The signature element that is done spectacularly is the body melting sequences. The “every Crayon in the box” color scheme of human liquefaction here retains the magic of the rainbow splatter of the original, which was done using colors other than red to avoid an X rating from the MPAA in the 80s. A great example of necessity is the mother of invention as people turn to puddles. It also retains the air of constant lunacy of the first film, here enhanced by adding hard drugs to the plot line. The “Great Gazoo”-like Sockle puppet, with its enormous blue tube steak and incredibly foul mouth, is the perfect encapsulation of the anarchy running amok.
“…truly decent but not as magnificent as its predecessor…”
Of course, as with all films that approach the heat of the sun of adding a chapter to a movie classic, there are some decisions that I didn’t agree with in the new Street Trash. The first was the notion to make the body-melting chemical in Tenafly Viper separated from the contaminated booze in order to spray it on people. This removes the whole “follow-the-bottle” game that made the 1987 version so lively. You always keep your eyes out for when someone would eventually take a slug from the pint and explode. By turning it into a chemical weapon, the trickery and suspense is removed from the playing board. Also, while I know the subject of city governments versus their homeless communities is very hot right now, I disagree with making the central conflict of hoboes versus municipal authorities. Part of the hard magic of the first movie was it took place in its own gutter-punk universe of just the homeless with the normal world locked out. Kruger does give us the hierarchy that existed in the original, with the Rat King and her crust mafia. However, the puncturing of the self-contained scum galaxy with outside referencing waters down the whole impact. These are not fatal errors, but they do help explain why this sequel is truly decent but not as magnificent as its predecessor. But it is definitely a Street Trash movie, as it has all the subversive vibrations from the original throbbing like neon. Sit back and get ready to melt into your chair.
"…has all the subversive vibrations from the original throbbing like neon."
