SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! CINEMA IN THE 4TH DIMENSION

You’re invited to the Opening Night of SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES!, the 13th sensational season of Token Homo’s BAR TRASH, “London’s most fun & informative film night” (Sean McGeady).

The history of cinema is a delirious tale of wild experimentation, technological advances, improbable ballyhoo, and in-theatre gimmicks to keep audiences coming back for more. SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! will recreate some of cinema’s forgotten theatrical illusions, taking you on a magical mystery tour into a lost world of movie magic where screenings are rarely silent…

William Castle’s 13 GHOSTS (1960) is presented with Token Homo’s diy and entirely unofficial recreation of the film’s original theatrical gimmick, ‘Illusion-O!’. Just as in 1960, every member of the audience will receive a FREE ‘Ghost Viewer’ to watch the film through, but only those brave enough will actually see the thirteen ghosts in horrifying ‘ECTOPLASMIC COLOUR’!

Producer, writer, director, promoter and all-round B-movie legend William Castle embodied the lost art of going to the cinema as a shared theatrical experience. Across a frenzied decade from 1958 to 1968, Castle promoted his films with a series of gimmicks that included a skeleton appearing on a zip wire above the audience for HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) and vibrating buzzers attached to the bottom of cinema seats for THE TINGLER (1959). Theatre-goers were encouraged to “scream, scream for your lives” if they felt ‘the tingler’ buzzing near them…

Token Homo has staged both of these gimmicks in previous BAR TRASH seasons, so it’s time to finally unleash 13 GHOSTS! For this show, William Castle developed a technique using different coloured filters to make “ghosts appear miraculously” on screen when audiences looked through their ‘Ghost Viewer’. Ever the cinematic showman, Castle promoted this ‘chill-n-thrill’ engagement as a must-see theatrical experience — “You can’t see the ghosts without a Ghost Viewer!’ — whilst cheekily offering those that might be too squeamish a ‘Ghost Remover’ in the same device.

13 GHOSTS was intended to be Castle’s final gimmick, a swiftly broken promise he would make on multiple occasions… Token Homo will be recreating 5 of the maestro’s rarely-revived thrill-rides in the SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! season, including a special MYSTERY FILM for our 4th Birthday.

Polite notice: We are presenting 13 GHOSTS with ‘Illusion-O!’ with subtitles from the best available digital source. A FREE ‘Ghost Viewer’ will be given to every patron on arrival. If you are too afraid of the 13 GHOSTS, please look through the ‘Ghost Remover’ part of your device. NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED.

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with themed drinks, introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £3.50 + fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo or visit tokenhomo.com for all the gory details ///