This romp decimates the boundaries of cinema and is designed to scare the shit out of anyone who watches it.

Shot and edited on knackered VHS equipment, Trash Humpers follows people in Nashville, USA, who are preoccupied with fucking, getting fucked-up, and killing – in no particular order. But if you think these deviants on the rampage are a bunch of dysfunctional hoodies, think again: they’re sociopathic geriatrics.

You’ll shudder when you see young actors wearing wizened grandpa and grandma masks, engaging in activities such as dry-riding trees, reaming dolls, or smashing up TVs – especially when they’re cackling maniacally and screaming, “Make it! Make it! Don’t take it!”

But director Harmony Korine (who wrote the screenplay for the 1995 film Kids, and made Gummo two years later) adopts the perspective of the deranged old dears, and you’ll discover a wealth of emotions if you allow yourself to get lost in their nightmarish vision: the pensioners lead a harsh, nihilistic lifestyle, yet they’re passionate about being part of a close-knit family unit. And while their behaviour is revolting, they’re funny – larking about like The Three Stooges.

As with Lars Von Trier’s 1998 Dogme film, The Idiots, in which a group of Danish people goof around pretending to be mentally disabled, you’ll either love it or loathe it. But Trash Humpers is an unforgettable film that transports you to a weird 1980s parallel universe where shocks lie around every corner.

A fast track to an aneurysm, if you’re a small-town conservative


Billy Chainsaw