For low budget shlock movies, director Lloyd Kaufman was able to produce film that not only successfully hit that mark but also gained a following. While The Toxic Avenger (1984) was not his first venture, it was the one movie that put him on the map for viewers. The Toxic Avenger (1984) was astonishingly goofy and unrealistic but the story was a basic good over evil story with some charm in its effects. But like all franchises, it comes with what most would expect from its sequels. The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989) was disjointed in its direction and seriously lagged in its pacing. The only thing it still had going for it was its over the top violence. However similar to other first sequels, the second sequel was shot simultaneously to wrap up the whole trilogy.
With that said, the story picks up very much where the last film left off. Since the evil corporation Apocalypse Inc. was not able to keep Toxie (John Altamura) in Japan like they had hoped, the chairman (Rick Collins) takes it upon his team to have the city of Tromaville turn on their once beloved hero. Other than his girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere), Toxie has to find a way to win back the hearts of the now upset locals. Directed again by Kaufman and Michael Herz and written by Kaufman and Gay Partington Terry, this second entry in continuing the super powered radioactive creature is still less than desirable. Much of this sequel feels like the creatives behind the feature wasn’t sure what to do with Toxie anymore other than pad things out at excessive lengths.
The title is obviously a play on The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) but that’s more or less the entire story. Toxie doesn’t feel great after removing all the evil from his town as he no longer feels he has purpose. The acting was not great in the original but again it all added up to something in the end. Part II was a lot of the original with aspects that felt like were exaggerated further. This film only feels very much the same of Part II. All the characters except Toxie himself make some of the most ridiculous facial expressions and say really weird lines. All the actors that were in Part II are mostly here for this finishing entry as well. Rick Collins is probably the hammiest of them all.
Unfortunately, a lot of the over acting is slow in its delivery. This only makes each scene more and more boring to watch. The pacing is already bad but this makes it worse. When the finale of the film starts at basically the last third of the run time, it might not be the greatest of signs. There are action sequences throughout the film but again they feel very sluggish. The effects on the other hand are a decent aspect to the film. This was always an area of the franchise viewers tended to like. While by today’s standards they’re still probably seen as low quality or uninspired, compared to the entire movie, it is a highlight. There’s a scene that involves a bus and even a character melting. These particular parts look the best.
The camerawork itself is hit and miss. James A. Lebovitz who worked on the previous two films in the franchise had okay shots in certain places and others not so much. There are times where his camera uses the wide angle lens or gets right under an actor’s nose. Pretty sure most viewers don’t need to see what’s up their nose. Lastly what was probably the most surprising is that this feature received a score album. Why this one, who knows. Unlike the first which had no composer, the second which had Barry Guard, this entry had Christopher De Marco. Although the album barely passes thirty minutes, De Marco is able to create a theme for Toxie and uses it throughout his tracks which is respectable. Would’ve been nice if the other entries received this kind of treatment too.
This entry is about as entertaining as the Part II but for different reasons. The acting here is ratcheted up even further, the pacing is still slower than ever and the camerawork is annoying at times. The effects are still credible and music for once has something going for it. That doesn’t make it a good sequel though.
Points Earned --> 4:10
