Tag Archives: bad films

News

Bad Films Doing Good

When Ti and I set up the Bristol Bad Film Club, it was – let’s be honest – to see brilliantly bad films on the big screen. What we didn’t expect was the hugely positive response we have had from the people of Bristol and its surrounding area.

This wasn’t a venture we set up to make money. It was for the love of cinema, especially really bad cinema. So, since it wasn’t to make money, we figured that we could give something back to the community in the unlikely event it made some small amount of profit.

Because of YOUR support and love of bad films, we have been able to donate the frankly phenomenal sum of over £1,100 in 2013, split across the following charities:

Awamu – a charity helping children with HIV in Africa;

 

 

The Whiteladies Picture House Campaign – Bristol’s very own Kickstarter-assisted campaign to restore a beloved cinema;

 

Help for Heroes – helping those who suffer life changing injuries sustained in the line of duty, and;

 

Millie’s Trust – providing Paedriatric First Aid to help reduce the instances of cot death, following the tragic death of the girl who gives the charity its name.

The charities are not all promoted at the screenings themselves: they are not necessarily appropriate to be discussed before or after what is essentially a night of comedy. But these are charities with focuses that are important either to us, or to someone connected to us, and they deserve the recognition and the funds that, through your help, we can provide.

In 2014 our charities continue to be diverse, and important. We may not make a big thing at all our screenings about it, but it is one of the real-world outcomes of your attendance at our screenings.

Thank you.

 

Tim

News

A look back at Troll 2 and Best Worst Movie

Back at the end of August, with one sell out screening under our belt, and a fast-selling-out second screening imminent, we put our minds to Hallowe’en, and what horrifically bad horror films could be shown.

Troll 2 leapt out as the obvious choice, (and because EVERYBODY had asked us to screen it) but we wanted to do something special. Discovering the child star of Troll 2 had made a documentary about the film (Best Worst Movie) and that successful double bills had been held of them both at venues around the world, we decided to gamble a little on whether a double bill would go down well with the bad film fans of Bristol.

It was a gamble that paid off. With an outside venue that held around 80 we were set for a fine Sunday evening of excruciating entertainment: 90 minutes of inexplicably deluded cinema followed by 90 minutes of endearingly frank, warm-humoured cinema. It was going to be great.

And then a few days before the screening, the news broke that the “worst storm of the last two decades” was going to hit. That night. Perfect. Would this decimate our audience? Would it keep people away? We were, after all, “outside” (albeit covered and heated).

In short, no. The bad-film-loving good people of Bristol braved what turned out to be just “a lot of rain” to enjoy the evening’s entertainment. And oh my goooooood, what entertainment. Troll 2 is deliriously bad, making little sense, with ‘actors’ who seem like they have never read anything before ever. Best Worst Movie reveals the troubled production and self-deluded director, whose insane decisions are the reason for most of the film’s awfulness.

Our next screening, Starcrash, amazingly (and unfortunately for those who weren’t quick enough) sold out within eight days. But for the disappointed ones who didn’t manage to get a ticket, rest assured: our future venues are getting bigger. So, get your friends to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and bring them along to a future screening. As ever, our first post-Starcrash screening will be announced on the night of that screening, so keep an eye on our site and social media on the 21st for the lowdown on the next screening to avoid disappointment. Because, believe me, our next screening is going to be AWFUL. And by awful I mean AMAZING.

News

Samurai Cop screening. “I want bigger.”

Last night at The Island – the old police station in Broadmead – over 100 bad film fans sat down next to the jail cells to enjoy our sophomore screening: SAMURAI COP.

Made in 1989 by Amir Shervan, Samurai Cop is a film that just keeps on giving. And for the vast majority of the audience (me included), this was a gift that was being unwrapped in all its awful, aweful glory for the very first time. And OH MY GOD it was glorious. The remastered version has just been released by Epoch Cinema, and I can’t recommend picking up a copy enough.

Welcoming the audience – an audience that was nearly double that of the Club’s first screening in August, of Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space – was oddly less nerve-wracking than the first time. Funny how that works out.  At that first screening we raised over £200 for Awamu, and that is thanks to the paying audience who came to enjoy the awfulness.

David Fells, founder and director of the Whiteladies Picture House Campaign talked about the project’s fundraising efforts, and the progress being made. Proceeds from this screening are going directly to the group. (We’ll let you know how much was raised from this screening once we’ve crunched the numbers.)

Timon introduced the film itself – of the two of us, he had seen it, loved it, and was insistent this be an early screener. Now I see why… He teased out details to look out for in the film itself – wigs falling off, black underwear, uncomfortably long love scenes – so that we could better enjoy the masterpiece to follow…

It’s a pure joy to be part of over 100 people laughing along to a truly terrible film. It’s a great thing to know there are fans out there wanting more of the same. Next month is a Hallowe’en special. And it’s going to be very special indeed…

See you at the next one.
-Tim

Previous Screenings

SOLD OUT: SAMURAI COP (1989) – 18th September 2013: The Island (The Old Police Station), Broadmead

Imagine a low-budget version of Lethal Weapon where Mel Gibson spends most of his time being racist to the Japanese, attempts to sleep with anything that moves and walks around in his pants a lot. That’s Samurai Cop, but it really is so much more than that…

Described as “both the best and the worst action film ever”, Samurai Cop is an unintentionally hilarious action film that sees San Diego cop Joe ‘Samurai’ Marshall dispatched to stop the drug-trafficking Yakuza cartel – The Katana Gang. Continue reading SOLD OUT: SAMURAI COP (1989) – 18th September 2013: The Island (The Old Police Station), Broadmead →