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Event coverage: “Trash Humpers”
Every film festival has at least one movie that prompts lots of walkouts, either because of “offensiveness” or sheer boredom.
This year, SXSW had its first such screening with “Trash Humpers.” Shot on what looks like scratchy, old VHS tape, “Humpers” is true to its name. A gang of old folks gets its jollies by being a bit too familiar with trash cans, light poles and just about anything else in their wake.
Director Harmony Korine, who’s known for stirring up folks, would probably deny it, but “Trash Humpers” has an eerie resemblance to “Tobacco Road.” I’m not talking about the play or the movie version. I’m talking about the novel detailing the sexual degeneracy of a poor Southern family.
In “Humpers,” the family is a group of old folks who test the limits of freedom by doing whatever they want. They scream. They drag plastic baby dolls around, tied behind their bicycles. They make fun of a kid who can’t make a basket in basketball. They urinate and defecate in people’s driveways.
And in one instance, one of them takes a hammer to a cross dresser’s head. (The actual hammering occurs off-screen).
As for narrative arc, there’s little. It seems like more a hodgepodge of events that an actually structured movie.
But it’s interesting to see Korine go in this direction. I’m not sure whether it’s the right direction. And if you’re judging by the audience reaction during the premiere Friday night, you’d probably say it’s a step backward.
Then again, Korine is a provocateur. And if that’s what he was aiming for, he has succeeded.
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