Street Trash (2024) (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Mar 28, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Ryan KrugerRelease Date(s)
2024 (February 25, 2025)Studio(s)
Not the Funeral Home/Protagonist/Stage 5 Films (Vinegar Syndrome Pictures)- Film/Program Grade: C+
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
The original Street Trash became a splatter cult classic of the 1980s with its grotesque special effects and anarchic theme. Nearly three decades later, a reboot of the film follows a similar plot as the original, with over-the-top sequences that feature human beings literally melting into piles of goo. This version has transposed the location from urban America to a dystopian Cape Town, South Africa.
In the year 2050, global economic turmoil has obliterated the middle class in Cape Town. Most of the people live in squalor on the streets and rummage through garbage to survive. Though various gangs get into fights, the actual enemies of the people are the rich, who detest the dirty vagabonds and want them to disappear. Corrupt Mayor Mostert (Warrick Grier) is intent on giving full control of the city to corporations, which have eliminated jobs, creating massive poverty and homelessness. The mayor regards the derelicts as a “stain on progress” and has worked with scientists to develop a poison gas that can melt crowds of undesirables. When inhaled, the gas turns people into jellied masses but only after they grow enormous boils that ooze colored liquid and eventually burst, their faces turning into a cascade of dripping muck.
The homeless attempt to survive with the help of drugs and alcohol as they’re hounded by police patrols, with Officer Maggot (Andrew Roux) desperate to put them all in prison. Ronald (Sean Cameron Michael), a leader of one of the bands of derelicts, rescues Alex (Donna Cormack-Thomson) from street thugs. He and his right-hand man, Chef (Joe Vaz), take Alex to their open-air hangout and introduce her to their gang of misfits, including 2-Bit (Gary Green), Papa (Shuraigh Meyer), and Word (Lloyd Martinez Newark). There’s also an imaginary puppet named Sockie that only 2-Bit can see. The group educate Alex in the ways of street life.
Director Ryan Kruger has crafted a reboot rather than a remake of the original and refers to his new Street Trash as a “spiritual sequel.” It’s respectful of the 80s movie but sharper and clearly on the side of the oppressed. The film resonates in the U.S. these days because of the disparate division of wealth and power, the homeless problem in large cities, and the lack of adequate social programs. Cape Town is an apt location for the new film because aspects of apartheid still linger and there’s a sharp division between the rich and the poor.
The heightened theme, however, doesn’t take away from the graphic imagery, which dominates the picture and should make splatter fans happy. As in the original, these scenes are way over the top and showcase the special effects department’s ability to gross out audiences. Most of these sequences are so excessive that the melting humans are more laughable than scary, which may have been the intention.
Kruger and the set designers have created an appropriately dystopian world with garbage, filthy streets, deteriorating structures, and raggedly attired and often drug-addled homeless people filling the screen. Despite their limited budget, the filmmakers were able to achieve some impressive production value with the elaborate visual effects, CGI images, and crumbling infrastructure. The pace is brisk, with nearly nonstop action. In fact, you can almost feel the film’s impatience when it takes a break for some expository dialogue. Apart from its obvious central theme, the film doesn’t go into much nuance. The protagonists are the good guys and everyone else is the enemy. Apart from the gruesome content, the movie is filmed thoughtfully, with attempts to make shots look interesting. Tracking, low-angle, and long shots involving many characters strive for an epic feel. Though the effort doesn’t quite come off, it’s appreciated.
Performances are better than average for a low-budget horror film, which adds some gravitas to the proceedings. Line deliveries sound authentic and true to character. There’s a great deal of profanity delivered casually rather than for emphasis, which suggests that the characters use such words as their everyday vocabulary.
Sockie the puppet is a misfire. Intended as a character only 2-Bit can see, the foul-mouthed creature is supposed to supply comic relief, but the puppet is poorly designed (Is that intentional?), the humor falls flat, and his appearances interrupt the narrative flow.
Street Trash stands on its own while also paying homage to the 1987 original. Setting the film in 2050 is an an odd choice since the problems depicted are not uncommon today. The film works at what it set out to be—a splatter comedy—though much of the humor is quite dark and often centered on male genitalia. There’s considerable crudeness and violence in the screenplay, so the film is definitely not for those who blanch at gory images or off-color jokes.
Street Trash was shot by director of photography Fabian Vettiger on 35 mm film with Arricam LT cameras, finished as a 4K Digital Intermediate, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The film has intentionally been given the look of a 1980s film with its desaturated exteriors and bold primary hues in the gore scenes. Rather than blood, bright blue, green, and yellow fluids spew copiously from open wounds as faces melt and massive boils erupt on bodies. Night scenes have a bluish cast, and a lens flare can be seen at the 50:51 point. In musicals, song and dance scenes are the highlight; in Street Trash gory scenes are the pinnacle. The camera never turns away from unpleasantness, but purposely lingers on it.
