Hulu Officially Has This 86% RT Superhero Horror Movie With a 'Game of Thrones' Star

3 days ago 6

Published Apr 11, 2026, 8:14 AM EDT

In 2025, many shiny, noble superheroes made their debut — the retro-futuristic family values of The Fantastic Four, and the punk-rock decency of Superman. Amid the tight jawlines and spotless uniforms, however, was a slimy, gory outlier thatmarks the return of an indie movie legend.

The Toxic Avenger was a remake of the cult 1984 black comedy from legendary B-movie studio Troma Entertainment. Peter Dinklage takes up the mantle of "Toxie,"a hero who doesn’t fit into today’s commercially driven superhero landscape but provides a refreshing change from the norm.

'The Toxic Avenger' is No Ordinary Superhero

Peter Dinklage's Toxie holding his smoking mop while people watch in The Toxic Avenger (2023)

The Game of Thrones star plays Winston, a down-on-his-luck janitor whostruggles to make ends meet and to connect with his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay) following the death of his mother. Diagnosed with a brain disease that would require expensive medication, a desperate Winston breaks into the warehouse of his employer, a corrupt pharmaceutical firm, only to be shot by the owner’s gang of thugs and dumped into toxic waste. Incredibly, the waste mutates him into a hideous creature with superhuman strength and healing, prompting him to right the surrounding wrongs.

With green, pustule-covered skin, a bulging, blackened left eye, and part of his brain exposed, in any other movie Winston, aka "Toxie," would be the terrifying villain out to wreak havoc. However, the character’s grotesque form, performed by actor Luisa Guerreiro with Dinklage providing the voice, embodies the film’s anarchic spirit and determination to be unlike anything you have seen from Marvel or DC.

Peter Dinklage's Toxie giving the rock-on sign in The Toxic Avenger

Every Toxic Avenger Movie, Ranked

The first superhero from New Jersey!

The Movie is Faithful to the Past, But Stands Out in the Present

While the film’s extreme violence, physical comedy, and low-tech effects might seem different, Macon Blair’s movie stays true to the traditions of the Troma original, reminding movie fans of a different chapter in superhero history. Scenes such as Winston’s transformation, where Dinklage stares at the camera and screams while various unpleasant images float around him, hark back to the low-budget methods of the ‘80s movie, which developed a psychedelic style that became beloved by viewers.

It's also unashamedly graphic in its portrayal of violence, providing a dark alternative to most modern-day comic book adaptations. In one sequence, set in a restaurant where Winston confronts a gang of thugs, our ‘hero’ uses his toxic-power mop to swipe a man’s jaw from his face, leaving his tongue dangling. In the same fight, he pulls out another bad guy’s intestines through his backside.

While played out in a comedically over-the-top manner, The Toxic Avenger shows its hand early as the type of film a big studio would be too afraid to make. Bold, cartoonish, and with a good heart beneath all the blood and guts, its underdog mentality wins you over.

It Turned the Superhero Genre On its Head

It isn’t just the splatter that makes the film a little different from the type of movies that have dominated theaters for the past 10 years. It’s the story’s defiant need to be out of step with what is expected, broach topics that bigger films would tiptoe around, and generally rebel against the system.

As chaotic as its approach may be, the movie takes on issues that are surprisingly pertinent to today’s society. Corporate greed, pharmaceutical corruption, and an anti-corporate sentiment feel like rebellion against the well-trodden path of origin stories. There’s also a through-line of working-class rage in Winston’s charge of revenge, as he uses his newfound powers to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves, such as a neighbor bullied out of her home by a low-level thug.

He may not always use his great power responsibly – Winston only truly realizes his abilities when he pulls the thug’s arm clean from his body. However, the imperfect nature of Dinklage and Guerreiro’s performance is yet another middle finger to the established order. Winston is a man who doesn’t know how to be a hero, even when he becomes one, and so seeing him make it up as he goes along makes him all the more endearing.

The Toxic Avenger never apologizes for what it is – stomach-churning, morally messy, and handmade in its approach. However, the spectacle teaches a crowded genre how to get back to the principles that made it so popular. Taking risks, subverting expectations, and living dangerously are all things that draw excited fans to the cinema and make cult classics that live forever. Troma Entertainment’s slogan is “50 Years of Disrupting Media”, and at a time when Hollywood is looking for innovation, this independent misfit shows exactly the right spirit.