Movie review: Street Trash

When a liquor store owner finds a dusty old case of Viper in the basement he decides to sell it to the local homeless and make a quick buck. This dark comedy follows along as the homeless find that Viper melts anyone who drinks it!

Mike Lackey (Fred), Bill Chepil (Bill The Cop), Vic Noto (Bronson), Mark Sferrazza (Kevin), Jane Arakawa (Wendy), Nicole Potter (Winette), Pat Ryan (Frank), James Lorinz (Doorman), Tony Darrow (Nick Duran).

Street Trash is a dark, satirical horror from the late 80's that jumps in your face from the start. The storyline is pretty simple; liquor store owner finds a case of Viper, sells it to the local homeless whom Viper melts when it is drank. To add some depth a few colorful characters were added giving us sexual assault, a psychopath reliving Vietnam, and the mob. As if that weren't enough, colorful language and some fairly explicit sexuality accompany the psychedelic melting bums along with raunchy humor. The result is a film you can't stop watching while wondering why you are watching it at all.

Acting was 1980's awful. Missed cues, poor delivery, and lack of emotion were prolific in this one. Lackey and Sferrazza were okay but not good enough to carry the film. Lorinz was enjoyable, if only because of his obvious inexperience and chemistry with Darrow.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were amusing if not enjoyable. The film was apparently shot in a junkyard somewhere which, while providing a realistic backdrop didn't quite fit at times. Special effects were wonderful 80's animation and stunt work that you just don't see anymore. Dialogue was campy, quirky, and just plain nonsense at times. Sound and soundtrack were surprisingly decent.

If you enjoy campy classic horror, B-movies, 80's low-budget special effects, or humor that is over the top, check this one out. For those wanting a plot with depth, or quality production and technical work, move along.

With plenty of foul language, disturbing sexuality including assault, alcohol use, nudity, and the potential for lasting brain damage, save this for older teens and above.

Released: 1987
Reviewed: 1.15.16
Star rating: 2 out of 5
Genre: Horror, Comedy Horror, B-movies, Campy Horror, Dark Comedy

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel