For a while there it looked like 2023’s The Toxic Avenger reboot was never going to see the light of day outside its few festival screenings at the time. But, two years later, it did get a sizable release and, sadly, not many showed up for it. It’s a shame, because the movie is quite funny, has a few very memorable action sequences, and both Peter Dinklage and Luisa Guerreiro do a wonderful job as the title character. Dinklage isn’t the only big name in the relatively niche movie either, as Jacob Tremblay, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon also get their chance to steal scenes.
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Speaking of big names, 2023’s The Toxic Avenger is far from the first Troma Entertainment movie to feature a big star. It’s just, in the past, the star was yet to blow up.
10) Michael Jai White in The Toxic Avenger Part II
The second and third Toxie movies are all about Apocalypse, Inc., which is revealed to be the Devil’s company as he tries to wreak havoc on Earth. And, to help him wreak that havoc, he has a bunch of henchpeople.
One of his henchmen is played by Black Dynamite star Michael Jai White in his film debut. After this 1989 film, he played similarly bit roles in larger movies, e.g. Universal Soldier and On Deadly Ground before getting his first lead role in Spawn. He’s returned to superhero territory multiple times since that 1997 movie, including voice roles in multiple animated DC projects, playing Gambol in The Dark Knight, and via his recurring role on Arrow.
Stream The Toxic Avenger Part II for free with ads on Tubi.
9) Vanna White in Graduation Day
While IFI/Scope III was the distributor of the fun cheapo slasher Graduation Day, Troma served as producer and later distributed the DVD. So, like a few other entries here, it’s not fully Troma in the way The Toxic Avenger is, but it’s close enough to be worthy of consideration for this list’s purposes.
Speaking of this list’s purposes, Vanna White is in the film. White is known for her gig as co-host of Wheel of Fortune, dating all the way back to 1982, just one year after this film’s release.
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8) Billy Bob Thornton in Chopper Chicks in Zombietown
1989’s Chopper Chicks in Zombietown was one of the very first projects under Billy Bob Thornton’s now seasoned belt. It wouldn’t be for another two years that he got his first really showy role in Carl Franklin’s excellent One False Move (which Thornton co-wrote). And, even then, his true breakthrough didn’t come until 1996 with Sling Blade.
As one might expect, Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (which has a plot exactly as deep as the title) is less serious fare than Sling Blade or One False Move. Not to mention, his role is quite limited, so this one can be skipped by even the most devoted Thornton diehards.
7) Samuel L. Jackson in Def by Temptation
Shot in four weeks on a $5 million budget, Def by Temptation was different from other Troma movies in that it employed members of the Screen Actors Guild. For instance, Samuel L. Jackson, who has a few scenes as the protagonist’s deceased father.
1990 was a big year for Jackson, with this, A Shock to the System, Betsy’s Wedding, The Exorcist III, Goodfellas, The Return of the Superfly, and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues all hitting the big screen. But his roles in all of those movies were very minor, and it wasn’t until his role in Lee’s Jungle Fever the following year that he found himself breaking out.
Stream Def by Temptation for free with ads on Tubi.
6) Vincent D’Onofrio in The First Turn-On!
The last of four so-called “sexy comedies” with titles ending in an exclamation point, The First Turn-On! is very much in the vein of camp comedies like Meatballs (if the original Meatballs were rated R) and Wet Hot American Summer. It’s the type of low-budget, forgettable fare Troma was built on.
It also spends a lot of time emulating the beats of better comedies, even ending on the same note as Animal House, showing us what all the characters got up to in the decades after the film’s events. But at least there’s a (debut) role for Men in Black and Daredevil‘s Vincent D’Onofrio, even if it’s a character named Lobotomy. D’Onofrio had his breakthrough four years later via Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.
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5) Kevin Costner in Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.
Filmed from 1978 to 1979, Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. was Kevin Costner’s film debut and, ten years later, when he started to blow up, he tried to buy up the rights to the film so he could bury it. The very little plot that is present involves three 20-something women finding love and employment.
Costner plays John Logan, the owner of a stable where one of the young women takes horseback riding lessons. After a few brief roles throughout the rest of the early ’80s (including The Big Chill, though his flashback sequences were cut) he made his true breakthrough with another cowboy-type character in 1985’s Silverado.
4) Eli Roth in Terror Firmer & Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV
Released 11 years after The Toxic Avenger Part III, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV is something of a legacy sequel, and it features several famous faces who were interested in having a bit role in what amounted to Troma’s The Avengers (the company’s other fan-favorite character, Sgt. Kabukiman, pops up for a bit). For instance, The Goonies and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter star Corey Feldman, Hugh Hefner, and Stan Lee himself, among others.
Hostel director Eli Roth (not pictured above) also has a blink and you’ll miss it cameo. This was two years before his big breakthrough as the director of Cabin Fever, but he didn’t leave Troma behind after that point, either, as he also voiced a character in their 2006 animated movie Disaster!
Stream Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV for free with ads on Tubi.
3) James & Sean Gunn in Tromeo and Juliet
There is perhaps no massive name today more inextricably linked to Troma than Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy director and DCU co-head James Gunn. Troma was where he got his start, it was his first home. Alongside Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman he wrote (and associate directed) 1996’s Tromeo and Juliet, created the following year’s TV series The Tromaville Café, and directed the shorts “Hamster PSA” and “Sgt. Kabukiman Public Service Announcement.” He was with the company for four years (1996 to 2000), during which time he co-wrote the Kaufman biography All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger alongside Kaufman himself.
And, while he was and remains a mostly behind the scenes talent, Gunn also popped up in a few Troma projects during that period. Specifically, the aforementioned Tromeo and Juliet and Sgt. Kabukiman Public Service Announcement as well as in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. His cameo in Tromeo and Juliet is the best of the bunch, as a screaming father who is much more panicked by the head that lands on his car windshield than his kids, who seem to think of it as a basketball.
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2) J. J. Abrams “in” Nightbeast
Admittedly, J. J. Abrams is not “in” Nightbeast, but it was still his first film project. Like his daughter Gracie, J. J. got his start as a musician.
Abrams (credited as Jeffrey Abrams) was only 16 years old when he worked on Nightbeast as a composer. He had read articles by the film’s director, Don Dohler, and after exchanging correspondence, Dohler brought him on. Eight years later he worked on his next film, Taking Care of Business, this time as a writer.
Stream Nightbeast for free with ads on Tubi.
1) Trey Parker & Matt Stone in Cannibal! The Musical
Four years before the debut of South Park, when they were still at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Trey Parker and Matt Stone collaborated on Cannibal! The Musical. It’s a comedic, loose retelling of the story of Alfred Packer, who ate his fellow travelers as they made their journey from Utah to Colorado.
Filmed on a budget of just $125,000, Parker (who directed) and crew filmed it over weekends and on spring break in 1993. It was a production wrought with setbacks, but they got it done, at which point it premiered near their school then played at Raindance Film Festival the following year. It wasn’t until 1996 that Troma picked it up, at which point they distributed it throughout Colorado. Once South Park became a phenomenon, the film gained a strong cult following and it’s easy to see why, as in spite of its threadbare budget it’s a (very) early indication of Parker and Stone’s budding talent and love for humorous musical numbers.
Stream Cannibal! The Musical for free with ads on Tubi.
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