Effects came with some distortion and never showed great range, but like speech, those elements seemed cleaner and better represented. Music also felt less than vibrant but showed superior fidelity than did the prior flick. In the end, this was a pretty mediocre track but it still came as a pleasant surprise given the terrible quality of the second movie.
On the 4K disc, we get a fresh Introduction from Co-Director/Producer/Co-Writer Lloyd Kaufman. The one-minute, 33-second clip offers minor notes about the movie’s inspirations but tells us little.
We find two audio commentaries, the first of which comes from Lloyd Kaufman. Troma editors Ronnie Thomas and Sean McGrath accompany Kaufman, and fellow Troma editor Gabe Friedman shows up along the way as well.
The track looks at the development of the film and its literal connection to Avenger II, cast and performances, sets and locations, themes and influences, effects and stunts, and thoughts about the movie.
Kaufman delivered a good commentary for the first film but his track for the second one became too packed with wisecracks and political rants. Happily, Kaufman bounces back for the third flick.
Of course, Kaufman stills makes jokes along the way, but he sticks more with production notes than he did during the second flick's conversation. The others offer some frank thoughts about what they do/don't like about the film, so this adds up to a generally solid chat.
For the second commentary, we hear from actor Joe Fleishaker. He brings his own running, screen-specific discussion of his experiences as a long-time Troma actor.
Or that’s what Fleishaker promises at the start. In the end, he tells us… not much.
Oh, Fleishaker occasionally gives us nuggets about the world of Troma, but he mostly points out when he appears on screen and he mocks the movie’s stretches of logic.
Fleishaker offers an affable personality but he just doesn’t tell us much of interest. Add a lot of dead air and this turns into a forgettable track.
By the way, Fleishaker misses one of the movie’s weirder plot holes. We learn that Claire was a brilliant scientist who lost her sight in an accident.
However, when Claire regains her sight, she acts like she’s been blind since birth. Of course, the movie also makes her seem stupid – she’s never heard of Benjamin Franklin? – and that doesn’t make sense given the notion she was supposed to be really smart.
Anyway, I didn’t remark on this weird choice in my review because I figured if I dug into the movie’s inconsistencies, I’d spend hours on that topic. However, because Fleishaker dug into this, I figured it felt like a good spot to pick on the film’s (maybe) dumbest goof.
The package includes a Blu-ray Copy as well, and it opens with a circa 2014 Introduction from Co-Director/Producer Lloyd Kaufman. In this three-minute, 43-second clip, we find Kaufman on vacation in Denmark, the same as his lead-in to Avenger II.
Kaufman tells us the Danish are the happiest people on earth an shows a few alleged Danes as they laugh hysterically and smoke pot. Nothing about this has anything to do with the movie, so this becomes a waste of time.
The BD repeats the same commentaries but it provides a bunch of other components, and we find Tromoma, an 11-minute, 40-second piece. It involves Kaufman, Troma director/producer/makeup artist Doug Sakmann, and actors Asta Parades, Mark Quinnette, Bill Weeden, and Catherine Corcoran.
“Tromoma” looks at a January 2014 Museum of Modern Art event that honored Troma. Expect a lot of praise and not much more.
Make Your Own Damn Horror Film! spans 11 minutes, 26 seconds. It involves Kaufman, costume designer Moira Shaughnessy, 1st assistant camera Nolan Ball, director Christian Winters, cinematographer David Kruta, writer Paul Travers, PAs Jessica Long and Wesley Ortiz and actors Olivia Alexander, Bill Moseley, and Kane Hodder.
We see Kaufman as he does a cameo in low-budget flick Old 37. This becomes an excuse to offer brief lessons in the world of bargain-basement filmmaking.
Though none of this applies to Toxic Avenger, it turns into an enjoyable view of the production. I also like the snarky meter that keeps track of Ortiz’s many utterances of “you knows”.
With A Halloween Carol, we get a nine-minute, 54-second segment. As expected, this one offers a brief Troma adaptation of the Dickens classic that moves the setting from December to October.
Kaufman plays a version of Scrooge in this comedic piece. More a promotion reel for Troma than anything else, it doesn’t go much of anywhere.
Rabid Grannies: The Informercial lasts one minute, 56 seconds, and indeed advertises that Troma movie. It offers attempted comedy as it sells us the film.
Radiation March fills a similarly brief 56 seconds and shows an odd interpretive dance/environmental message. It seems unclear for what market Troma made the clip.
Also found on the prior two BDs, 40 Years of Troma delivers a two-minute, three-second reel that shows a montage of clips from Troma flicks overlaid with some text that praises the studio. It feels like a waste of time.
In addition to trailers for Avenger and its three sequels, we get promos for Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol. 1 and Return to Nuke ‘Em High: Vol. 2.
Note that this set offers a new Blu-ray and does not appear to simply replicate the prior release from 2014. As far as I can tell, Troma does not have an individual release of this BD.
After two flawed movies, I went into The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie with low hopes. The movie matched those low expectations, as it brought another disjointed and not especially entertaining affair. The 4K UHD comes with erratic but generally appealing picture and audio as well as a mix of bonus materials. Maybe the fourth movie will hit the spot, but Temptation fizzles.
Note that as of October 2023, this 4K version of The Toxic Avenger Part III can be found only as part of a four-film 4K “Toxic Avenger Collection”. This also includes The Toxic Avenger, The Toxic Avenger Part II and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV.