Street Trash

Street Trash

1987

Directed by J. Michael Munro

So. You know how I have an enduring love for crappy horror flicks made in bad taste with low budgets? This fucker just set the bar lower. Like, a lot lower. Hell, I don't even really know where to begin!

Street Trash is fairly infamous, and with good reason. I don't know what the shit they were thinking when they made it, but I can only guess that Munro and crew got together and decided to make the most vile and unrespectable movie in history. Now, I haven't seen any of John Waters' early work yet, but I think they certainly more or less achieved their goal.

Street Trash. Street Trash.... where to begin? It boggles the mind. The story loosely revolves around a liquor store owner who sells bottles of decades-old wine to a bunch of bums for one dollar a pop. But this wine is seriously fucked up, because if you drink it, you melt - you melt into piles of abstract expressionist dayglo crud that burn like Aliens blood. The cast of characters is mainly the sorriest bunch of filthy and sociopathic bums ever assembled, rounded out by sleazy mobsters, psychotic cops, lecherous junkyard owners, and headed by a demented vietnam war vet who looks like Zach Galifianakis if he just emerged from a septic tank. Evil Galifianakis (fine, his name is Bronson in the movie) rules over a sorry lot of hobos living in an automotive junkyard. Bronson is so fried from his tour of duty in Nam that he carries around a knife carved out of a human femur.

The narrative is a total mess. It's more of an amalgamation of variously funny and/or surprisingly disturbing set pieces. The humour frequently falls flat either due to poor acting or worse writing. However, my buddy Corey and I are connoiseurs of poor taste, so we found more than enough to amuse us. Frankly, I don't know a single person other than Corey that would want to watch Street Trash, so I couldn't really recommend it to a normal individual. It crosses so many boundaries that I don't know what the fuck... It's racist, misogynistic, there's a scene where all the bums play catch with a severed penis, there's a scene which implies the gang rape of a drunk bimbo by a mob of homeless guys followed by (implied) necrophilia with same bimbo after her body washes up on shore (going rather too far for even our depraved sensibilities), there's a crapload of people melting and exploding, a cop beating a guy to death and then vomitting on his corpse... look, I don't think I really need to go on. Anyway, that's the worst of it.

I guess I really had no idea what I was getting into here. The thing is, the whole movie is so knowingly ridiculous and over-the-top, it's impossible to seriously allege that it is actually racist or misogynistic or anything else for that matter. But Street Trash is so relentlessly lowbrow that it actually ventures into twisted surrealism at times. Nowhere is this more evident than Bronson's messed up and jarringly serious Vietnam flashbacks. The film could not in any way be called political, but these scenes, the dismal urban landscapes, and the overwhelming nihilism on display certainly give what would otherwise be goofy horror schlock a dark and sometimes sinister atmosphere. In fact, it's somewhat puzzling. You almost think that there's some evil intent beneath the surface of Street Trash - it's just that, nobody would ever give it enough credit to search for it.

My favourite movies are more along the lines of Solaris, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Third Man. In this lofty company, Street Trash can only look like what it is - an amateurish, sordid affair; but it's certainly a true original. In any case, I couldn't recommend it to anybody other than trash culture junkies.

A well-earned 3.7

The Brood

The Brood

1979

Directed by David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg is one of Canada's few auteurs. With a solid output of creepy and very unconventional horror, sci-fi, and dramas, Cronenberg should really be more popular than he is. I guess he just sort of falls somewhere in between conventional genre fans and a rather squeamish mainstream audience that can't seem to warm up to his work.

The Brood is a flawed but mostly excellent thinking man's psychological horror film. Reading the description on the back of the box, you might think you know what to expect from it, but that's not really the case. This was one of Cronenberg's earliest films, obviously he was working on a smaller budget than later classics like The Fly. Otherwise, many of his hallmarks are here - a sharp, intelligent script, creepy and sometimes repulsive special effects, visceral scenes of violence. The only thing that mars the movie is somewhat limited acting performances; Cronenberg is usually able to draw the best out of his cast (Jeff Goldblum at his insane best in The Fly, Jeremy Irons' creepy, layered performance as twin gynecologists in Dead Ringers), but there is a lack of depth in the cast of The Brood.

