Toxin (2015) User Reviews (26)

Not as bad as rating claims

[dave-70421 · 4/10 · 12 January 2017]

I often come on here looking at reviews and overall average ratings before deciding on my next film to watch. And I thought I'd give this a try based on having a few known and established actors. And that it has one one the worst average ratings for a budget film I think I've ever seen that I've looked at.

Yet another example of even if below an average film that the IMDb average review rating seems well off. I mean, what the hell are people comparing such films to in order to give such low ratings?. If you want to see a £50-£100 million plus budget film go and see 1 than watch these budget films yet judge these against Hollywood films with countless times the budget. People should try to judge films far more fairly based on a number of criteria.

However, that's not to say this is a great film as it's far from that. A reasonable passable effort at best thats made the best use of getting known and established actors on board that clearly carried and probably influenced the performance of the supporting actors. A shame no budget is stated as always nice to try and base a review against its budget.

At first I thought the film was some ten minutes short (maybe a higher than normal budget to the main stars might explain this). But in reality and on reflection it could easily have been several minutes shorter again due to scenes that had no place in the film and look only to have been put in to pad out the production to get to a minimal film length production.

Had this been several minutes shorter, pointless scenes cut out and more a one off TV special this would have been and felt a much better production. Overall story is not the worst for these films, but not great either.

Sadly another film that had potential yet fell well short even if using established and known actors. Acting overall was good to decent, but more a feeling of more a showcase film for upcoming actors and film makers to showcase their talents alongside established actors.

Rarely a movie so lifeless, dull and stupid

[siderite · 3/10 · 30 May 2016]

For some reason I always enjoy seeing Vinnie Jones. I don't know why. His movies and performance are getting worse every time, but I still watch them. And the movie has Danny Glover, of Lethal Weapon fame. How could this go wrong?

Easy. Vinnie is a minor thug of no consequence, Glover acts worse than a wooden plank - not kidding here, there were planks that didn't make me cringe in this film - and the hero of the story is Taylor Handley, from Dawson Creek, playing a bad ass soldier coming from Afghanistan. Yet it goes further than this: the CGI is painfully bad, the dialog is pathetic, the direction is worse than non-existent, it's suicidal and the acting of everyone involved is abysmal. I mean, the best actor of them all by far was C.S. Lee, Vince Masuka from Dexter. That should tell you how bad the whole thing was.

And yet, if this would have had an intriguing premise, brought something new to the table, added at least some element of tension, horror, drama or at least comedy, inadvertent or not, I would have been OK with its existence. Instead it is a completely worthless enterprise. More effort has been put into fake comments on IMDb than in any part of the film.

Bottom line: avoid it like you would a toxin that is actually a virus that grows spores on the walls of buildings.

Leaves you hanging

[gsaxon · 2/10 · 21 June 2017]

I like sci-fi if it make senses. This movie makes no sense. You have to suspend all common sense when watching this one. What a waste of acting talent. Vinnie Jones plays a hardcore (?) military-style killer named Renner who immediately blabs all when captured by the teens (say what?). And the military-style killer squads get easily killed by the teens (I say "teens" but the characters are a decade older but still act like teens). Then the two remaining male teens are shot but are able to run around without tiring or bleeding out. How the teens find rooms in the maze of the research lab is amazing. A bullet won't penetrate or crack the large vial holding the virus, but a thrown gun will break it into pieces. The ending of the movie leaves one hanging: What happened to Mandy (Margo Harshman); what happened to the Ricky character? I suppose that having so many loose ends portends a sequel - I hope not.

Complete Rubbish! 1/10

[leonblackwood · 1/10 · 29 April 2016]

Review: What a complete load of rubbish! The acting was awful and as soon as the annoying teenagers came on screen, I completely lost interest. All I remember was this stupid virus that was killing everyone but apart from that, I haven't got a clue about the plot. Danny Glover, who was playing a doctor who was making the virus, has really gone downhill lately and Vinnie Jones plays the usual cockney hard man who is working for the baddies. My expectations for this film were pretty low from the get go, so I'm not surprised that it turned out to be so awful. I won't go on about the film anymore because it just not worth the time or effort. Rubbish!

