the term with the utmost respect).

He also appears for a brief, more irreverent and goofy video introduction to the movie. Fans will no doubt have suffered through this before on previous DVD releases.

"Toxic Thoughts" allows for some amusing retrospective insights from Fangoria editor Michael Gingold, who also enjoys a cameo spot in the film.

Pretty arch villainess Lisa Gaye gets interviewed too, in an all-too-brief archive video interview.

The film’s original trailer is good trashy fun, and sits here alongside trailers for entries covering the entire Toxie film series.

"Tour of Troma" and "Scenes from the Tromaville Café" are the usual naff fillers that fans of Troma will know to expect by now. If the main feature’s puerile humour leaves you wanting more, I suppose these may sate your lusts.

The usual 88 Films promo trailer reel is also on hand, proffering tasters for the likes of BLOODSUCKING FREAKS and TOURIST TRAP.

Finally, we get the benefit of very nice, colourful double-sided reversible cover artwork.

There’s also an exclusive HMV blu-ray release available with a slipcase cover and fold-out poster contained within its keepcase. Better still, this particular release currently retails (as at November 2014) at just £7.99!

Schoolboy humour, boundless energy and mega gore (finally, the BBFC have seen sense and released the film uncensored) conspire to make THE TOXIC AVENGER PART 2 a bit of a Marmite proposition. Personally I’ve struggled to like it in the past, but finally ‘get it’: for all its flaws, it’s actually an unexpectedly well-shot and edited film, and the comedy is so unrelenting that it can’t fail but to raise a titter eventually.

It’s great to see it uncut, and fabulous to seeing it looking so good.

Also available on DVD.

Review by Stuart Willis