The Brood is probably the closest Cronenberg got to directing a straight horror flick, with a deceptively simple plot. Dr. Hal Raglan (a glowering Oliver Reed) is a pioneer in the field of "psychoplasmics," a parapsychotherapeutic method involving drawing out patients' anger in metaphysical manifestations. He would seem like a quack except that what seems metaphysical actually turns out to be rather more physical. Manifesting itself as cancerous growth and skin affliction in some patients, psychoplasmics definitely redefines expressing one's inner rage. One of Dr. Raglan's patients is the disturbed Nola Carveth, unfortunately over-played by Samantha Eggar. When things start happening to people related to her, her separated husband Frank starts to investigate further, in the interest of protecting their daughter Candice - unexplained bruises start to appear on her, but Frank thinks it has something to do with his crazy-as-a-loon wife.

Cronenberg launches into a series of grisly and bizarro murders, perpetrated by... well, I won't ruin any surprises, I'll just say that they're creepy. Things just get weird from this point on. It's like he took a standard slasher concept and set it slightly askew. As Frank delves into psychoplasmics, he finds more pronounced versions of the manifestations of anger and self-loathing in the patients he meets. The film has a sort of minimalist production which fits the overall mood, but it carries over into Art Hindle's performance as Frank. He seems improbably credulous of the many shocking developments, including the brutal killings of relatives, police investigations, freaky creatures, injury to his daughter. In his situation, I would be flipping out. Still, considering most horror movie acting in the seventies, I guess I can't really complain much. These lapses were somewhat lessened by a few excellent performances from the supporting cast. Gary McKeehan is good as disturbed patient Mike Trellan, and Robert Silverman is just great as the wry and off-kilter Jan Hartog.

More unsettling than outright scary, you'll still probably jump more than once during The Brood. It can be easily appreciated as a straight horror film, but the themes it explores venture into the allegorical as well. This is probably the best thing about Cronenberg's work; uncompromising intelligence along with excellent special effects and engaging stories. Plus the odd scene or two that might make you want to hurl. He has been able to bring legitimacy to the horror genre like no other filmmaker I can think of. Hopefully the success of Eastern Promises and the superb A History of Violence prompts moviegoers to explore his sorely underrated earlier work.

7.5

Double Feature of Horrors: Brain Damage and The Toxic Avenger

Got some new movies in the mail, so I watched a couple of trashy horror classics with my old pal Corey. It's difficult to rate movies that are intentionally ridiculous and have such a love em or hate em appeal. There's an automatic fan base for these things, and mostly everybody else probably wouldn't care for them. Well, I tried.

Brain Damage
1988
Directed by Frank Henenlotter

I have an enduring love of trashy, campy movies, particularly of the horror variety. Directed by Frank Henenlotter of Basket Case fame (unfortunately have not seen that one), Brain Damage has enough camp, trash, and brain-eating to go around, so I was sold on it pretty quickly.

Brian (Rick Hearst, who somehow went on to star in "The Bold and the Beautiful") wakes up one evening to find his neck covered in blood, and proceeds to have trippy and enjoyable hallucinations. Turns out a weird worm-like creature named Aylmer which injects people with a hallucinogenic substance has turned up, and he wants to help Brian have a real good time. All he wants are some nice human brains to munch on. Brian goes around tripping out and Aylmer devours lots of brains, but Brian doesn't seem to remember what happened after the fact. When he finally clues in, he's already addicted to Aylmer's "juice."

Brain Damage belongs to an older variety of horror film, riding the last wave of extreme gore and ridiculousness that probably had its culmination in Peter Jackson's Dead Alive in 1990. Things just haven't been the same since, with spooks and creepiness replacing good old gory lunacy like this. Not to say that's necessarily a bad thing, but I miss films like Brain Damage: weird, original, funny, disgusting, and yeah, a little uneven too. There is really no such thing as character development, the acting is pretty hammy, and some of the violence is in pretty dismal taste - but in a film like this, those are actually good things. It's not trying to change your life, it's not trying to be a masterpiece. It's just... a lot of fun.

