Movie Review: The Toxic Avenger - The Japanese Cut (1986)

Troma’s classic The Toxic Avenger really needs no introduction – it’s a classic. Not only is it one of the best cult films ever made but it's a special film that truly put Troma on the map after about 15 years of churning out horror and exploitation. 

You know the story: Melvin, the 90-pound weakling, falls into a vat of toxic waste and instead of melting, turns into a limb-ripping, head-splattering superhero. It’s politically incorrect and has something to offend everybody. That’s the charm, and the reason it appealed to folks all over the world - including the people of Japan who embraced this film like a Kaiju. Troma has now released a rarely seen alternate Japanese version so fans can enjoy a little extra Toxie.

Movie Review: Street Trash (Blu-ray, 1987)

Some of the finest films I've ever had the pleasure of seeing have used New York based locales and are also created by New York filmmakers. Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen come to mind as being two of the more prolific and well... of course there is Spike Lee, but we won't go there. I love the little guys though, and I enjoy horror the most so that leads me to what I think is one of the greatest cult movies of all time, Jim Muro and Roy Frumkes' Street Trash. After receiving a fantastic DVD release that took years to complete Synapse Films have taken it to the next level - and then some - with their Special Meltdown Edition on glorious Blu-ray.

Few movies have portrayed the homeless in such a light as Street Trash has. When a liquor store owner discovers a wooden box full of mysterious hooch called Tenafly Viper in his basement he jumps at the chance of selling the swill to bums for a cheap price. This stuff is brutal though, as bad as Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey is, Tenafly Viper is worse - it doesn't just make you sick, it melts you into colorful puddles of goo. The booze is just part of the story as we do have a couple protagonists in a few homeless brothers who are battling day-to-day by living their life in the junkyard while a menacing, beast named, Bronson (Vic Noto) wreaks havoc on the bums and citizens.