Street Trash (2024) by Ryan Kruger

Director: Ryan Kruger

Year: 2024

Country: South Africa

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Body-Horror

Plot:

Forced out onto the streets, a homeless woman meets up with a friendly group of people stuck in a situation like her and sets about trying to help them overcome the exploits of a tyrannical mayor looking to wipe out the homeless population with a special body-melting chemical.

Review:

This was a rather disappointing if still watchable enough genre effort. Among the best aspects of this one is a rather strong and topical storyline that manages to hit on a very current aspect of society. The series of political satire attempted here involving the plight of the homeless and how they’re left on their own despite the protestations and promises of the rich to provide and care for them in their campaign speeches talks about the current issues involving what to do with the homeless in the real world. The poor are left to fend for themselves in the broken-down, rat-infested slums they are shown to live in and are unable to care for themselves or each other even though there’s a real effort made to bring about a sympathetic vibe to them compared to the more antagonistic approach given to the political rantings of the authorities that prove them to be in control of society and doing what they can to keep themselves in power to spite the homeless. It’s a solid enough take that offers a decent enough starting point for everything.

This starting point offers a great display of body meltdowns and disintegrations that are featured throughout here. The goopy, viscous-style effects are quite fun with the multi-colored liquids emerging from every orifice possible as the skin melts down and falls off or limbs drop to the ground making for a great touch here bringing about no shortage of graphic and bloody sequences. Whether it’s just random passersby on the streets who we get to see the effects of the chemical or the friends who are trying to fight back against the corrupt authorities in their way as they try to carry out their special plan to wipe out the homeless on the streets, the scenes here provide a fun series of ideas depicting the various stages of their bodies getting dismembered and falling apart which are wholly cheesy and silly to witness as the physical approach keeps everything immensely fun. Mixed in with some brutal hand-to-hand Action and shootouts to be quite enjoyable, there’s plenty to like with this one at points.

That said, there are some factors here holding this one back. That mostly centers on the film not being all that interesting when it’s not dealing with the body meltdowns or the Action scenes as the fight for human rights and equality is not that interesting to see play out. The pacing in the first hour is quite bland as we get plenty of their day-to-day lives, the political satire of the war against them by the elites, and the discovery about everything going on that comes with this particular story that never really delves into the horror of any kind which leaves a feeling more in line with a high-energy Action film than horror. Focusing on shootouts, gun-battles, and the occasional use of the gas to melt people down as a way of helping them achieve their mission than anything else, this might not be a genuine issue but can easily be a factor to drag this down in the end.

Overview: **/5

A somewhat decent if highly problematic remake, there’s enough to enjoy here that it’s somewhat watchable at best but has way too many issues to be much more than that. Viewers who appreciate the approach featured here, enjoyed the original in any capacity, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like with this one while most others out there should heed caution.