Negatives? Sure. The pacing is a little odd, there's some scenes that feel pointless or dragged out. But overall we enjoyed this movie. The effects for Aylmer were pretty good, and his voice... well, you just have to hear it for yourself. Hearst is actually not too bad, for a C-lister in a low-budget horror pic. The violence is gruesome, ridiculous, and funny - there are a few things you've probably never seen in a movie before, nor will you anymore, considering the contemporary market. The bottom line is, if you're a fan of old-school horror, this is going to seem like gold to you. For everyone else, well, it's a movie about a talking, brain-eating, hallucinogenic worm; if you think that sounds stupid and juvenile, avoid this film.

6.7


The Toxic Avenger
1984
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman

Corey and I were in stitches for much of this movie. I'm actually surprised I haven't seen it yet, as it undoubtably deserves its cult status. I thought Brain Damage was pretty trashy, but The Toxic Avenger has it beat by a long shot!

It's really more of a comedy than a horror film. The first (I think) feature produced by the legendary independent Troma Productions, Toxic Avenger blends Mad Magazine farce, old-school brutality and gore, a sort of crude Swamp Thing comic-book hero plotline, over-the-top crappy acting, and social justice into a completely outrageous and baffling whole. It's no surprise to me now that they've made it into a musical in recent times - for a movie this insane, it's really not a stretch to imagine it put to music.

The story revolves around the nerdy janitor Melvin, who is turned into a huge, beastly mutant after a toxic chemical accident. He inherits a sudden drive to eliminate evil and goes around the corrupt city of Tromaville mashing a variety of criminals. The effects are ridiculous, but somehow effectively vile. In fact, the whole film is basically vile. If that's what you're into, then pretty much everything you usually want to see in a horror film (but don't) can be found right here. There's enough amputation, running over of children, head-crushing, and yes, even granny-punching to keep any 13-year-old boy or underdeveloped adult male (hi!) smiling for weeks. But wait, there's even a love story between Toxie and a blind bombshell. Total wish fulfillment for every nerd who never got his due. But for a guy who brutally murders people for a hobby, Toxie is a real sweetheart to regular folk, and he wins Tromaville over with his "good works."

Toxic Avenger is super-low budget. The effects are laughable. I won't even discuss the "acting." Even the writing is frequently stupid - some of the jokes are just terrible. But in such quantity, you won't really care if some of the humour falls flat. What this movie has going for it is that it uses all of these negatives to its advantage. Knowing that it was stupid, atrocious, in poor taste, etc., Kaufman clearly decided to go for the gold. Always tongue-in-cheek, it's actually a great send-up of more serious horror fare. Not everybody will find running down a kid on a bike for "points" funny, but it's pretty hard to be seriously offended by anything in a movie so obviously excessive.

Some people have pegged Toxic Avenger as a "so bad it's good" movie. Those people are wrong, because that term really refers to movies that failed so miserably at being good that they went right past sad and unwatchable to being unintentionally funny. The earnest but completely talentless Ed Wood falls into this category. But there is no way that Kaufman and friends set out to make a passable movie here. Toxie is meant to be bad, and it totally revels in it. It turned out exactly the way it was intended to turn out - love it or hate it, it is the definition of a cult classic.

7.9

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

1984
Directed by W.D. Richter

It's difficult to give a rating to Buckaroo Banzai. Chances are, you're either going to love or hate this campy and extremely odd low-budget sci-fi spoof. To me, it's a complete riot, full of non-sequiturs, cheap gags, inside jokes and general weirdness; but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody said that they felt they were not in on the joke. You definitely have to pay close attention to get a lot of the humour, and even then you might find yourself lost. There is a non-sensical, slightly insane dynamic to Buckaroo Banzai, and if that's not your idea of comedy, then you might be better to avoid this film.