Round-Up: This awful movie was written and directed by Jason Dudek, who brought you Open Mic in 2001 and Legacy in 2008. Its not really surprising that his movies are unheard of, because if there anything like this one, I doubt that they will ever get an audience. Maybe he should just stick to watching films except for making them? Same goes for Vinnie Jones! 

I recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/sci-fi/horrors starring Taylor Handley, Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Margo Harshman, Beverley Mitchell and C.S. Lee. 1/10

It is hard to believe how bad this movie is !

[ziqby · 1/10 · 12 February 2015]

How this movie got funding it is a mystery to me . To put it mildly movie is awful . Bad acting ,bad script ,bad directing ,no special effects, plot insults your intelligence ,characters insult your intelligence . It is like they got together one afternoon and decided to make a movie ,they shot it next day and this pile of S#%t is the result .It amazes me to know that in 21st century they can not find a decent script nor gather enough creativity to make something better than this . They made better indie movies than this in 60s and they had worse equipment less money and less talent . It would be greater pleasure to be sodomized for 80 minutes than to be forced to watch this "movie" again.

Why isn't there a zero?

[alanmccormack · 1/10 · 7 November 2015]

The guys that left the other poor reviews were being kind.

If you are yet to watch this then don't, for the love of God please don't!

But I'd imagine that you are just here to confirm that the film that you've just wasted an hour and a half of your life watching really is that bad and that other people thankfully agree with you and you're not going mad.

Apparently I have write ten lines for my review to be considered valid by IMDb. Bugger, there really isn't anything in this film I want to write ten lines about, the other reviews have already captured pretty accurately just what a stinker this is.

500K for this... Are you kidding me?

[Francis-Patron · 1/10 · 12 May 2020]

I should had turned it off the moment i heard "What took you so long"/ "Yeah is nice to see you too" I can't believe that dialog is still used. I honestly felt like i was watching the bloopers version or perhaps the deleted scenes all roll into a movie. I hate to be so critical but I have to admit that when I saw the budget of this movie was 500K it did bother me. You could feed so many families and instead you make this movie. I do feel bad for the camera director in this film. He was probably biting his tongue from saying anything the whole time he was filming. I'm sure at one point he asked himself "Why did I sign up for this?" after all the camera work was practically the only decent part of this movie. Even Danny G's acting wasn't convincing. I dont believe i could've kept my mouth shut if i had been involved in this project. How on earth did this film cost so much. That's what I want to know?

Washed up Glover, slow pace add up for forgettable mush

[musicreporter-1 · 1/10 · 1 December 2017]

Familiar faces result in familiar mush. Jones, and especially Glover, show that they are way, waaay, past their prime in this sci-fi would- be thriller with weak effects and it's sleep-inducing soap opera pace.

Jones does occasionally shine convincingly as a disciplined soldier tool - he's got that MADman look down pat.

Glover though is plain boring as a "doctor scientist"? Like other actor losers, Glover hardly ever changes his voice/accent, tone or look - it's as if he plays himself in every movie. Not as bad as that Machete guy, or Ice T or Ice cube - but Glover is still an all too familiar cardboard stiff popping up in too many movies.

Every time Glover appeared I glanced the clock, wondering whether to bail or check email, or see if it got better. It didn't.

Weak plot overall but the film does have a few engaging moments. Sadly - they are few and far between. Zzz. There were simple continuity mistakes galore in lighting and several scenes.

Initially, Dean the hero is driven by the "urgency" to save his grandma from eviction - from there it gets complicated and whatever heat there that begins to flare up, quickly gets dissipated.

There's a toxin in grandma's house and as usual the bad guys are the Evil Government villains who have corrupt designs on that toxin. From there it's the usual body count game - predicting who the next victim will be. Zzzzz.

There's a laughable scene when the teen-looking Dean "manhandles" the taller, heavier mercenary soldier character played by Jones - yeah right.

