Horror in Bowery Street

One day someone said, "I'd like to make a movie featuring a bottle of hooch that makes people melt into multi-colored ooze. I think I'll also add "sub-plots" about insane homeless vets, murder, necrophilia, gang-rape, castration, and police brutality. Oh, and it's a COMEDY."

Anyone who blasts the movie probably had no idea what they were getting into. Yeah, the story - if you want to call it that - is flimsy at best, but the film is punctuated by some inventive effects, some nice camera work, and a hysterical mostly-improvised Doorman character played by James Lorinz.

Summed up, if you like your movies dispicable, reprehensible, obnoxious, offensive, crude, and downright nasty, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

'Street Trash' the most offensive film ever made? Quite possibly. This baby is exceedingly hard to locate, which is unfortunate, because it is an outlandish, unapologetic delight with a wonderful streak of black, black humour. Director Jim Muro has since become one of the most respected Steadicam operators in the business, and has worked his magic upon some pretty big pictures. I believe he was the Steadicam operator on 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day', but I might be wrong.

When an enterprising liquor store owner in New York's Lower East Side(?) finds a dusty crate of something named Tenafly Viper stashed behind a brick wall in a back room of his place of business, he decides to sell it cheaply to the bums in the neighbourhood who are his chief customers. But Tenafly Viper is strong stuff indeed; strong enough to melt one's body! And you thought hangovers were bad.

Pretty soon, the homeless population around the liquor store is dwindling as more and more of these unfortunates consume this deadly drop and promptly disintegrate. The first bum to imbibe the killer stuff does so while seated upon a filthy lavatory. He melts into the commode, pulls the chain, and flushes himself away! Truly tasteless, n'est pas? Two more memorable scenes from 'Street Trash' come to mind: in one, a man has his penis bitten off; in the other, a man is spectacularly decapitated by a flying gas cylinder. I read in Fangoria(?) that this scene required eight special effects crew members to pump blood! 'Street Trash' reminds me of Peter Jackson's wonderful 'Bad Taste' which, while far superior to 'Street Trash', is in the same outrageous vein. I guess it might also be likened to 'The Incredible Melting Man', although the special effects makeup in that picture was provided by the legendary Rick Baker - his first film? - and so is much better than anything in 'Street Trash'.

'Street Trash' is an excellent title, because trash is what this film is all about. Its milieu is grimy and bleak, and everything about the whole affair is inherently unclean. Oh yeah, I just remembered another memorable scene: a cop fights a man in a men's room, and beats him to the ground. Then the cop sticks two digits down his own throat and vomits upon the prone man! Pretty sick (excuse the pun)! This film also makes me think of John Waters in its examination of white trash, something Waters did with films such as 'Desperate Living' and 'Pink Flamingoes'. Like those flicks, 'Street Trash' serves up plenty of gross-out gags so, if that is what floats your boat in a movie, then you will certainly enjoy this. I hope 'Street Trash' has a huge cult following, and I suspect it does. And deservedly so.

When oh when oh WHEN is the DVD Special Edition going to be released?! I for one await it with great anticipation. By the way, if you do find this film, do not miss the song which plays over the end credits - very funny stuff! The last time I watched 'Street Trash' I was laughing because one of the bums reminded me of Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes fame. Sorry, Mr Robinson... no offence intended!

I saw this one years ago. You want necrophilia, dismemberment, gang rape, needless brutality, over-the-top violence, all in one package? This movie has it all and then some. Watch for the scene where the hardass cop beats the living Christ out of someone, drags him into a bathroom and then proceeds to stick a finger down his throat, bringing up a splatter of puke on the creep's face that looks like Four Brother's Chunky Tomato Sauce with stringy cheese in it! Yummy yum yum! It's a sick movie and it's not great but it's the equivalent of... hell, I don't know. Watch it if you dare. Lastly, this movie has one of the funniest animal reaction shots I've ever seen, next to Anaconda's black panther (read my review for that stinker). Watch for the black cat on the fire escape. You'll know it when you see it! Rating: *** out of *****.

Yes, I actually thought this was better than some recent horror/comedies I've seen. Certainly superior to Urban Legend or Scream. I'm positively stunned by the fact that people would see the cover for this movie, read the title and synopsis, watch it, and then complain that this flick is offensive. For crying out loud, what do you expect from a film whose promotional literature shows a melted transient's head in a toilet bowl? Casablanca? Anyone dumb enough to see this movie and be taken aback by its admittedly sordid contents has exactly what they have coming to them.

I genuinely wish I'd discovered "Street Trash" when it was originally released in 1987. Finally watching the film, some 20 years after it hit the big screen, I can't help wonder why I never tracked a VHS copy down in the good old days of the "video nasties".

"Street Trash" is horror on a shoestring budget and its atmosphere and characters could be compared to those of one of the better Troma productions. The film is filled with crude, juvenile humour, is politically incorrect and contains some of the most technicoloured, surrealistic, over-the-top gore spurting scenes you will ever see splashed on the screen.

While none of the characters are particularly likable, the film has a great energy despite its loose plot and it's easy to understand why it has a strong cult following.

8 out of 10. Rubbish but great rubbish. Fans of this film may enjoy the equally strange "Bride of Frank".