Trash Humpers (2009)
Rating: 4/5 | Directed by: Harmony Korine | “Make it! Make it! Don’t fake it!” — Hervé
This is your official spoiler warning!!!
“Trash Humpers” It’s chaotic, gross, kind of funny in a messed-up way, and honestly feels like something that should not exist but does. As a film student who has definitely spent too much time online, this movie feels weirdly familiar, like the cinematic version of a video you regret clicking but cannot look away from.
There’s basically no plot. Instead, you hang out with this group of elderly weirdos as they wander around smashing things, chanting, singing, and doing their signature ‘activity’. Everything they do feels like it runs on its own strange logic.
A lot of their behavior is peer pressure-based, almost as if they are constantly trying to one-up each other
It also comes off as ritualistic; these actions have meaning to them, even if we do not understand it
The repetition makes it feel like a loop you are stuck in, which gets more uncomfortable the longer it goes on
One thing that kept sticking with me is the use of baby dolls. They show up over and over again, and they are always just a little off. It gives the whole film this feeling of corrupted innocence, like something that should be comforting but is instead deeply disturbing. That idea gets pushed way further when Momma, the only female in the group, becomes the focus.
The way the film looks is a huge part of why it works. Korine shot it to look like an old, reused VHS tape, and it is not just for style points. He has talked about growing up reusing tapes and how old footage would bleed into new recordings, and you can really feel that here. The grain, the blown-out audio, the distortion, all of it makes the movie feel like it is decaying while you watch it.
The setting also adds a lot. This is not a clean or idealized version of America. It is all back alleys, empty parking garages, and random street corners that feel forgotten.
Korine has said that street lamps are really important to him, and you can see why. They show up constantly, casting this glow over everything that somehow makes the ugliness feel intentional. It is him trying to show a version of America that usually gets ignored, but also finding something kind of beautiful in it.
Korine states during an interview: “When I was a teenager growing up there, there was a group of elderly peeping toms that used to walk around in these back alleys, and sometimes I would see them peeping into windows.”
I think what makes “Trash Humpers” work, or at least what makes it interesting, is how committed it is to its bit. It never tries to explain itself or make things easier for the audience. It just exists in its own gross, repetitive world and expects you to deal with it.
This is definitely not a movie for everyone. Some people will hate it, some people will think it is pointless, and honestly, that is fair. But if you are into experimental stuff or just curious about the absolute limits of what a film can be, it is kind of fascinating. It feels less like a movie and more like a piece of media that escaped from somewhere it was not supposed to.
“Sometimes when I drive through these streets at night, I can smell the pain of all these people living in here. I can smell how all of these people are just trapped in their lives, their day-to-day lives. They don’t see much.” — Monologue reflecting on suburban life
P.S. they do in fact hump trash...do not take lightly lol
