Cult film classics “so bad, it’s good”

CULT film fans will be in heaven this weekend - and every weekend for the rest of the month as a South Yorkshire cinema embarked on a series of one-off special screenings.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Aug 2023, 20:56 BST
Updated 6th Aug 2023, 20:59 BST

The Showroom Cinema programme launches on Saturday with the “reckless and outrageous” Samurai Cop, described as “a true treasure of ‘so bad, it’s good’ films”.

Each weekend will take viewers on a journey through trash-action classics and even a space opera from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

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Shaolin Invincibles, McBain and Voyage of the Rock Aliens will be screening on a Saturday night in August for one night only.

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    The classic American cult film season concludes with a free screening of epic The Movie Orgy on August 27.

    Created by Joe Dante, who went on to produce of Gremlins and Innerspace, The Movie Orgy is a legendary five-hour celebration of cinema and television.

    Dante took an apartment’s worth of 16mm prints and, with the help of producer Jon Davison, meticulously fashioned them into what is quite possibly the world's first found footage mega-mix.

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    Comprised of commercials, news reels, clips from feature films, and TV bloopers to name but a few sources and preserved from the original 16mm reels which is rarely screened and has never been available on home video, this unique cultural artifact from the 60s is a said to be a must-see for any cinephile.

    Programme manager Ryan Finnigan from Showroom Cinema said: "Film archives and restorations often focus on classic cinema, but it is important to preserve and screen film history of all kinds.

    “Genre films are sometimes looked down upon, which is a huge mistake in missing out on some of the rich tapestry of inventive and unusual films made outside of big studios.

    “We’re delighted to partner with the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) who preserve the legacy of American genre movies and we have worked with them to present a selection of their most uproarious, notorious and victorious film offerings to celebrate and explore genre film.

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    “Many of America’s greatest living filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and in our season, Joe Dante, started in exploitation and genre filmmaking and so it’s hugely important to appreciate and study what can be a hotbed of talent.

    “Although sometimes the films are just bad, and that’s OK, too.”

    Related topics:South YorkshireAmerican