[Editor's Note: Because I am a drunk idiot and called Roy - Ray in our Street Trash 2 article (Read Here), and Roy pointed out we have never reviewed any of his films, Brain Hammer came to my rescue. So here it is BRAIN HAMMER REVIEWS STREET TRASH!]
Times are tough for Fred and his younger brother Kevin. The lads are homeless, living inside a giant auto wrecking yard ran by the morbidly obese slob who also played the mayor in “The Toxic Avenger.” Kevin has aspirations of cleaning himself up, finding a job, and getting into the pants of the kind hearted Asian chick who provides him with plenty of food and up the skirt panty shots. Fred on the other hand is more then content to lazily spend his days searching for spare change and cheap booze. A typical day for Fred involves stealing a bottle of hooch and then trying to find a safe spot to get tanked. Freddy is always on the run from Bronson – a deranged and violent Vietnam veteran who runs both the wrecking yard and the local pack of weirdo winos. Bronson’s thugs happily beat the shit out of the always dirt covered and wisecracking Freddy every chance they get.
The shit hits the fan when the wig wearing and sleazy owner of Ed’s Liquor Store unearths a rotten looking case of “Tenafly Viper” from behind a wall in his store’s basement. Inspiration hits old Ed in a big way and he marks the now forty year old case of Viper down to just a buck a bottle. The gaggle of alcoholic degenerates that frequent his shop think they’ve found the bargain of a lifetime and quickly gobble up the now authentic “rotgut.” Unfortunately for the bums, the Viper has gone bad in a BIG way. Anyone who is unlucky enough to take a drink of the vile elixir is immediately melted down into a multi-color spewing pile of bile! Several hobos meet a gory end after taking of swig of the toxic Tenafly and after an incredible series of events unfolds, Freddy is on the run from both the cops, the mafia, and Bronson!
“Street Trash” is a cracked out flick that is hard to neatly summarize. It unfolds like a bizarre series of vignettes, exploring the life, love, and liquidation of several grimy looking street folk. Unspeakable acts such as gang rape, necrophilia, decapitation, and castration are all lovingly presented here. This flick is absolutely over the top, with buckets of gore and lots of nasty puke worthy moments along the way. Viewers with a sick sense of humor and a taste for ever sicker special effects will be delighted by sights such as a cop making himself puke onto a suspect he just finished kicking the shit out of, or the epic game of severed penis keepaway! Every character presented (with the exception of Jane Arakawa’s character of course!) is completely filthy and disgusting. This flick has a genuinely sleazy street atmosphere and a manic energy that few other genre flicks come close to matching. It’s vulgar, it’s absurd, and it never fails to entertain.
I give a lot a credit to writer/producer Roy Frumkes & director Jim Munro for creating a completely outrageous splatterpiece that is also exceptionally well written and photographed. Roy’s brilliant script is as profane and homicidal as they come. It also features a lot more characterization and twists and turns than your standard Saturday night slopfests. Director Jim Munro also did a fantastic job. His always fluid and inventive camera work gives this flick a much needed sense of professionalism. His work here reminds me of prime Sam Raimi. The multicolored splatter is also reminiscent of the classic “Evil Dead” flicks. The gallons of gore are obviously the highlight of the film, but it never completely overshadows the amazing amounts of creativity on display. Consider this one all this one trash with talent.
This is my of my all time favorite flicks. Like a lot of gorehounds, I used to cherish my dvd-r copy of the old “R” rated “Lightning” vhs release. Then Synapse finally unleashed their amazing two-disc “MELTDOWN EDITION” which made all previous releases relics. This very cool collection includes Roy Frumke’s epic documentary “The Meltdown Memoirs,” which covers everything (and then some!) you could possibly want to know about the history of the film and the current whereabouts of the cast and crew. Also included is the original 16mm short that proceeded the feature and a very extensive behind the scenes photo gallery. It’s exactly the kind of amazing release that a classic genre flick like this deserves. Horror fans looking for a gory good time should consider this the holy grail!
Check out the trailer!
KEEP THE BLOOD & VIPER FLOWING!!!
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