Like another reviewer here put it - go in not expecting anything great and you'll pass the time easy! Or you could do laundry or some cooking at the same time and feel productive - you will not miss a beat in this slow moving movie.

OR save this movie for a night when you got amnesia! Zzzz.

I used to say "I like bad movies"... I was so wrong

[RossMcWillett · 1/10 · 8 February 2015]

Apparently there exists a movie so bad I can't appreciate anything about it. So bad I had to finally write my first review as a sort of payback for the time this steaming pile stole from me.

The story is just too incredibly unbelievable. Even the little things, like when the clearly civilian goofy frat boy (comic relief) gets shot, then just is a bad ass Solid Snake while deciding not to even bleed? Navigates old mines, infiltrates a high security hidden underground lab, and gains clearance and whoops ass while wearing shorts and a machine gun poorly hidden under a lab coat? Oh and did I mention he was shot but isn't bleeding, like at all? Usually he doesn't even have a hand on it. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I've needed to nurse my kidney a lot more than he did, and mine wasn't shot clean through with a 9mm at close range... so I'm thinking instead the writers just forgot he was pretty seriously wounded. Mercifully they don't even attempt to explain why any of this is happening... which is good because there exists not a single acceptable explanation.

Our main character has this uncanny ability too; apparently bullets only kill bad guys in Toxin-land. He's shot in the leg, doesn't care - still going to run around. Also a unique feature of this alternate universe... bullet proof glass can't be shot through, but you can throw, yes throw, a pistol clean through it no problem. It's truly next level. Trying to murder everyone with a lethal virus (as the protagonist)? Shoot the tank. Doesn't work? Just throw your glock at it, problem solved!

The acting was terrible and half hearted, the main character is unlikable and again inexplicably good at wrecking anyone who opposes him, and the supporting cast is pretty much just a pile of people who lay around and die or stand around and kill themselves - and I mean this literally.

Why can the main character teleport? At one point he is holed up in a room, he cuts a ~2" hole in a piece of plywood covering an exterior window. Then five seconds later he's outside and has flanked a military unit, then just wastes them all in anticlimactic fashion by using the hole as a diversion? And somehow is behind everyone? Because you know, hero stuff. It's as though the only two people who have received any training are these two nitwits, and the mysterious company with the blackwater style troops rolling around decided to save money and hire their manpower from a middle school dropout mailing list. The only thing missing was maybe if the main character had busted out some gun fu while taking on multiple guards at once.

And why did the scientist give the main character a tour of the secret facility while the love interest is literally dying on a stretcher they are pushing around? Did they decide exposition was more important than the anti-serum? Why movie why.

FML I can't believe this kind of stuff gets funded, and I hope everyone involved with this new low loses sleep at night over it.

this film is good for what it is but Margo Harshman is the highlight

[FilmMan47 · 5/10 · 14 January 2016]

toxin is not a bad film it is good for a low budget film and it works its got less action but more dialogs between characters yes you will see Vinnie Jones & Danny glover here too and so as the rest of the cast did a nice job but Margo Harshman deserves a special mention she is so stunning & sexy i just saw this film only for her she is a really good actress and deserves more fame.

Plot of this film is not new but enjoyable & most importantly you get a idea of how sick the governments are a army guy visits her grandmother but the secret government unit is testing a Bio Chemical the place it under the house & everyone gets affected by the virus.

i will not reveal much but i must warn everyone here on IMDb about critics & fake negative reviews please don't listen to them i bought a DVD and it was good i liked it.

what i liked most about this film is the atmosphere,the locations & the way its shot,the director did a nice job Toxin 2015 gets a 5/10 from me is a good film just don't expect a resident evil type flick because its not.

