Street Trash

Perhaps I'm old school now but the 1987 original had a certain charm to it, gooey effects, a wild script with a band of actors pulling together to bring it to life, for which all with great aplomb.

Rookie Director Jim Muro excelled with his steadicam work capturing every nuanced moment.

Now moving onto Ryan Kruger's remake or sequel or whatever it wishes to be. Despite some lovely little nods to the original, it quickly falls apart, true the effects remain suitable gross but it lacks the sparkle of what made Muro's an everlasting gem.

Poorly scripted with some wild misfires, the storyline is strained with a storyline that pretty much goes nowhere!

I do question why the character of Chef is Jewish when the movie is set in Cape Town, the actor playing Ronald seems to be acting as if he's in another movie, he seems decent enough but he doesn't belong here.

Having been looking forward to this, it'll never be watched again.

I have to say that I was not a fan of the 1987 movie "Street Trash", with not actually having watched it before now in 2025, so I wasn't particularly harboring much of any grand expectations to the 2024 version. But still, since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, and with the years in between and hoping the effects would be improved, of course I opted to check out what director Ryan Kruger had to offer.

The storyline in this 2024 movie was at least a bit more solid than in the 1987 version, however, writers Ryan Kruger and James C. Williamson didn't exactly put together a script of Shakespearian contents. While I did manage to sit through the entire 85 minutes that the movie ran for, I can't claim that I was particularly impressed or overly entertained.

I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, aside from Gary Green, and that actually spoke well in favor of the movie, as I enjoy watching unfamiliar and new talents on the screen. The acting performances in "Street Trash" were fair.

The effects in the movie were quite good, definitely a major improvement from the 1987 movie. I do like the over-the-top gore and gruesomeness of the effects, as it is something you rarely see in movies. The special effects actually helped carry the movie a great long way, making it all the more bearable to sit through.

Watchable for what it was, but it is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing. It is not a movie that I would recommend to horror fans, unless you are a fan of the 1987 version.

My rating of director Ryan Kruger's 2024 "Street Trash" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Who would have ever imagined that 37 years after low-budget cult body horror Street Trash, we'd be getting another dose of Tenafly Viper-fuelled craziness? Not me, that's for sure, but here it is - the follow up to Jim Muro's madcap melt movie.

What do we expect from a new Street Trash film? Lots of melting hobos and the occasional severed dick gag, that's what, and director Ryan Kruger more than delivers: this one is much messier and more manic than the original, with gallons of blood and multi-coloured goop splashed around as nasty Mayor Mostert (Warrick Grier) attempts to exterminate the city's homeless population with Tenafly Viper gas.

Only a brave group of down-and-outs can save the day: sex and drug addict Ronald (Sean Cameron Michael), Alex (Donna Cormack-Thomson), Chef (Joe Vaz), crackheads Wors and Pap (Lloyd Martinez Newkirk and Shuraigh Meyer) and crazy 2-Bit (Gary Green).

To put it simply, this film is bonkers. It took me a while to get into the spirit of things, but once I did, I had lots of fun with it. The characters are crazy, there's a lot more melting than in Muro's original, with excellent practical effects, and there's actually a better story this time around, as the street trash freedom fighters plot to overthrow the government to end their extermination.

Obviously, this type of film isn't going to appeal to everyone - it probably isn't going to appeal to most sane people, to be honest - but if you enjoy over-the-top trashy horror (think Troma at its most absurd) then you might have a good time. I actually enjoyed this more than the original, but then that one didn't have an invisible, blue, sex-obsessed, potty-mouthed creature called Sockle in it (stay right to the end of the credits to see just how filthy he is!).

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

This is a remake, reboot of the original 1987 film. The original film was a very funny and disgusting 80"s splatter film. This is a little more story oriented and more of a dystopian sci fi action film where the homeless are a target by the system and they fight back. This is very different from the original film and has more social commentary. It's still very tongue in cheek and does maintain the disgusting splatter effects where people's skin melts and explodes. For what this is, it's still a decent watch. However I feel the 2024 version riffs more from Paul Verhoven's Robocop than the original film. The acting performances are mostly disposable and inferior to the gore. If you enjoy lighthearted splatter flicks with a good amount of action, you have a good chance enjoying this. I did find this to be amusing but I much prefer the original film as it's more unique and better executed.

There's two types of people in this world. Those that enjoy the original 1986 Street Trash movie and those that don't. This movie is definitely for the first of the two. It's a great example of a remake done correctly. It doesn't just retread the original story. It tells it's own story while taking place in the same universe as the 1986 movie while keeping the same type of humor and body horror. If you've seen the original and enjoyed it for what it is, give this a shot. It probably won't make your "Favorite Movies of 2024" list but, I would say, you'll still find it entertaining and hilarious.