Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced that the UK premiere of Macon Blair’s gloriously outlandish cult classic remake THE TOXIC AVENGER starring Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, Kevin Bacon and Julia Davis will be the closing night film of the Festival’s Midnight Madness strand.
Before Deadpool and Venom, there was The Toxic Avenger, the original mutant mop-wielding hero that confirmed production company Troma Entertainment as a favourite to cult film fans the world over.
Premiering at Fantastic Fest, Macon Blair’s THE TOXIC AVENGER stars Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep), Taylour Paige (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), Kevin Bacon (MaXXXine), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Julia Davis (Gavin & Stacey) and Luisa Guerreiro (Baldur’s Gate III).
When a downtrodden janitor, Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage), is exposed to a catastrophic toxic accident, he’s transformed into a new kind of hero: The Toxic Avenger. Now, Toxie must rise from outcast to saviour, taking on ruthless corporate overlords and corrupt forces who threaten his son, his friends, and his community. In a world where greed runs rampant… justice is best served radioactive.
Based on the franchise-spawning 1980s cult classic, THE TOXIC AVENGER is directed by Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore), written by Macon Blair, Lloyd Kaufman (Mother’s Day) and Joe Ritter (The Toxic Avenger 1984), produced by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment, Alex Garcia (Godzilla MonsterVerse) and Mary Parent (Dune Part One, Dune Part Two) of Legendary Pictures.
THE TOXIC AVENGER joins Ben Wheatley’s BULK as new films presented as part of this year’s EIFF Midnight Madness strand which runs throughout the Festival and unleashes the very best in new genre cinema from around the world.
Edinburgh International Film Festival will run from 14-20 August 2025. Building on EIFF’s reinvigorated vision under new leadership from CEO and Festival Director Paul Ridd and Festival Producer Emma Boa, the Festival will continue to accelerate the discovery of new film talent and engage with audiences, industry members and local, national and international media.
Paul Ridd, CEO and Festival Director of EIFF, has said “We are absolutely over the moon to be hosting the UK Premiere of THE TOXIC AVENGER, which will bring our Midnight Madness strand this year to an extravagantly gory and hilarious close. Peter Dinklage’s terrific reimagining of this iconic character in Macon Blair’s genius film, together make for an absolute blast of cult cinematic energy. Bring it on!”
Katie Wilkinson, Acquisitions & Development Manager at Signature, said “We couldn’t think of a better place for THE TOXIC AVENGER’s UK Premiere than as the closing film of Midnight Madness at EIFF 2025. Genre fans can expect a crazy world of mutated maintenance men, killer chicken brutes and Elijah Wood as you’ve never seen him before. Peter Dinklage’s take on the Toxic Avenger will leave audiences forever changed by this fantastically unique hero story.”
Signature Entertainment will release the film in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 29 August.
Jim Welsh
Radio Summerhall Arts 