The Toxic Avenger director Macon Blair wanted to make a 'fun' film
The 50-year-old filmmaker has helmed a remake of the 1984 black comedy film and wanted his version – which stars Peter Dinklage in the lead role – to embrace silliness.
Blair told SFX magazine: "I felt it was a certain gross-out-for-the-sake-of-entertainment quality that they leaned into in the original. I wanted to carry that over.
"We wanted it to play in a cartoonish way where even if it's gross, it's meant to be fun. It's never meant to be mean-spirited or cruel or gory in a way that makes you feel repulsed.
"It's meant to be gory in a way that makes you go, 'Hell yeah!' and have fun with it.
Blair explained that filming gory scenes for the movie took him back to watching the original picture when he was a child.
He recalled: "It was hugely inspiring. We were just starting to figure out how to make our own movies in our backyard, and it was something of a template for that."
The director revealed that special effects took priority over scripts and acting during the early stages of development for the flick, which is released in cinemas later this month.
Blair said: "What we were most excited about was the special effects, the blood and stuff.
"Getting to do it like this, where exploding heads are part of the movie's texture, really felt like a return to those old days and getting through the same sorts of science projects. Except now with very skilled technicians and craftspeople."
Blair is hopeful that The Toxic Avenger – which also stars Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood – can be the start of a franchise.
He explained: "We sprinkled in a few little Easter eggs that could support further adventures in different directions, if anybody has the appetite for that.
"If it happens that'd be very cool. I guess we'll see how many things happen in August and go from there!"
Blair was supported on the film by original Toxic Avenger directors Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman and explained that their approaches to the project aligned.
He said: "Lloyd seemed to go out of his way to say that he wasn't going to get in the middle of things and try to control anything.
"The thing he was consistent about was saying, 'Let's just make sure it's entertaining for the audience, however it works out.'
"I think that was his way of saying, 'Let's not have it take itself too seriously. Let's not make it all about business.' Which was the attitude I came into it with anyway, so we were aligned on that score."
Blair is hopeful that audiences share his attitude towards the movie.
He quipped: "I don't want to say check your brain at the door like it's a bad thing – but check your brain at the door."
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