‘Melt the rich’
Street Trash is a 2024 comedic horror film and a remake of the 1987 exploitation classic of the same name. A group of homeless misfits must fight for survival when they discover a plot to exterminate every homeless person in the city.
The movie was directed and co-produced by Ryan Kruger (Fried Barry) from a screenplay co-written with James C. Williamson based on the 1987 screenplay for the film of the same name by Roy Frumkes and J. Michael Muro.
Also produced by Marcelle du Toit, David Franciscus, Matt Manjourides, Justin A. Martell and Dylan Voogt. Executive-produced by Gary Boyer, Roy Frumkes, G. Brandon Hill, Yolanda Macias, Chris McGurk, Brad Miska, J. Michael Muro and Michael Sullivan
The Not the Funeral Home-Protagonist-Stage 5 Films co-production stars Sean Cameron Michael, Donna Cormack-Thomson, Joe Vaz, Lloyd Martinez Newkirk, Shuraigh Meyer, Gary Green, Warrick Grier, Andrew Roux, Ryan Kruger, Colin Moss, Carel Nel, Suraya Rose Santos, Jonathan Pienaar, Sidwell Diamond Ralitsoele and Tuks Tad Lungu.
Director Ryan Kruger has commented: “Our reimagining of Street Trash takes place in Cape Town, South Africa where the growing divide between rich and poor has changed the world as we know it. I was a huge fan of the original Street Trash when I was a kid, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce a whole new generation to the melted gonzo goodness that made the original such a classic.”
“I’m excited to reinterpret the original story, update it to better reflect the times we live in and give it a new and original spin,” continued Kruger. “While our reimagining features new, exciting plot elements that give the film many bizarre twists and turns, the core of the film lies with our diverse and unique cast of characters. As a director, I am very character-centric and I can’t wait to see our strange and hilarious ensemble on screen together as they navigate the hostile streets of Cape Town. Our version of Street Trash will be raw, hilarious, packed with vibrant characters and multi-coloured explosions of gooey greatness.”
Brad Miska, Managing Director of Bloody Disgusting/Cineverse added: “The original Street Trash was known for its dark humour, over-the-top gore, and surreal visuals, and we know the film is in the right hands with Ryan Kruger to push this remake even further. It’s frightening how relevant the social commentary continues to be after all of these years.”
Reviews:
“The end of this goes full action movie and at least has some action and the practical effects are fun, even if the rest of the technical parts of the movie — the ADR is rough and it seems like the sound is low in others — lack. You could just watch this to see people melt in different colors and be told the sledgehammer plot and get past it.” B&S About Movies
“There’s social commentary, but it’s not too incisive, and performances are committed but often have nowhere to go, hitting the same beats of restlessness without much in the way of genuine humor. The original picture wasn’t high art, but it was well-crafted, presenting memorable awfulness. The new Street Trash delivers plenty of bodily destruction to please horror hounds, but the overall offering is missing a sharper sense of viewer engagement, and the messiness of it all quickly becomes dull.” ★★½ Blu-ray.com
“Subjectively speaking, how any individual viewer responds to the toilet humor, problematic personalities, and gutter-glorifying style is where things get dicey. Blitz your brain on a couple of edibles beforehand and you’ll synch with the splatter infinitely better than anyone expecting even a smidge of seriousness.” 50/100 Culture Crypt
” …the best thing Kruger does in Street Trash is take a firm stance against the wealthy and their economic oppression (that typically takes a very real, physical form). He goes so far as to put himself in the film as a character named Offley who remains behind the camera, occasionally giving a thumbs up to his fellow houseless friends; a subtle gesture that, if it wasn’t already clear, Kruger has no love for politicians who ignore the root causes of houselessness, nor the cops who enforce the bourgeois class’s hatred of those who have not.” ★★★½ Father Son Holy Gore
“Paying homage to the spirit of independent filmmaking that thrived in the 1980s, Kruger’s movie is a futuristic gorefest that cleverly incorporates elements from its 1987 namesake. The film’s blend of dark comedy and exploitation themes would undoubtedly resonate with fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s South Park. Translation, for an adult audience and not for the faint of heart!” Fears Magazine
“As a blunt sledgehammer of an allegory for how the government and society treat and view the homeless, Street Trash is effective without really getting too deep into the side issues beyond the fact that governments would prefer homeless disappeared rather than attempting to fix the issues surrounding it. These issues are treated seriously in the film which puts it at odds with the vulgar comedy that pops up, it doesn’t mesh together.” Haddonfield Horror
“The acting is sometimes fun, sometimes bad. The writing is also not great. But nobody looking for Shakespeare ever tuned into a movie where street people turn the tables on the 1% and melt them down into vibrant puddles of goo. The film splashes vibrantly colored innards across the scene with abandon and delivers a message we can all get behind.” Maddwolf
“Had Kruger’s version of Street Trash instead been set in a genuine Eighties shantytown under the Apartheid regime, perhaps its unfolding genocide would have felt that much more real and urgent, and hit that much harder. Still, as always with Orwellian allegory, the uncomfortable reality of (South Africa’s) past and present still lurks at the margins of these futurological fictions – and the national narrative locked into the film’s location also represents its satirical subtext.” Projected Figures
“Street Trash ends up as a movie that outdoes the original in plenty of ways. Ryan Kruger and the cast understood the assignment of updating the ’80s version for a new audience and they ended up with a surprisingly personable and powerful look into the lives of the have-nots, and they also made people melt in explosively colorful ways.” That Hashtag Show
” …the real problem is the script, which lacks the kind of anything goes humour that made Fried Barry work so well. How he managed to get this film so wrong after getting that one so right is a mystery worthy of a Netflix special. In the end, while Street Trash is watchable […] it’s a pale shadow of the surreal spoof of class warfare that I was expecting and that it should have been.” ★★½ Voices from the Balcony
Trailer:
Release:
Street Trash will be available for streaming on Cineverse’s Screambox platform and on VOD on November 19, 2024.
Cast and characters:
Sean Cameron Michael … Ronald
Donna Cormack-Thomson … Alex
Joe Vaz … Chef
Lloyd Martinez Newkirk … Wors
Shuraigh Meyer … Pap
Gary Green … 2-Bit
Warrick Grier … Mayor Mostert
Andrew Roux … Officer Maggot
Ryan Kruger … Reggie/Sockle/Offley
Colin Moss … Group Leader
Carel Nel … Geep
Suraya Rose Santos … Rat King/Female News Anchor
Jonathan Pienaar … Society
Sidwell Diamond Ralitsoele … Slade
Tuks Tad Lungu … Clover
Grant Swanby … Businessman
Johann Vermaak … Doctor
Niklas Wittenberg … Advisor Mindy
Deon Lotz … Counsellor
Filming locations:
South Africa
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