Greetings Folks ZombieRedneck here with the Tombstone Review once again. This week I shall be looking at the 1987 James M. Muro movie “Street Trash”. A movie about hobos, a drink that makes you melt, a cop on a case of murder, and melting hobos. I am not even joking. There is that and more in this jam packed movie, which is to say almost too much. As always this review is solely my opinion on the movie, and no way an attempt to force my opinions on you. With this in mind, I present to you “Street Trash”.
Genre: Street Trash is a Comedy Horror with elements of Body horror sprinkled on top. With this in mind, you should be expecting a movie that has disgusting imagery in it. While some of the jokes are hit and miss, there is still some funny moments in the movie that remind you that this is a comedy. It is by no means a high brow comedy, but what can you expect from a movie with a title like “Street Trash”?
Basic Plot: One day in New York, a liquor store owner finds a case of alcohol in his basement called “Viper” and due to the fact he believes it’s out of date decides to sell it to the local Hobo population. However, unknown to the store owner, “Viper” causes the consumer to melt in a very gruesome and messy manner. While this is happening, two brothers have found themselves in the middle of a police investigation, as well as becoming an annoyance for the Vietnam Veteran maniac Bronson and the Junkyard owner.
Level of Gore and Blood: As stated already this movie has elements of body horror in it, so this means there is a large amount of blood and gore in this movie. These include people melting and a man being castrated. So if you are not a big fan of blood or body horror, you may want to give this movie a pass.
Kills: This movie has some variety of kills in it, but they range from the realistic to the strange. From a woman being found dead on the shore, to people….well melting because they drank “Viper”. There is also a man who gets his head ripped off by a runaway gas canister, which until now I had not seen in a horror movie. Or at least in the way it kills this victim. I won’t say much more, but there is a lot of goo made of melted people, and blood.
Setting: The setting of the movie takes place in New York, specifically a junkyard that is home to a large amount of homeless residents. This movie swaps between bright and dark lighting, but is the majority of the scenes are set during the day. While this can work for some movies, I feel that it doesn’t really work in this case.
How it Racks up: Honestly, this is a movie that depends on the viewer’s mind-set. The special effects are alright for the 80’s, but also is far from the most impressive you can see from an 80s body horror movie. The big problem here is that there is just so much crammed into one film that it makes the movie hard to follow at times. The “Viper” drink is only one plot that is put on pause part way through the film so that the story of a crime lords wife who is murdered can be picked up, only to have the story return to “Viper” towards the end of the film. However, while this fault is one that might steer you pure horror fans away from this movie, I will state that if you’re looking for a dumb movie to watch that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this might be the one for you. It has its funny moments, and its gory moments. However, sadly the effects and plot don’t live up to today’s standards of horror. This movie is fun at times, but can get rather dumb at times. It’s a movie you have to watch and take how it is, that is a movie that calls itself “Street Trash”. If you sit down and expect to watch a work of horror greatness, well you’re not gonna get it. But if you sit down and enjoy just how bad it can be at times, you appreciate the smaller things that make this movie watchable. It’s one of those you need to have patience with, but if you’re in the mood for a trashy movie that you don’t need to get too invested in, look no further than “Street Trash”.
Overall Mark: For Pure horror Fans = 5/10. If you’re watching it for the fun: 7/10
This movie is rated for mature audience. There is Nudity, Blood, Gore, and some other adult themes such as sexual violence.
Hope you enjoyed this review, and if anyone has a movie they want me to review leave the title in a comment and I might review it.
Hoppyhead
Posts : 1259 Join date : 2014-02-24 Age : 45 Location : Behind You...
Wow really interesting review, makes me kinda want to check it out. Growing up in the 80's it's fun to watch 80's movies for the nostalgia. Some times a movie is so bad it's good. A movie that you can review that is a favorite of mine is Dagon http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0264508/
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praising
Posts : 1493 Join date : 2016-01-02 Age : 32 Location : South of Heaven
Another interesting and nicely done movie review @ZombieRedNeck , great work. Having seen the movie, you perfectly summed it up when you wrote "what can you expect from a movie with a title like “Street Trash”? ", the script isn't good, but as you said, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. That being said, what I liked about the movie is that it focuses and evolve around hobos, and homeless people, and I found that to be somehow original.
@Hoppyhead I'd say go for it, if you don't mind cheap laughs and gory effect and more generally don't mind watching that kind of movie.
@praising Oh I will not say I dont appreciate the fact that this is based around the homeless community and not a bunch of good looking kids/adults. In fact the lack of any real attractive atmosphere plays to the movies strengths.
@Hoppyhead I thank you for the recommendation and I will have a look at it. I have already started writing the next review but you can be certain Dagon will be reviewed in the near future. Thanks for posting and I hope you enjoy Street Trash.
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