Two soundtracks are available: English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an available option. Dialogue is clear, though it might take a few minutes for Americans to get used to the South African dialects. Squishy, oozing, and melting sounds along with bursting and splattering of organic contents accompany the visual effects. There are also explosions, lots of automatic gunfire, a truck running over a body, and grunts and moans from pummeled bodies. The score by Ebenhaezer Smal uses electronic equipment to create an otherworldly, futuristic milieu.
Bonus materials on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Vinegar Syndrome Pictures include the following:
- Audio Commentary with Ryan Kruger, David Franciscus, Sean Cameron Michael, and Joe Vaz
- Trash Talk (7:12)
- The New Trash (11:54)
- Behind-the-Scenes (9:15)
- Street Trash Music Video by Joe Vaz/ten Athlone (3:42)
- Deleted and Extended Scenes (19:41)
- Still Gallery (2:38)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:20)
Audio Commentary – In this congenial shared commentary, Director Ryan Kruger, producer David Franciscus, and Actors Sean Cameron Michael and Joe Vazthe filmmakers and stars of Street Trash discuss the making of the film and various highlights during production. The opening scene was filmed in order to secure financing for a feature. The actors in the opening never appear again. Prosthetics were a major part of the budget and great care was taken to make them as grotesque as possible. The actor in the opening scene was in the make-up chair for five hours. A month before the start of filming, the writers fine-tuned the script. The filmmakers were always conscious of production value—making the film look as good as possible with the limited funds available. CGI often helped to enhance visuals and create atmospheric locations. All agree that Street Trash was “a pleasure to make.” They discuss references in the film to other movies, including Escape from New York. The film was shot in a run-down section of Cape Town. The Sockie puppet was voiced by director Ryan Kruger. The color palette and lighting give the film a garish 80s look. The filmmakers discuss the filming of various scenes, noting when and why some were cut down in length. A few scenes were shot day-for-night (night scenes filmed in daytime made to look like night). The filmmakers talk about the relevance of the film in today’s political climate and the proliferation of homeless communities in large cities. Director Kruger says that making the film was all about money and time, the two factors determining what he could film. It was important to keep the film’s tempo going. In the climactic scene actors are doing their own stunts. Pick-up shots were filmed six months after the completion of principal photography.
Trash Talk – Street Trash screenwriter and executive producer Roy Frumkes says that the film captures the vibe of a derelict community. The film isn’t a direct copy of the original. Ryan Kruger, the director, added his own touches. There are a number of jokes about Jewishness but none are mean-spirited. Frumkes’ first film was Document of the Dead, a documentary about George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. He likes the approach of a producer helping, but not getting in the way of, the director. The film makes a socio-political statement about how society tries to get rid of an undesirable group. Kruger loves the original Street Trash and strove to add something new without sacrificing quality.
The New Trash – Producer Justin A. Martell speaks about the reimagining of a cult classic. There was talk about doing a direct sequel but that never worked out. The filmmakers finally decided on a reboot, a film that followed the same plot as the original but with added touches. The Viper poison gas program from the original is used to get rid of the homeless population. Director Ryan Kruger was enthusiastic about the project, and was “a good fit.” A major challenge was convincing potential financiers that a reboot was warranted. Eventually, multiple sources were tapped for the picture’s financing. Cape Town was chosen because there’s a great disparity between wealth and poverty. The South African crew was “top notch.” Many in the cast were South African. The film had to be marketable worldwide. Film footage had to be processed in London because there were no local facilities for that task. The special effects sequences are Martell’s favorite parts.
Behind the Scenes – Fast-paced images of the making of Street Trash are shown. Several cast and crew members weigh in on their recollections of the shoot. With a vibe of 80s horror films, the film is brutal, gross, and “will ruffle feathers.” Street Trash was Ryan Kruger’s second feature film as director. The blood, gore, and visual effects are ghastly. No green- screen was used. The actors speak about their experiences making the film and their relationship with director Kruger. They note that “audiences are in for a good shock.”
Street Trash Music Video – Cast members sing the lyrics in costume and on the film’s locations as clips from Street Trash are shown.
Deleted and Extended Scenes – Twenty-seven scenes are included, one after the other. Some were cut because they were repetitive, unnecessary, too talky, or dull. Extended scenes were cut down for timing, to maintain a brisk pace, or because visuals could replace parts of them.
Still Gallery – Color production and behind-the-scenes photos are shown in slideshow format as the Street Trash theme music is heard.
Street Trash prides itself on its Day-Glo splatter effects and non-stop action. This is not a film that will bore you with lots of exposition. The visuals are its main draw and what stand out. There’s an attempt to make the characters more than caricatures, but we really never get to know much about them, or even care. What’s clear is the film’s firm stance against the economic oppression of the poor by the wealthy. This is a roller coaster of a movie that provides one thrill after another. It paints a grim picture of a not-too-distant time when society has lost its soul and resorts to inhuman ways to rid itself of people considered to be undesirables.
- Dennis Seuling