Though it’s right up my alley, I hadn’t heard of Jim Muro’s 1987 cult classic Street Trash until we got the publicity information for Ryan Kruger’s new reimagining of the infamous “melt horror.” Just a day later I saw the announcement of the new film’s Blu-Ray release in the US through Vinegar Syndrome. Curiosity definitely piqued.
I decided to check out the original movie first. Though available streaming for free, ‘foul’ language was bleeped and any hint of nudity was pixelated over in that cut. This kind of practice annoys the hell out of me, particularly when the violence and gore (albeit colorfully comical) all gets kept in – the US way. Yet, in this case that fact just heightened the comic absurdity of the movie. That felt particularly true during what’s probably the most well-known scene of the movie, when a group of characters play keep-away with a desperate man’s severed penis. Seeing the vaguely phallic bundle of pixelation tossed about made it even sillier.
Anyway… that original 1987 version of Street Trash often gets compared to a Troma Entertainment picture from Lloyd Kauffman and team. It certainly resembles that oeuvre in its seeming mission to insult and offend as wide a swath of humanity as possible with juvenile jokes and body fluids aplenty. But Muro’s Street Trash has an intensity and cynicism to it beyond the vibe of joy that Troma films evoke through diving into toilet humor, sex, and over-the-top gross-out effects. This version of Street Trash almost seems to have a real social commentary underneath it all, not just being a satire of that element.
The plot of the original Street Trash is relatively simple, and loosely connected among a cast of characters who live on the streets of New York City. A local booze shop owner discovers a very old case of booze in his basement, small bottles labeled “Tenafly Viper.” Actual liquor really shouldn’t be going bad, but this >60-year-old cheap rot-gut must clearly be something other. He decides to sell it a buck a bottle to the hobos who wander into his shop. Those who buy a bottle (or steal one) and take a sip rapidly discover that the Viper is literal rot-gut. Within their body and across their skin (with no apparent concern for digestive anatomy) the victims begin to bubble, melt, and burst to varying degrees – usually with copious amounts of pastel liquids flowing and exploding out of them in all the colors of the rainbow. While a local cop tries to figure out what is happening, the local street people try and stay alive in a situation where this Viper is just one new part of the everyday violence they face. Meanwhile, a particularly deranged homeless Vietnam vet attacks other street people and well-to-do citizens who happen to come through the rough neighborhood.
I enjoyed the original Street Trash, particular its Torgo-reminiscent protagonist trying to manage amid all the chaos. For fans of this kind of low-brow horror movie, Street Trash would be an easy hit. If it all doesn’t sound your thing, you might still want to give the new 2024 version a try. Whereas some elements are kept from the original, it’s a significantly different kind of movie, though successful in its own right.
Director Ryan Kruger is a fan of the 1987 original, but didn’t set out to remake or reboot that cult classic. In a strict sense, 2024’s Street Trash fits in as a stand-alone sequel that stays consistent with the meager plot and set-up of the original to go in some different directiosn of emphasis. In my opinion some of the decisions made by Kruger fail to work, but the majority are pulled off to make it appealing to some fans of the original while also making it more appealing to people who would be offended or put-off by aspects of the original.
The new film switches action from New York, U.S., to a near-future dystopian Cape Town, South Africa. Some bottles of Viper make an appearance, but the new source of body melting comes from the fact that the authoritarian government in power has apparently developed an aerosolized form of whatever the Viper toxin is. After testing on ‘volunteers’ the Mayor deploys the toxin in drones that patrol throughout the city to eliminate the homeless population of street trash. While the affluent of the city wine and dine, the poor people will be massacred. A rag-tag group of street people discover this and are captured, but find a way to escape and fight back.
The one key element of the original film that Kruger keeps is the use of practical effects and the colorful style of Viper’s body-melting effects. Gone is the nudity. Gone are (most of) the politically incorrect jokes that aim to shock and offend. Gone is most of the dark cynicism in the main characters, as well as most of the infighting among them. The original film doesn’t really have characters one can ‘like’ or sympathize with much. Kruger has stated a belief that films need to have such characters, so the street people largely become lovable. (Even the followers of a Rat King – who is female – start off as being adversaries but end up converting over to the lovable side.) Unlike the first film, the cast reflects some diversity in skin color and faiths. The women play roles other than sex objects.
In many ways, Kruger’s film is designed to be much “safer” for mass appeal. I imagine some fans of the original might find this anathema, even if some changes are for the decided best. But then again, that’s what the original is still there for. We don’t need another 1987 Street Trash. Kruger has effectively made something new from that inspiration. In terms of cheesy entertainment, I probably prefer the original. But I also enjoyed this new version for what it is, and for much of what it adds to balance things a bit more.
Before going further, I should note that while this new 2024 version is definitely “safer” and more familiar to broad audience expectations in its structure and characters, there is still a good chunk of this movie that hearkens back to Street Trash‘s depraved roots. Alongside the “body-melting” that Kruger keeps, he also puts in other gross-out weirdness in scenes with the Rat King and a chained up ‘pet’ she keeps. There’s also a strange small bluish creature (not a Smurf) who is invisible to all but one of the street people (until drugs get involved). This non-human character, visible to the audience with muppetry, is gruff and crude with lines that bring in a bit of the insults and offense that the original has in spades. Yet, this character comes across as more strange and random than amusing. Kruger also includes a character who we only see as the camera point-of-view in certain brief moments. This even more feels as if it comes out of left field, and the film would’ve been better without it.
But what Kruger effectively puts into his version of Street Trash for the better is the clear social message at its heart. Where the first has flashes, Kruger brings this front and center in a more coherent plot. The current political situation in the US – and growing in pockets throughout the world – make the fascist regime in control of Cape Town something that augments the horror of Street Trash. It also augments the cathartic release in watching the movie’s climactic scenes.
It didn’t really fit into the flow of what I’ve written otherwise, but I do want to mention the acting in Street Trash before finishing up. Mike Lackey as Fred really shone above the rest of the cast in the original Street Trash. Sean Cameron Michael plays Ronald, a very similar kind of character, in the 2024 version; he excels at portraying Ronald’s basic compassion and loyalty. But the other main cast members (Donna Cormack-Thomas, Joe Vaz, Lloyd Martinez Newkirk, and Shuraigh Meyer) are just as fabulous, showing ranges from the joys of family comradery even while living on the street to moments of depression, fear, or anger.
Street Trash (2024) has been available streaming since January, but is also available for purchase as precious physical media in the US through Vinegar Sydrome. For those in the UK, a Blu-Ray release from Lightbulb Film Distribution will be released on 17th February packaged with the 1987 original film (see here.)
