If you grew up going to video rental shops wandering around the horror movie section or watching USA Up All Night, you’re likely no stranger to The Toxic Avenger. The nerdy janitor, Melvin, gets picked on at the local health club, dumped in a barrel of toxic waste while wearing a pink tutu, and comes back as Toxie, a hulking mutant to avenge himself, fight crime, fall in love with a blind girl, win the hearts of Tromaville, and become the first superhuman mutant from New Jersey. The film introduced the world to Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment (founded in 1974), and what is now five decades of their independent film insanity. Over the years, Troma helped to bring us hundreds of the craziest, funniest, and most outlandish horror and comedy films, many of which are staples to genre fans around the world. Along the way they created the TromaDance film festival, published multiple how-to books on filmmaking, and helped launch the careers of James Gunn and others.
As for Toxie, the superhuman mutant who helped start it all: The Toxic Avenger went on to spawn three sequels, comic books, a recent reboot, and a Saturday morning cartoon spin off, Toxic Crusaders. Recently, Lloyd Kaufman’s assistant, Andrew Miller, unearthed the script for Mr. Melvin, which ended up being split up into The Toxic Avenger parts II and III. With Kaufman’s blessing, Miller undertook the process of using footage from those sequels, in addition to other archival film, to assemble the movie as it was originally intended. Kaufman and Miller have been traveling around the country to host screenings of Mr. Melvin, talk about the film, and in general bring that classic Troma madness to audiences new and old.
We got local horror hound and member of The Pallbearers, Bill Heintz, to interview Kaufman and Miller about Troma’s legacy, the recent remake, the process of putting Mr. Melvin together, and the ride Troma has been on since The Toxic Avenger was first released in 1984.
Lloyd Kaufman
When you set out to make a sequel to the 1984 film The Toxic Avenger and ended up with enough footage for two films, what was the approach to making each one its own entity? Was there ever a single cut of the two films in the late ’80s?
None of the theaters wanted to show a roadshow-type film, so we ended up sticking with the VHS market, which wasn’t nearly as picky!
Macon Blair’s remake of The Toxic Avenger does an awesome job carrying the Troma vibes we all love but also has a tone all its own. What are your thoughts on the film, and how involved were you with the production?
I did give Macon some notes but he very wisely ignored them. His movie is even better than the original!
You’ve put out several books over the years encouraging aspiring filmmakers to get out there and make a movie, but your latest book Interviews is something different. How did the Interviews book come about?
Mathew Klickstein, the editor, dug through 50 years of my interviews to find some that were at least halfway interesting. He deserves battle pay!
Your streaming service, Troma NOW!, is a great way to watch Troma films but also features hundreds of other independent titles. How do you go about selecting other material that caters to Troma fans?
We have some toxeriffic folks at the Troma office in beautiful Long Island City who are tasked with going through every bit of hate mail and Troma NOW! submissions that come in. We should be caught up this time June 2034!
With streaming causing a decline in video stores and physical media in general, do you plan to keep Blu-rays and DVDs in production for collectors?
Blu-rays, DVDs, VHS—these are the future! Physical media forever!
The TromaDance Film Festival has been going for 26 years and remains a unique opportunity for filmmakers to showcase their work. What makes TromaDance different from other film festivals?
TromaDance is the only festival that is free to submit to and attend in real life, put together by the people for the people!
You’ve always been the public face of Troma—acting, introducing films, making appearances—while Michael Herz tends to stay behind the camera. How’s he doing these days?
He wouldn’t want me to say, but he’s the only reason Troma is still in business. I, on the other hand, mostly focus on losing us money.
What’s up next in Tromaville? There’s been talk of a possible sequel to Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.
Yes! Mercedes the Muse is directing a REIMAGINING of Poultrygeist as we speak! In fact, I am flying to Santa Cruz today for my role!
Out of all the gruesome scenes you’ve directed, which one stands out as the hardest to get through—whether because of the grossness, the subject matter, or the conditions on set?
When I filmed my own death in Terror Firmer, I must have been confused because my life flashed before my eyes anyway. That vision was the direct inspiration for the story of Citizen Toxie, written by the legendary Trent Haaga!
Andrew Miller
You had a huge hand in piecing Mr. Melvin back together—what was that process like for you, both technically and emotionally?
There were a lot of long nights at the Troma office editing after hours, but luckily Adam [Peltier, producer and editor] and I work well together. This is something that I as a fan wanted to see, and so I figured others would as well. I’m very happy it exists, and I think Adam and I did a good thing by getting this out there.
Did you and Lloyd ever clash over what to keep or cut during the restoration? And if so, who usually won those debates?
Not at all. Lloyd let us take control and only suggested we add in a cameo from one of the producers after the fact, haha.
Do you see Mr. Melvin as a restoration, a new movie, or something caught in between dimensions?
This is the movie that should have been and was always meant to be. People should have been raised on this. You can look at it like we grabbed it from an alternate timeline or Frankenstein’d it together to create something new. Either way, you’re not going to want to watch II and III again after watching this one.
Mr. Melvin will screen on November 13 at The Broadside. For more info, check out classic.toxicavenger.com/films/mr-melvin.
