Hey, did you hear? Street Trash is out on DVD! Yeah! After literally 20 years of waiting, Synapse Films has released Street Trash on DVD! Ring the bells! Summon the dancers! Let the hobo jug wine flow freely! Bring forth the virgin sacrifice!

Okay, that might seem a little extreme, but it was a joy to hear that Synapse Films had released Street Trash on DVD. While the new barebones release might come as a disappointment to a few who haven’t been monitoring the release of the still-planned, 2 disc special edition, I still consider it a rather nice gesture that Synapse has chosen to release the film on its own.

Street Trash is a painfully easy film to summarize. Street Trash is the cinematic equivalent of a late-period Tom Waits album: Horrible people doing horrible things to other horrible people. This movie revels in its own filth much like a Troma picture, or a John Waters film. However there’s little to no joy to be found in Street Trash. While some might consider this fact a strike against itself, the film presents the characters and events with something that seems completely bizarre and out-of-place for a film like this: Character development. In fact, at the center of Street Trash’s grime-covered heart, it’s simply a character study rather than simply a gooey explode-a-thon. Though a few of those are included too.

Our story begins with Freddy, one of our “protagonists” who is busy outrunning various bystanders and winning Torgo look-alike contests. He manages to escape into a liquor store, where the owner has uncovered a private stock of Viper, which he sells to the homeless for a buck a bottle. He exercises his five-finger discount, but ends up getting his own stolen goods stolen by Paulie, who promptly takes a swig and disintegrates. This prompts a local investigation from the NYPD, and all leads point to Bronson, the homeless Vietnam veteran who rules a small shantytown located in a car impound lot where Freddy and his brother Kevin live.

What follows is a collection of vignettes that explore the lives of the homeless and their interaction with the higher class. While the film shows the homeless in many ridiculous and depraved situations, it gives equal time to the “normal” people, who turn out to be just as sick and vile as their hobo counterparts. While I’ve said that the film is devoid of joy, that doesn’t mean the film isn’t comedic; the tone is simply pitch black and revels in how uncomfortable the situations are. From non-consensual hobo gangbangs, to necrophilia, to games of penis keep-away, to people exploding in a bloody pulp, you’re more likely to laugh out of nervousness rather than having a belly laugh at the expense of others.

There are many surprises in the film. This isn’t just some cheap exploitation film made for about 10 dollars on 16mm film stock, it’s a professionally impressive and innovative film that could be compared to something like Evil Dead II. The film has a constant ability to keep the camera moving and keep the overall pace quick, and while one might hesitate to call the acting “good,” every character is absolutely believable. This film isn’t just splatter, it’s artful, well thought out splatter.

One of the more interesting aspects of the film is how the marketing centerpiece of the film (exploding bodies) seems to mean very little to the overall storyline. Some of the more impatient gore fanatics might come out of the film wondering what the big deal is about, but the more attentive and patient genre fan should come away fairly satisfied.

Video 
It’s no secret that Synapse Films has spent quite a long time perfecting this transfer, and I have to say it was probably worth the wait. With virtually no print damage (a fleck here and there, and a single, faint line for the span of about 10 seconds) and little to no grain, the quality of the print is so good, it makes you want to give Synapse a hug and a pat on the head.

Audio
Sadly, the audio quality doesn’t hold up as well. That’s not to say that the Dolby Digital Mono audio track isn’t sufficient enough, but there are times when dialogue gets a bit muddled (sadly, no subtitles are included, which can leave you in the dark from time to time). I can only assume that Synapse did what they could with the original materials, seeing as how much time they’ve put into the project, but I certainly had to replay a few scenes to catch what was being said.

Extras 
This barebones release comes with a theatrical trailer. Seemingly to make up for the lack of extras, Synapse has included Tenafly Viper label stickers. Slap these onto your flask and feel better about your alcoholism.

Parting Thoughts
I can’t suggest this enough if you’re a splatter fan with patience, or more importantly a fan of uncomfortable comedy. If you’re a fan of things like Strangers With Candy, The League of Gentlemen, or Freeway, this should plaster a smile on your face from beginning to end. Though the Special Edition 2-disc set is coming in the future, you can find this disc for around $15, so it wouldn’t be too big of a loss to pick this up.