There's something almost obscene—and charming—about watching a modern studio try to imitate the sleazy textures of 1980s grindhouse horror. Cineverse has unveiled a vintage throwback trailer for The Toxic Avenger: Unrated, and it plays like a VHS tape rescued from the back corner of a video rental store. Grain, grime, goofy voiceover… all of it. And yes, Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) finally gets his grotesque, glowing-mop close-up.
The remake, directed by Macon Blair, has been crawling toward release for years—stuck in limbo because nobody wanted to trim the gore. Fair enough. You don't sanitize Troma. You let it splatter. The film finally lands in select U.S. theaters on August 29, 2025, uncut and unrated. After bouncing through Fantastic Fest 2023 and Beyond Fest that same year, its cult credentials are already sealed.
What makes this version tick? Blair's script takes Kaufman and Joe Ritter's original premise—hapless janitor meets toxic waste, becomes superhero—and leans into pathos. Dinklage's Winston isn't just a mutant freakshow; he's a father fighting for his son while a corporate ghoul (Kevin Bacon, deliciously smarmy) builds a polluted empire. Horror comedy, yes. But there's a core of bruised sincerity that feels very Blair (see his 2017 Sundance breakout I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore).
The supporting cast is wild: Elijah Wood, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne. Even typing those names feels like pulling slips from a hat. And it works. If The Toxic Avenger ever needed proof it could graduate from midnight schlock to semi-respectable cinema, this is it. Still, the new trailer leans hard into the sleaze. Editor Wilson Cleveland stitched it together to look and feel like 1984—when the original Lloyd Kaufman cult oddity splattered its way into legend. It's a wink, a dare, and a promise: this thing will be filthy.
Watching the footage, I oscillated—revulsion, laughter, nostalgia, back to revulsion. Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again. That's the point. The unrated cut means nothing has been cleaned up. If you flinch easily, stay home. If you thrive on the theater becoming a sticky temple of trash, mark your calendar.
Why This Trailer Hits Different
Peter Dinklage as an anti-hero
Dinklage transforms the janitor archetype into something oddly noble—tragic, yes, but still ferocious.
Grindhouse homage done right
The trailer nails VHS grime and carnival-barker narration without feeling like a parody reel.
Uncut, unrated release
After delays, Cineverse confirmed the film drops August 29, 2025—no gore sacrificed.
Festival-proven cult energy
Its premieres at Fantastic Fest and Beyond Fest back in 2023 gave audiences an early taste of its chaotic charm.
A cast that shouldn't exist together
Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon in the same toxic stew? Sometimes cinema hands us miracles.
