Horror film so gory it was deemed ‘unreleasable’ now set to hit cinemas

There’s always that one mate in the friendship group who tells you ‘it’s just a bit of blood’ when you ask how gory a scene is.

They don’t bat an eyelid while you cover your eyes from the grim moment at the cinema, and they always seek out the most horrific films to watch.

But even they might struggle with an upcoming release, no matter how brave they seem to brag they are.

That’s because this horror movie is so gory it was initially deemed ‘unreleasable’.

A reboot of an 80s film, it struggled to secure a distributor for quite some time but finally, it’s about to hit cinemas – if you can stomach seeing it.

The Toxic Avenger premiered at film festivals back in 2023, and it has quite the cast.

Directed by Oppenheimer actor Macon Blair, it stars Peter Dinklage as the lead alongside the likes of Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, and Julia Davis.

A reboot of the 1984 cult film, the plot follows janitor Winston (Dinklage) who has a terminal illness and falls into a tank of toxic waste which leaves him severely deformed.

He then becomes an unlikely hero in the form of a mutant vigilante known as Toxie, battling ‘freaks, gangsters and corrupt CEOs’ while trying to save his relationship with his son.

While it may have been pretty well received by critics (sitting at 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), reports suggested the flick was ‘not safe enough to market’.

Unmarketable? Unreleasable? Maybe even... Toxic? We heard your pleas so get ready to find out what hurts because we're bringing THE TOXIC AVENGER to theaters! pic.twitter.com/YYxyswB5mx

— Cineverse 🎞️ (@Cineverse_ent) January 21, 2025

But in comes Cineverse, who aren’t exactly shy of releasing uncomfortable watches, being responsible for distributing the Terrifier films.

Confirming this on X earlier this week, it wrote: “Unmarketable? Unreleasable? Maybe even… Toxic? We heard your pleas so get ready to find out what hurts because we’re bringing THE TOXIC AVENGER to theatres!”

Finally having the film hit cinemas, Blair said in a statement: “I’m beyond grateful to the team behind The Toxic Avenger who were so supportive and steady-handed as we searched for the perfect distribution partner for our film.

“It’s so cool that folks will have the chance to see this in theatres, it’s a fun rowdy movie you wanna see with a crowd. Mutant hero smashes bad guys with a mop: perfect entertainment for the whole family!

“Our goal was always to preserve the heart and spirit of the original Toxie (which was seared into my brain at a very young age) and try to make something that Troma fans would dig and at the same time do something with the character that feels fresh. Lloyd and Michael at Troma have been a blast to work with, absolutely everyone at Legendary are stars and I can’t wait to start working with the champs at Cineverse to bring this version of Toxie to fans new and old.”

Cineverse chairman and CEO Chris McGurk added that it’s ‘the kind of movie that major studios are averse to release because it dares to push boundaries’, but he reckons audiences are ready for it.

A date hasn’t yet been given but it’s said to be this year.