Street Trash

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 *****.

'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 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".

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.

Liquor store owner Ed (M. D'Jango Krunch) is nosing around in his basement when he finds some VERY old booze labelled "Tenafly Viper". He figures, what the hell, he'll sell it to his customers for $1 a bottle. But this booze is deadly stuff: when people drink it, they explode into goop in all colours of the rainbow. While the body count rises, the story focuses on two street denizens who are brothers: Fred (Mike Lackey) and Kevin (Mark Sferrazza) who take up residence in a spacious auto junkyard along with various other hobos.

"Street Trash" marks, to date, the only theatrical directing credit for James M. Muro, who went on to Hollywood and became one of the most in-demand Steadicam operators in the business. Basing this movie on a short subject he'd made, he clearly has some real fun with the material. The Manhattan-based production makes some excellent use of locations, and has some very striking characters. Among them is the almighty Bronson (Vic Noto), a psychotic Vietnam veteran with a bunch of flunkies. Sexy Jane Arakawa, a gal with a great pair of legs, is the secretary who takes sympathy on Fred & Kevin and their cronies. Pat Ryan ("The Toxic Avenger") is her horny, scuzzy boss. And Bill Chepil is the surly, hard driving detective working these streets.

The makeup effects are wonderfully gross and effective. There are scenes here so memorable that they remain favourites for fans: Burts' impromptu shopping trip, and the entire "penis keepaway" sequence. One brilliant gag occurs early on when Bronson manhandles a nerdy motorist. The two best characters are thuggish restaurant owner Nick Duran (Tony Darrow) and his smart mouthed doorman (James Lorinz of "Frankenhooker"). Muro and company know that their scenes are some of the funniest here, so they keep their story going during the end credits.

While "Street Trash" took about 13 weeks to shoot, its journey to movie screens took about three years. It proves that filmmaking finesse isn't always everything: sometimes gung-ho enthusiasm and the willingness to pull out all the stops can go a long way too.

Eight out of 10.