Walkden Entertainment (aka Peter Walkden) was thrilled to chat with Ryan Kruger, the writer, director and supporting actor from Street Trash (2024), which will be available on Digitial in Australia and New Zealand from February 19th thanks to Lightbulb Film Distribution.
Let’s break the ice: what is your all-time favourite film and why?
That’s a hard question; there are just too many to choose from, and all are different, which means I can’t compare. But 80s cinema is my favourite. You can’t beat “Back to the Future”, or films like ” The Thing” or “The Hitcher” or “The Fly”. 80s films, in general, have a very special place in my heart, and they just don’t make films like they used to. The feel, looks, effects, and make-up still stand strong.
Out of all the sequels you could have made from the 1980s, what is it about Street Trash (1987) made you decide that this would be your next project within your film career?
I never really thought about doing a sequel to any film. I was approached by the producers who had the rights to the film, and they thought I’d be a great fit. As a fan of the original movie, I thought it would be great to do something in the street trash world. As a filmmaker, you have many scripts you would like to make, but you never know which ones will get made. The fact that any film gets made is a miracle.
Regarding the film’s gore and violence and the present-day use of things such as AI, etc., is it true that you are using practical effects in this film?
It’s all about the in-camera gore again; with me being big on the 80s films, the prosthetics were always great, and sadly, the world has been taken over by CGI and AI; there’s nothing wrong with VFX just that you can’t use it for everything, the best VFX is stuff you can see it, or it looks real. This film is 99 per cent prosthetics and an odd clip for the future world, and stuff is VFX. It’s all about balance. In the 80s, 90 per cent made up 10 per cent of VFX, but these days, it’s the other way around. And when it is makeup up, it’s mixed in with the VFX and its quick edits, so with Street Trash, I go back to the old school way and really sit on the scenes and watch death scenes unfold and don’t cut away so fast.
Talk to me about the visual choice to film Street Trash (2024) in 35mm. Was this process more challenging to complete because of the format?
The film was shot on 35mm; I never thought I’d ever shoot a feature film on 35mm, so that was a dream come true. I shot on film like 14 years ago, so it’s been a while. But back then, in Cape Town, we had a processing lab. But it’s rare these days for people to shoot features on film. We would shoot for 3 days and send the film to the UK to be processed, which would take about 2 to 3 days to be digitally sent back and only then we would see what we actually shot, so that was scary. But when the footage arrived, we were very happy and excited about what we saw and knew we had.
How long did it take to make this film from start to finish?
We had about a month or two of pre-production and about four and a half weeks of filming. The rest of the process months were post-production, with two pick-up days grading music and so on.
What was your biggest challenge in making this film?
Budget is always a problem in the sense of what you want to do or can’t do, but coming from music video and Indi filmmaking, I have lots of tricks up my sleeve that I’ve learnt over the years, making stuff look bigger and better, so I always end up stretching the budget to make a bigger better film. And really show what is possible.
I noticed in the film that you personally play multiple characters, including Sockle a naughty and foul-mouthed alien who can only be seen by the character 2-Bit (played by Gary Green). Am I right to say that Sockle combines puppeteering and animatronics? Also, how on earth did you come up with this character?
I did, yes, but not by choice. The character Reggie, a random homeless guy, was meant to be played by an actor who couldn’t make it in the end from overseas, and he missed his flight, so I cut down the scenes and jumped in because we had already started filming and just happened that I fitted into the wardrobe. Then I played Offley, the pov guy who doesn’t speak, and you only see his hands, but this was a no-brainer as what’s the point of hiring someone to put gloves on and do that when I’m there the whole time, haha. But Sockle was my choice; I thought it was a great character to add because 2-Bit is always talking to himself, and I thought, what if he is speaking to someone and no one else can see him but 2-Bit, so that seemed funny and unexpected. However, it was also put there as a support boat for working with Gary Green a bit closely, as I always have to work closely with him to get what I want, so it was perfect to have them as a team.
Speaking of actor Gary Green, he is again hilarious in this film. What is it about him that made you want to work with him again on Street Trash?
Yeah, Gary is great; I couldn’t make another film without using him. Gary has that cool, unique look about him. He will always be in my movies and pop up somewhere. I think I am just really good at casting Gary in the right roles; it does take time and a lot of planning and understanding for him to get exactly what I want, so I may have to jump through some hoops to get what I want, but we have a great friendship and understanding, and I have the patience to get what I need.
It’s no secret that Street Trash is filled with many random and comedic moments. Do you ever let the actors ad-lib or make up lines of dialogue, or were they required to always stick to the script?
As an actor myself, I do like doing some improv 100%. A lot of the lines were scripted in this. Maybe just odd bits on performance; we did some use improv. Sometimes, I‘ll write certain stuff, and it’s very important that it’s done in a certain way and other times, where it’s not as important scene, I’d say you know what the scene is about, and we know where it needs to go, so let’s try it again and throw the script out the window and see what happens.
I understand you’re currently working on a new film project. Can you reveal anything here?
There’s a bunch of films that I am waiting on that could be happening very soon, but yes, I have just half a day left of shooting a new film called Starry Eyed. Very different type of film compared to Fried Barry and Street Trash. It’s an art house gritty black and white movie with a touch of horror/thriller about a weirdo “Gary Green” who wants to be an actor, but he is terrible, but someone sees something in him, and he gets an opportunity to be in a film and ends up going full method.
Lastly, as we conclude our interview, why should the people of Australia see this film?
Australia loves Horror and comedy and weird fucked up films, As I am a fan of them. Street Trash is a fun wacky gooey bloody film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Go into it with an open mind and just have fun with it. Blood, goo, melts, action and comedy. What much more do you want?
Street Trash (2024) will be available on Digital in Australia from February 19th!
Published: 13th February 2025
Written by: Peter Walkden
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