Trash Fire

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Trash Fire

R

Released Nov 4, 2016

1h 33m

Comedy

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Owen and Isabel's love story simmers with spiteful rage and unfortunately for everyone, Isabel is pregnant with Owen's child. To prove to her that he can become a stable father, Owen agrees to reconnect with his only living relatives at Isabel's request. The couple take a trip to visit his perversely devoted grandmother and his sister Pearl, who was severely burned in a fire, to finally bury the hatchet. But sometimes the ties that bind can cut off all circulation.

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Critics Consensus

Trash Fire has a confidently scabrous appeal, although its unsympathetic characters and nihilistic black comedy may leave a sour taste with some viewers.

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Glenn Kenny

New York Times

A failed American Guignol.

Nov 3, 2016

Full Review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Los Angeles Times

Another soggy batch of Southern Gothic horror-comedy from writer-director Richard Bates Jr. that spews out pitch black smoke with little combustible substance.

Nov 3, 2016

Full Review

Katie Rife

AV Club

At least it's a good-looking orgy of adolescent nihilism, thanks to some clever stylistic touches from Bates and cinematographer Shane Daly. And if hating everyone is kind of your thing, you might get a kick out of it.

Rated: B-

Nov 3, 2016

Full Review

Michelle Swope

HorrorNews.net

All of the performances in this film were strong, but those of Fionnula Flanagan and Angela Trimbur definitely stand out.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 6, 2019

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

A film which doesn't exactly warrant puns on the putrid sort of smell its title evokes, but mistakes abject cynicism for black comedy.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 3, 2019

Full Review

Stephen Saito

Moveable Fest

The filmmaker's confrontational style suggests that hell is other people and he's quite adept keeping the flames rising in that regard.

Mar 1, 2019

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Audience Member

Trash fire is an interesting movie with some good performances and a different story. The ending is a love or hate kind of situation and I did feel a little mixed on it. It’s an interesting little film with some whore elements and definitely gets points for being unique it’s just not as good as it could’ve been.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/17/20

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Audience Member

If you love black comedy, twisted relationships and lesser-known movies I highly recommend this. Actors are excellent and believable. I'd have liked to have seen more from Pearl (Annalynne McCord) though. She's a tragic character reminiscent of Carrie White. Worth a view on Netflix.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

Count me in the group that didnt find this scary whatsoever. It has its dark comedic elements but they arent nearly enough to carry the film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

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Audience Member

One half black comedy, one half depressing family oriented horror that spirals into a bleak climax

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

WTF You'll hate every character in the film. And I mean HATE all of them. They each have little to nothing to like about them. They are all deplorable in one way or another. However, there's something about it, you'll want to continue watching to find out about. The movie runs around 1hr 30min. The opening act shouldn't have taken 30 min to get through(more like 15). And with those extra 15min, you couldv'e flushed out enough other aspects to the story, to have made it pretty great. It missed... very much so. However, it has a cult quality, that I have to say, I liked it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Unexpectedly messed up. Very enjoyable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

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Richard Bates Jr.

Director

Adrian Grenier

Owen

Sibyl Gregory

Chloe

Fionnula Flanagan

Violet

Ezra Buzzington

Pastor Sterling

Matthew Gray Gubler

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Synopsis

Owen and Isabel's love story simmers with spiteful rage and unfortunately for everyone, Isabel is pregnant with Owen's child. To prove to her that he can become a stable father, Owen agrees to reconnect with his only living relatives at Isabel's request. The couple take a trip to visit his perversely devoted grandmother and his sister Pearl, who was severely burned in a fire, to finally bury the hatchet. But sometimes the ties that bind can cut off all circulation.

Director: Richard Bates Jr.
Producer: Lawrence Mattis, David Lawson Jr., Matt Smith
Screenwriter: Richard Bates Jr.
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment, Orion Releasing
Production Co: Circle of Confusion, Orion Pictures, Snowfort Pictures, Vertical Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Behavior|Nudity|Language|Some Disturbing Violence|Strong Sexuality)
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 4, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 30, 2017
Runtime: 1h 33m

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