A local star is coming to the North Fork Art Center’s Sapan Greenport Theatre for two screenings of the cult classic 1984 film The Toxic Avenger.
Last week the theatre showed the 2023 remake of the film but Tony Spiridakis, founder and executive director at NFAC, and Shannon Goldman, creative director, thought it’d be fun to go back a few decades and play the original featuring Orient actress Jennifer Babtist.
“Jen took classes with us,” says Goldman. “She’s been a frequent supporter and visitor of the North Fork Arts Center.”
The film will play from Sept. 12 through Sept. 18, and Babtist is set to attend the Sept. 16 screenings at 5 and 7:30 p.m.
The ’80s movie tells the story of Melvin, a timid janitor tuned superhuman evil-stopper. Before gaining his powers, Melvin was tormented by four characters, including Babtist’s character, Wanda.
Babtist was cast for the role in 1983 coming off years of modeling and working at the New York City Playboy Club as a Playboy Bunny.
Wanda, ever clad in a bikini and black stilettos, was edgy and tough, with a not-insignificant mean streak. During one scene, Babtist’s character hits a child on a bike with her car and jumps out to take Polaroid pictures of the victim for fun.
“I remember as an actor thinking, ‘Okay, this is really gross. How do I make this more realistic?’ So, I substituted that image for a nice big piece of chocolate cake, because I wanted it to look like I was really excited for what had happened,” says Babtist.
Filming took just two weeks and most scenes were shot through the night.
In the years after the role, Babtist married her co-star Robert Prichard, who played Slug, another unruly personality. The two had a daughter together and split in 1999.
Babtist then made the move east from New York City to the North Fork where she has lived since, enjoying the solitude of the East End.
On Sept. 2, Babtist and her daughter caught the 2023 version of the film at NFAC for the first time.
The similar storyline of a janitor turned superhuman includes new elements like family relationships and fighting corrupt CEOs. Peter Dinklage voices the Toxic Avenger, formerly played by Mitch Cohen, and the film also features other stars like Jacob Tremblay, Taylor Paige, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood.
“They really incorporated a lot of throwbacks to the original, but also made it an original story,” says Babtist. “They walked that line really well.”
Catch the original film this week into next and keep an eye on your screens for Babtist, who re-entered the acting world in 2022; she will appear in upcoming short films and a horror feature film.