Fun Drama/Sci-Fi Hybrid suitable for all ages

[michellefratis · 8/10 · 9 March 2015]

When I saw the poster for Toxin, I was expecting a B-horror movie with over the top gore and effects. This film stands out as solid entertainment and is more of a drama/sci-fi hybrid. The storyline with Dean and his grandmother is very endearing. Dean sets out to help his ageing, hoarding grandmother get her place cleaned up. She comes across at first as the typical crazy woman, but soon develops into a wonderful movie stealing performance. Fluctuating between lucid and disoriented she is able to overcome her hoarding with the help of Dean. There's a hint to a spiritual theme of living in the present moment that plays out nicely at the end of the film. A film needs to have a message. This one does and it seems the other reviewers missed it. Dean may seem like the unstoppable protagonist as critics have pointed out, yet he failed to save the most important thing in his life, his grandmother. The loss of her and how he copes with it ties into the loss of his friend during battle. The lesson Dean learns helps him cope with loss. The film ends with a powerful image of a Buddah that Dean leaves on his grandmother's headstone, which was a perfect visual image to seal their journey together. Interspersed throughout is an entertaining sci-fi take on pharmaceutical companies and the dangers they can be to society. If you are expecting actors to make good decisions in a horror movie, then don't see this one. If you don't mind actors making entertaining decisions, see this movie and have fun with it.

Pretty good if you expect a B movie

[misterphilipj · 7/10 · 15 February 2015]

This movie is really bad, I mean really, really bad. You can see the microphone on a character in one scene, you the budget for the special effects was an after thought, and the acting from a few minor characters is atrociously bad. There are a few scenes that don't fit into American culture, such as a girl committing suicide straight up Japanese Kamikaze style, and a doctor going wacko when he is otherwise sane and logical.

However, I watched this knowing it was going to be bad and it was enjoyable. Danny Glover delivers a convincing enough job, Masuka from Dexter as his sidekick makes me think some real science is going on. The story becomes rather silly and the action and suspense becomes more comical than scary, and then it becomes a rather enjoyable B movie, with a dialogue going on between me and my family watching it, guessing which ridiculous thing would happen next.

I think the producers knew this would happen to some extent, what with the toxin looking like a beehive pollen floating in midair, and the gas tank to a Tahoe being able to open with no breaking and entering tools.

Overall a solid cast, and if you're in the mood for a light and digestible film, watch this. It reminds me of something they would show on cable called "Dinner and a movie" in the late 90's, where they would show OK horror or thriller movies, along with commentary.

Skip this outbreak movie and watch "Carriers" instead

[a_chinn · 1/10 · 4 July 2017]

Boring viral outbreak movie is given some gravitas by the presence of Danny Glover as scientist working to find a vaccine against the deadly outbreak, but Glover is little more than a glorified supporting character who's scenes were shot almost entirely on one set and probably over the course of a day or two. Yep, that's the low budget nature of this cheaply made film. Vinnie Jones is the other name actor in the film. If you want a cool low budget viral outbreak movie, check out "Carriers" with Chris Pine before he became famous as the new Captain Kirk instead. Or check out the bigger budgeted Spanish language film "Last Days" by the same writer/director brother team who made "Carriers."

Really?

[robinys · 6 June 2015]

Don't waste one minute of your life watching this movie! The sound effects and background music alone was enough to drive me mad. Add to that the worst acting in movie history, and I am now ready to commit myself into a looney bin. WTF did I just watch??? Why did I watch the entire movie? I DON'T KNOW!! I guess I just kept watching in hopes it would improve!! I love post-apocalyptic movies, and going into this movie, I thought it would be just that......I was wrong! It was bad! I am now going to try and find something excellent to watch in order to cure my brain from the "TOXIN" it was just infected with! If you want a good laugh, and want to watch something that you can make fun of for 90 minutes, have at it!

Typical "deadly virus" B-Movie

[ten-thousand-marbles · 3/10 · 17 February 2020]

I didn't expect much from this movie, and that's just what I got. I had hoped Danny Glover would make it worth while, but no luck. He has a smaller supporting role, and turns in a lackluster performance. The rest of the film is predictable, and poorly executed for the most part. It kept my attention enough to see it through to the end, but it really wasn't worth it. Don't bother.

