Q&A: STREET TRASH’s Ryan Kruger Talks Practical Effects, Shooting on 35mm, and Sockle!

Ryan Kruger’s gory, goopy Street Trash sequel is now available on digital, and we caught up with Ryan for our latest Q&A! From the origins of the project, to practical effects, and shooting on 35mm, learn all about the making of the film below:

What was your first experience watching the original Street Trash, and why has the film stuck with you years later?

Ryan Kruger: It was sitting in my bedroom with friends watching it late at night and having it on VHS. I love so many great 80s horror and overall gory films. It was a big part of my childhood.

How did the opportunity come up to create a loose sequel to the original film?

Ryan Kruger: My first film premiered on Joe Bob’s The Last Drive-In. While people were watching, it came up a lot of times that Ryan Kruger would be a great fit to make Street Trash. I was approached by the producers to write a script and direct a film, which was a big surprise, but I jumped at the chance to do something cool in that world.

Why was it important for you to set and shoot the film in Cape Town?

Ryan Kruger: I had to shoot in Cape Town. I wanted to do something different and make my film more of a sequel in the same world as the first one, but do my style and bring something new to the table. I think South Africa has a lot to offer, with a different look and spin on things. We are still very new to the outside world when it comes to SA cinema.

Daily Dead readers will be happy to hear that his movie is filled with practical gore effects! Can you talk about the use of practical effects in the film and your experience on set?

Ryan Kruger: It was a major thing in the original film, and, as a fan of the original and 80s films, it’s a must, so it was great to be able to bring those prosthetics and gore-exploding goo to the screen. It was fun to come up with melt ideas and work with the prosthetics team (Creations) closely to achieve this goo madness. It is a bit of a process to come up with what’s possible and what’s waaaay too expensive, but I enjoyed every second of the melts and gorey goo.

Every major melt we shot with two 35mm cameras. It was also winter, so the actors were dripping wet and cold laying on the floor, but they smiled after the take. It was just a process to get it right; sometimes we had to reset the prosthetic, which would take a lot of time to start from scratch. But I loved every second getting in there and getting dirty.

You got to shoot Street Trash on 35mm, which really helps give it that old-school horror feel. Do you prefer to shoot on film vs digital?

Ryan Kruger: Shooting on film is very special and I never thought I’d ever shoot a feature film on 35mm. Digital is a luxury, but shooting film… there’s nothing quite like it. There was this discipline and respect that came from everybody automatically that everyone knew we had to be on our A game to not make a sound and be prepared and ready, so we didn’t have to keep doing another take or to waste any film. Give me film any day to shoot!

One of the more surprising things in the film was the inclusion of Sockle! Can you talk about how the imaginary puppet came to be and why you wanted to voice him?

Ryan Kruger: When I was approached to do this film, I really wanted to do something different from the original, so it was more of a loose sequel in the same world. I didn’t want to remake or copy it in any way, so what was important was to take the DNA of the original, things that fans loved, and pay homage to it. It was important to have in-camera effects with the prosthetics and gore with all the melts. And to have the multi-coloured goo. That was a must and, of course, to be centered around homeless people. From there, I created a good strong, different story that would work in that same world just later on. And then came all the characters that brought this world to life in so many ways and put my own stamp on the film.

Sockle was one of those things that I thought just worked and also felt super 80s at the same time. When I came up with the idea, I just thought this is fucking funny and will complement 2-bit’s character even more. It was kind of put there for a support boat for Gary Green as well, as he’s not a trained actor, so I always have to work with him super closely to get what I want, which sometimes takes a bit of time, so the fact I was Sockle’s voice helped me direct Gary more. And they just made a killer team.

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From Bloody Disgusting and Cineverse, Street Trash is now available today on all digital platforms ahead of a SCREAMBOX release next month.

“In the year 2050, global economic turmoil has destroyed the middle class in Cape Town, South Africa, which is now divided between the ultra-rich and the displaced. Ronald and a group of fellow houseless friends uncover a plot by the local government to ‘wash away’ the houseless population with a sinister chemical agent called ‘V.’ Now, they must risk everything to expose the truth and resist a society that’s determined to erase them.

Based on the original midnight classic by Roy Frumkes & Jim Muro, Street Trash is directed by Ryan Kruger, who co-wrote the film with his Fried Barry partner-in-crime James C. Williamson. Kruger also stars alongside Sean Cameron Michael, Donna Cormack-Thomson, Joe Vaz, Lloyd Martinez Newkirk, Shuraigh Meyer, Gary Green, and Warrick Grier.”