When “Footloose” and “The Toxic Avenger” arrived in theaters within weeks of each other in early 1984, about the only thing they had in common was that they were both, well, movies.

“The Toxic Avenger” was a low-budget indie horror comedy about a mutant superhero that featured a no-name cast awash in buckets of fake blood and gore producer-director Lloyd Kaufman splashed on screen.

“Footloose” was a flashy musical drama from Paramount Pictures that made Kevin Bacon a star, featured other young actors such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Penn, and ended up the seventh-biggest box office hit of the year.

Elijah Wood, left, plays Fritz Garbinger, younger brother and head henchman to Kevin Bacon, right, as Bob Garbinger in “The Toxic Avenger.” The remake of the original 1984 movie opens i

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