Contagion or Outbreak worthy??? Nope. 😁😁😁

[nayachanda · 1/10 · 29 December 2020]

Like one reviewer said Danny Glover is pretty much washed up. Terrible movie. 👎👎👎

Toxin: Not really as bad as some are saying.

[dogma-53668 · 5/10 · 7 August 2021]

Well, Danny Glover's in it and he's not a good guy but it's an okay movie. Good Time Waster not as bad as some of these and it's got an interesting topic and it's done really well. Kind of like a serial killer movie without the serial killer and a virus instead bumping people off. Really not as bad as some of these reviewers are making it out to be. Just watch it and then judge for yourself.

Toxic hate

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 17 September 2018]

Did not want to dislike 'The Enforcer'. It was not a bad, if not new, premise and Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones have given dependable performances in the past. It had potential to work, and would have done with effort being obvious and like those in front of and behind the camera had their hearts in it.

Neither of which can be seen with 'The Enforcer', something that is really quite unforgivable. Have seen far worse films, recently and ever, but that doesn't stop 'The Enforcer' from being a very bad film with few redeeming traits and a lot of things done absolutely terribly. There is not much to add to what has been said very well already and the review is at the risk of repeating what has been said. Just for the record, 'The Enforcer' was watched with an open mind and not without the intent or want to dislike, let alone hate, the film, quite the contrary. Just in case there is yet the tired, overused and abused accusation of being close-minded and following the herd, have actually gone against the general consensus quite a few times.

CS Lee and Margo Harshman give 'The Enforcer's' best turns, being the only two actors in the whole film to actually be trying.

This cannot be said for Glover, who is very wooden and like he didn't want to be there, this is one uncomfortable and half-hearted effort from him. Even Jones phones in. Taylor Handley is in no way believable in the heroic role, no spark or charisma. In all fairness the characters are clichéd and are never engaging or easy to get behind, didn't care or endear to any of them. The chemistry is static, likewise with the barely existent direction. The script is from start to finish is a cringe, weep and toe curl-fest.

Furthermore, the story has no tension or suspense whatsoever, is very lifelessly paced and executes a not particularly new if intriguing idea with no imagination or originality. Basically non-stop indifferent dullness and predictability that takes itself far too seriously to be fun. 'The Enforcer' has a very dreary, one-note and less than slick visual style with well below average efforts. The music is monotonous and forgettable at best.

Altogether, very bad. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Slow paced, yet reliably old fashioned B movie schlock

[daniel-mannouch · 5/10 · 19 July 2019]

The Enforcer, originally known as Toxin, is a sci-fi action thriller from 2015 starring Danny Glover and Vinny Jones. How The Enforcer plays out is like a combination of Resident Evil and Cabin Fever. It is a slow paced film with paranoia amongst other things eating at a slasher troupe of teens whilst an observant Vinney Jones watches on from a van.

Things chug along at a decent enough pace. Although it could have been faster. The two stars have very little screen time, but I don't think that's really surprising to anyone. The film consists of zombie like shenanigans as people we don't care about die painfully and everyone cries about it. The amount of corporate mercenaries in the film I found to be satisfactory.

There were a welcome slice of cyberpunk sleaze to an otherwise tepid modern zombie film. It did get interesting in the third act and overall, the story did move around, physically as well as dramatically. That's the best thing I can say about The Enforcer. It's apple pie genre filmmaking at its most vacuously pragmatic. All of that wholesome Americana is here. Military fetishism, fear of big business, vast swathes of naturally uninhabitable landscape. If you are searching for a violent genre film that doesn't know any better, as we all are, than you can do far worse than The Enforcer.

Very fun movie, sometimes you just want to suspend belief

[c_melton · 9/10 · 17 October 2015]

I enjoyed Toxin. Found it a fast-paced action/sci-fi with some relate-able characters and a message. Some of the decisions made by the actors in the film are not entirely believable but this reminds me of the commercial for that insurance company where all the kids hide in the back of a garage so the killer can hack them to pieces. The tag line being, when you're in a horror movie, you make bad decisions, that's just what you do.

