TL;DR – This is a film that is catering to a very niche audience, and if that is you, fantastic, if you are everyone else …. It’s not for you.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and end-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains Scenes that may cause distress.

Street Trash Review –

There are times when you need to get out of your comfort zone, and if there is one area that I actively avoid, it is body horror. Well, today, it is the time to rip that Band-Aid off and dive into a weird example from South Africa that is a vague sequel of one of the Tentpole films in the genre.

So, to set the scene, we open with a volunteer getting an injection and not understanding why they are asking for his next of kin. Which is a question you ask before getting the injection that has you melt from the inside while still alive. As Cape Town burns down around them, the local people are just trying to survive between arrest by the corrupt cops and being exploited by the goons of the Rat King. In this world lives Ronald (Sean Cameron Michael), Alex (Donna Cormack Thomson), Chef (Joe Vaz), 2-Bit (Gary Green), Wors (Llyoyd Martinez Newkirk), Pap (Shuraigh Meyer), a bunch of ragtag castoffs trying to live, which is hard when Mayor Mostert (Warrick Grier) creates flying chemical weapon drones to exterminate the undesirables in the city.  

There is a lot to dissect about this film, but I do want to give them credit for leaning into the wired. Well, less leaning into the weird and more diving headfirst into a toxic barrel of weird. There are some artistic and narrative choices here that are entirely divorced from the gore, which had me flabbergasted that they put it in. It is also a good homage to the original film and the vibe it was going for. Honestly, I have complete respect for the entire prosthetics team for making all those gore effects work, and there are a lot of them. Though ironically, the worst thing in the whole film had nothing to do with noxious gas melting people from the inside, and if you have seen it, I think you know which scene I am talking about.  

However, unless you are a real fan of the body horror genre, I don’t think there is a lot here for you. While the visual effects are incredibly novel, they do lose their impact as the film goes along. The film has a lot to say about race and class but does not have much substance to bring to the table. The production was clearly made on a shoestring budget, and I am impressed with everything they were able to pull off. However, I also felt that the sound mix needed more work. Some of the acting could have been tightened up, and not all the visuals landed.  

In the end, do we recommend Street Trash? For me, absolutely not. For most people, no, sorry, I don’t think I would. But I am sure there is one person out there who this will be their film of all time and good luck to them. Have you watched Street Trash? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Street Trash, we would recommend to you Chappie.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Street Trash
Directed by – Ryan Kruger
Story by – Ryan Kruger
Written by – Ryan Kruger & James C. Williamson
Based on – Street Trash by Roy Frumkes & Jim Muro
Music by – Haezer
Cinematography by – Fabian Vettiger
Edited by – Stephen du Plessis
Production/Distribution Companies – Not the Funeral Home, Cineverse, Bloody Disgusting Screembox, Vinegar Syndrome, Enigma Ace Films, Protagonist Studioes Stage Five Films & The Coven
Starring – Sean Cameron Michael, Donna Cormack Thomson, Joe Vaz, Gary Green, Llyoyd Martinez Newkirk, Shuraigh Meyer, Ryan Kruger, Andrew Roux, Warrick Grier, Suraya Rose Santos, Carel Nel, Sidwell Diamond Ralitsoele & Tuks Tad Lungu     
Rating – Around an Australia: R18