Discussing the plot could get a bit complicated, so I'll be brief instead. Dr. Buckaroo Banzai is a brilliant polymath, equally at ease performing brain surgery, engaging in theoretical physics, playing the guitar, french horn, piano, and singing in his band the Hong Kong Cavaliers, gunslinging, brandishing a samurai sword, and adventuring. When Banzai drives a modified Ford pickup through a mountain using a prototype Oscillation Overthruster, he discovers an 8th dimension existing parallel to our own universe - except that he wasn't the first to discover it. That honour goes to Dr. Emilio Lizardo, who literally made it halfway into the 8th dimension and was possessed by the evil dictator Lord John Whorfin of Planet 10. Stranded and determined to return to his homeworld, John Whorfin plans to take Dr. Banzai's Overthruster. With the help of other extradimensional beings called Red Lectroids (all named John), Whorfin puts into motion events that may lead to the destruction of planet Earth. It's Banzai's job to stop him, along with the rest of the Hong Kong Cavaliers - all gunslingers and scientists like himself.

The cast is awesome. Peter Weller plays Buckeroo Banzai with a combination of zen-like detachment and Flash Gordon swagger. The great John Lithgow is the nefarious Dr. Lizardo - a true lunatic. If this movie had nothing else but Lithgow and his ridiculously funny Italian accent, it would already be a classic. Definitely the funniest I've ever seen him be. Ellen Barkin is hilarious as the unbalanced and comically over-sexualized Penny Priddy (what passes for a love interest in this most bizarre film; at one point, being held for ransom and bravely telling Banzai not to give in to the kidnappers' demands, Banzai rather unromantically tells her to "get off the phone"). Highlander's Clancy Brown and Lewis Smith are standouts as Rawhide and Perfect Tommy, members of the Cavaliers. Jeff Goldblum plays a cowboy brain surgeon who for some reason is nicknamed New Jersey. Buckaroo Banzai even has Christopher Lloyd as a Red Lectroid.

The humour is weird to say the least. So many things are going on at any one time, your head might be spinning a little bit. Some of the humour is immediately appealing, but a lot of it doesn't make sense at first. You sort of just have to roll with it and be prepared for anything. I honestly still don't get some of the jokes. I have no idea why there is a random watermelon in one scene, and they never explain anything. I'm thinking the commentary in the special features might be instructive. But for the most part, Buckaroo Banzai has me laughing my ass off constantly. An example of the humour: in the middle of a rock concert, Dr. Banzai stops the show because he hears somebody crying in the audience. His encouraging words for the suicidal woman and the restless audience? "Hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean... cause wherever you go... there you are." He then mispronounces her name and launches into a sappy ballad. Using completely absurd deduction, various characters have epiphanies about the nature of the bizarre phenomena they encounter. A Lectroid with a Jamaican accent (a hilarious Carl Lumbly) wearing something out of Little Richard's wardrobe and named John Parker, arrives with a big pink box for Dr. Banzai. In the box? A hologram player that can only be viewed with goggles clearly made out of bubble wrap. One Red Lectroid announces his comrade's death in complete seriousness: "John Valuk is dead. He fell on his head." You get the idea.

The filmmakers make the best possible use of their limited budget. The interiors of the alien spacecraft are full of random junk ranging from tin cans to plastic tubing held up by electrical tape. The Lectroids themselves are just people wearing Halloween-costume grade masks. The ship itself looks like a conch shell. Clothing ranges from new wave to lounge act to cowboy. All of this just makes the movie funnier. It actually blends together to really compliment the overall feel of the film.

It's actually amazing to me that they managed to get Buckaroo Banzai produced at all. In today's market, there is no way that it could exist. People are not willing to work for their laughs anymore; everybody wants everything laid out, plain and accessible. The makers of Buckaroo Banzai were not going to have any of that. Good for them, and too bad for us that we won't see another film like it. A true original, Banzai is deservedly a cult favourite. I just wish more people knew about it.

8.8