This is a popcorn flick designed for when you don't feel like thinking too much and just want to be swept away into an imaginary world. When I am in the mood to reflect, I watch indie dramas. When I want to shut off my thinking, I watch bad TV shows. This falls somewhere in the middle of the two. But I had fun watching it and I think you will too.

Worth the wait

[kauffmanamy · 7/10 · 16 May 2017]

I didn't know what to expect out of Danny Glover in a sci fi thriller, but I love indie and independent films, so I gave it a try. Not bad! I was pleasantly surprised. The story line and character development takes a little while to unfold but as the title states, it is worth the wait.

Is it a horror? Not really. More of a (largely) realistic drama involving scientists and the fight against the deadly disease. There are a few moments that are predictable like any movie, but it doesn't take away from the plot. Overall an enjoyable movie, and not to be confused with the old "Toxin" flick -- which is what it seems is happening on IMDb.

Toxin is awesome fun

[jeffcodi · 9/10 · 25 November 2015]

Loved Vinnie Jones in this movie. Danny Glover is a great bad guy. The main lead is suffering from PTSD, has some issues with his girlfriend, but is very likable in the end. The supporting cast did a solid job and the performances are believable.

Film has nice theme of learning to let go of baggage. Grandma was my favorite character. She is a great actress and really makes you feel for her.

The female lead was so so maybe could have done more with the role.

Music was great, film was shot very well, visual effects are not like blockbuster films, but way better than films like Sharknado.

Park your brain in neutral and take the Toxin ride. Great distraction flick and the group of friends I watched it with were not disappointed.

Some interesting twists and turn in low budget bio-terror thriller

[jfrentzen-942-204211 · 6/10 · 17 May 2016]

The bio-terror thriller is always ripe for a reboot, and TOXIN keeps alive the idea that scientists that work on creating and/or trying to control an unleashed virus are usually portrayed as at least somewhat psychotic. That approach is on view in this low budget but effective thriller, in which Danny Glover gives a good "I'm calm behind these eyes" performance as this film's resident psychotic researcher. Glover is well aided by Vinnie Jones and athletic Taylor Handle, as the heroic Dean who attempts and nearly succeeds in getting anti-serum to his girlfriend (the exceptional Margo Harshmann), who is slowly dying from exposure. Dudek gets good intensity from his leads and offers Fiona Hale a juicy part as Granny Sara. Director Dudek is, though, not well served by screenwriter Dudek. The teenage body count section dips its toe into parody territory, but it is played straight. And too many teenie characters are broadly played by lesser 2nd tier actors. Once Dean goes after Glover the movie gets more interesting, with a fairly good, logical ending for this type of anti-science movie. The science, incidentally, sounds pretty loose when it comes to the bio warfare aspect, although there are some mildly startling uses of CGI to portray 3-D computerisms and the bacterium itself.... those things give the movie some needed production value.

Margo Harshman is the star

[wordsmakewaves · 8/10 · 16 May 2017]

A LOT of familiar faces and yes a similar plot to add to the many - "end of days" movies, but this one didn't suck! I walked out of similar films that made it much larger and IMO director Jason Dudek did a nice job. Perhaps it was mis marketed as a horror and thriller, when it is really more of a drama. With that purview, perhaps these reviews would be more kind!

I really enjoyed Margo Harshman (I won't give any spoilers!) and Taylor Handley was stepping up into a larger role since his child acting days. Not too bad on the eyes either.

If you can stick with the journey through character relationships and and plot development (with some twists and turns) it does all come together. Give it a try but don't think that this is a psychological thriller or next big horror film. I think the biggest disconnect is that the actors are so diverse you may not know what to expect out of them in a low budget flick.

B-good About This Movie

[jmloy · 6/10 · 12 January 2020]

Yes, a B movie. Personally, I thought all the actors did a pretty good job. There are some good intense moments, some very sad moments, and mystique to the story. Not enough camera acktion. Not enough funding invested and the story could have been bigger! Fiona Hale (no spoil), her character was intense and well done. However, in real life she dies a year before the movie came out. I bid her farewell.