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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: January 28th, 2025
Director: Ryan Kruger
Cast: Suraya Rose Santos, Warrick Grier, Sean Cameron Michael, Donna Cormack-Thomson, Joe Vaz
Year: 2024
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Street Trash - Movie Review:
Executive produced by Roy Frumkes and Jim Muro, creators of the original Street Trash, Ryan Kruger took the task of making an updated version of the film, which is described as a "A Ryan Kruger Thing" on the titles and advertising. By the year 2050, the global economic crisis has eradicated the middle class in Cape Town. A majority of the population now lives in dire conditions on the streets, scavenging just to survive. While a vicious gang led by The Rat King (Suraya Rose Santos) and her cronies engages in turf wars, the true adversary of the impoverished is corrupt Mayor Mostert (Warrick Grier), determined to hand over complete control of the city to corporations. This corporate takeover has eradicated jobs, resulting in widespread poverty and homelessness. Viewing the squalor as a "blight on progress," the mayor collaborates with scientists to create a toxic gas, code named Viper, which he makes a reference to the original film by naming "The New York Incident" designed to eliminate as many vagrants as possible. Upon injection, Viper transforms people into a melting mess with large boils that exude colored fluids and ultimately burst, leaving their faces a cascade of dripping filth. The homeless struggle to endure with the aid of drugs and alcohol while being relentlessly pursued by police patrols, with the zealous Officer Maggot (Andrew Roux) eager to incarcerate them all.
Amidst this grim reality, Ronald (Sean Cameron Michael), a leader among the homeless, rescues Alex (Donna Cormack-Thomson) from two of The Rat King's thugs. He and his trusted companion, Chef (Joe Vaz, who looks like Stanley Kubrick doing a Jackie Mason impression), bring Alex to their makeshift outdoor community. There, she is introduced to a diverse group of outcasts, including the enigmatic 2-Bit (Gary Green), the cracked out brothers Pap (Shuraigh Meyer) and Wors (Lloyd Martinez Newark). Adding a surreal layer to this already unconventional narrative are the characters of Sockie (voiced by director Ryan Kruger), an imaginary puppet visible only to 2-Bit, and Offley (also Kruger, unseen), whose first-person perspective and hand gestures occasionally immerse the viewer directly within the chaotic environment. Through this disparate community, Alex learns the harsh realities and surprising intricacies of survival on the streets. Meanwhile, Mayor Mostert relentlessly refines the deadly Viper, making it easy for use via injection, drone-dispersed spray, and even ingestion (which gives a nice homage to the original film in one particular scene), each promising a horrifying spectacle of melting skin, swelling and bursting boils, and a final, psychedelic puddle of gore. As Ronald and his companions begin to uncover the sinister forces at play, they need to resist rebel against the encroaching power of the Mayor. They plan a violent takeover fueled by a blend of desperation and defiance. Will this band of misunderstood miscreants and eccentrics effectively eradicate the Mayor's plan to clean up the streets, or will they end up victims of the deadly Viper?
The finale goes into full action mode, with lots of guns and fight choreography. But the physical effects are the real star of the show thanks to the work of Kevin Bitters (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Adrian Smith (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) you get some impressively detailed and explosive effects! There's a few shots of CGI, but they're rather minuscule when compared to the rest of the practical effects. The movie is more of a re-imagining than a spiritual sequel, but there are plenty of nods to the original and feels like an early Troma film as well. There's lots to love with its warped sense of humor, neon slime and gore. Ryan's version of Street Trash makes you want to care about the protagonists, and the plot is secondary and serves as minimal exposition but it's never boring or dull.
Street Trash - Blu-ray Review:
Street Trash (2024) is presented on a region-free Blu-ray in a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded image and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The movie was shot on 35mm Techniscope and finished in 4K. You'll notice the grain, which is part of the whole 80s look they were going for. The colors are a bit muted for certain scenes, but when there's gore? Get ready for some seriously bold, primary colors.
There are two audio options: an English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. Both sounds sharp when it comes to the dialogue, sound effects and soundtrack. There are English subtitles as well, in case the South African dialects are a bit too strong. The squelchy sounds of the melting mayhem sound amazing in surround sound, along with the synth soundtrack enhancing the explosions and gunfire on the low-end as well.
The extras are plentiful. We start off with an Audio Commentary with director Ryan Kruger, producer David Franciscus, and actors Sean Cameron Mitchell and Joe Vaz. They cover the making of the film, production problems and how the opening scene of the film was used to secure financing for the remake, how the prosthetics and effects were the biggest part of the budget, the edits to the script, the use of CGi to enhance certain effects and scenes, filming in various abandoned areas in Cape Town, how Sockie the puppet was made along with relevance of the film in current times amongst other topics. A fun, laid back chat that has lots of interesting facts.
"Trash Talk" is an interview with producer Roy Frumkes, who also created the 1987 "Street Trash," noting how its success changed his career. He mentions his early efforts in film, which were a documentary on bikers along with "Document of the Dead," which was his behind-the-scenes documentary focusing on the making of George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." Roy also mentions that he invited Lloyd Kaufmann to a class that he was teaching and met Matt Manjourides (who was working for Troma as a producer and went on to launch The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs for Shudder) when Lloyd arrived and struck up a friendship with Matt afterwards and how it set up the idea for a Street Trash remake. After watching Ryan's "Fried Barry," he was impressed and decided that he'd be perfect for the remake. Frumkes states his happiness with the feature but didn't want the film to seem too foreign, offering notes on the script and how receptive Ryan was to the feedback. Roy also mentions how he took umbrage with the Jewish jokes in the film but states that it must be an issue in Cape Town and how he ultimately liked Joe Vaz's performance in the film since he uses a lot of Yiddish slang and coming to enjoy it since he states that in the original Street Trash, they "tried to make fun of and humiliate every possible group on the planet."
"The New Trash" is an interview with producer Justin Martell in which he mentions how the "Street Trash" remake started, which, at one point, was supposed to be a direct sequel to the 1987 film. Martell recounts his path to co-writer/director Ryan Kruger via "Fried Barry," appreciating the tone of his earlier picture and how the audience responded to it on social media when it aired on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. There's also talk of production challenges, such as having the film and cast be South African when trying to aim for a wider market with the film.
"Deleted and Extended Scenes" features plenty of material that was cut due to different takes being used or trimmed down for the brisk pace the film has.
"Behind the Scenes" is an EPK with the cast and crew sharing anecdotes about the shoot, how there was no use of green screen and how they got along with Kruger as a director and the energy he put into the making of the film.
"Street Trash" Music Video- the cast sings along to the theme song performed (and directed) by Joe Vaz under his ten Athlone music project and it sounds like an Oingo Boingo song, really nailing the 80's era sound down to a T.
"Still Gallery" - lots of behind-the-scenes photos play in a slideshow format, set to the theme music of the film.
"Theatrical Red Band Trailer" has the unrated version of the trailer that focuses on the gore and mayhem in the film
The limited edition pressing of the film has a neon slipcover and a hardbox case that features a melting cop's face (which has been used for the theatrical poster) and a melted victim on the back with the text "Melt the Rich" on the bottom.
Street Trash - The Final Word:
Ryan Kruger's 2024 film Street Trash isn’t just a simple remake of the 1987 cult classic—it's more like a fun, loose take on it. If you’re hoping for a spot-on version of the original, you might feel a little let down. But if you're in the mood for a flick that pays tribute to the original while also channeling the wild spirit of classic Troma films, packed with awesome practical effects and a hilarious, over-the-top vibe with plenty of gross-out jokes, then this one is totally worth a watch. Highly recommended!
