When it all began so many years ago, no one would’ve dared to believe that the Trash Film Orgy’s particular brand of lunacy could last a decade. But, here we are, 10 years later and Sacramento’s TFO rages on, stronger and crazier than ever.
What began as a low-budget cable access TV show has developed into an ongoing explosion of midnight cult movie madness. And beginning July 10, it’s being fêted with a month-long celebration at the historic Crest Theatre, located at 1013 K Street in beautiful downtown Sacramento, where TFO will be presenting some of the “best” exploitation films ever made, in all their 35mm glory, with some truly-special special guests. Tickets are $9.50 ($8.50 if you come costumed). Shows start at midnight, but come early. Doors open at 11:30 p.m. for the Incredibly Interactive Trash-Action Sideshow, Sacramento’s trashiest deejays and the Retro-Trash Lounge, featuring nonstop trash shorts and trailers. Remember, the Trash Film Orgy is adult fun for trash fans ages 18 and over only.
I mentioned special guests, didn’t I? Check this out: On July 17, the legendary Sid Haig will appear at TFO’s showing of Roger Corman’s Galaxy of Terror, in which he portrayed Quuhod. Haig has appeared in too many cool films to mention, but modern audiences know him best as psycho clown Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. And on August 17, noted martial artist Bob Wall will appear at the showing of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Wall was a close friend of Lee and appeared in three of his flicks. Come out and meet Wall and talk to him about his exciting life and career.
Now, if that was all TFO had planned, that certainly would be more than enough. But there’s more, if you can believe it. By now, everyone knows what a zombie walk is—but few people know that Trash Film Orgy is generally credited with creating this modern-day staple of horror culture. That’s right, it had to begin somewhere, and in June 2001, TFO staged the first Zombie Walk. In celebration of their tenth season, Trash Film Orgy is striving to host the biggest, baddest zombie walk ever. If you want to participate, assemble in the parking lot of Sacramento’s Sub-Q body piercing and tattoo shop (1715 I Street) at 7:00 p.m. on July 10. Anyone and everyone is invited, and all ages are welcome. Also, don’t forget your zombie dogs! There will be a limited amount of onsite makeup available on a first-come, first-served basis, but don’t depend on it. The walk will be followed by a live undead set by Zombie Children of the Grave at Sub-Q, followed by a Zombie Happy Hour at the Pyramid Alehouse (11th and K Street). And, yes, it all culminates in a midnight show of Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn at the Crest, accompanied by the usual patented insane live TFO theatrics.
Whew, just writing this up wore me out. Imagine the fun to be had by actually participating. Go to the Trash Film Orgy website for more details. I’ll close by presenting the list of flicks TFO will be showing over the next month. I mean, look at the choices here—trash film orgy indeed.
JULY 10 – EVIL DEAD 2 (1987)
Take a wild ride into a world where the dead walk in Sam Raimi’s Ultimate Cult Classic. Celebrate 10 years of Trash with Sacramento’s Biggest Ever ZOMBIE WALK and experience the Return of the Raper Tree…LIVE on stage!
JULY 17 – GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)
Roger Corman’s Tawdry Tale of Interstellar Horror, featuring the most notorious rape scene in Cult Film History! Special DVD Pre-Release Party featuring SID HAIG Live!
JULY 24 – CRY-BABY (1990)
John Waters’ Amazing Rockabilly Musical Extravaganza starring Johnny Depp, Traci Lords, Iggy Pop and all your Baltimore favorites! TFO presents a Special Sing-Along Show featuring oodles of audience participation opportunities!
JULY 31 – NIGHTMARE (1981)
The Most Controversial Slasher Movie of the 1980s! Never released on DVD, this often-banned film is a must-see on the big screen-UNCUT in all its blood-soaked glory! Presented for the first time ever in amazingly interactive PSYCHO-VISION!
AUGUST 7 – ENTER THE DRAGON (1973)
The Ultimate Martial Arts Motion Picture Experience! America’s first Kung-Fu Classic features the immortal Bruce Lee in his best and last film. Also starring Jim “Black Belt Jones” Kelly and John Saxon. Special guest, martial artist and co-star Bob Wall!
AUGUST 14 – TRASH TILL DAWN
The return of All-Night Action with BAD GIRLS gone wild on a wanton rampage of bloody violence! THREE Thrilling BAD GIRL features for the price of one! Featuring the NAUGHTY NIGHTIE KNIFE-FIGHT-Live on Stage! See it to believe it!
PLUS, be the first to see exciting new trailers for TFO Productions’ latest movie PLANET OF THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, premiering this fall at the Crest Theatre!
~Theron Neel
Every true horror fan knows the film: 
Friedman went to work with Babb, traveling the country showing exploitation films and learning the basics of film distribution and exhibition. He was amazed at the money that could be made this way. This period also tied in to his love of the carnival circuit—making a score, pulling a fast one on the mark and leaving with a pocket full of cash. This was basically how roadshows worked, and Friedman was hooked.
Produced for $24,500 in 1963, their first gore film, Blood Feast, went on to gross an estimated $7 million and played somewhere almost nonstop over the next 15 years. Blood Feast was the goriest horror movie filmed at that point in time and the first to show brains and intestines being spilled and limbs being chopped off. It was also the first film in which people died with their eyes open. Its popularity was no doubt boosted by the lurid advertising campaign designed by Friedman. The movie poster, featuring a man holding a cleaver over the bloody body of a young woman, screamed: “Nothing So Appalling in the Annals of Horror! You’ll Recoil and Shudder as You Witness the Slaughter and Mutilation of Nubile Young Girls—in a Weird and Horrendous Ancient Rite! More Grisly Than Ever in Blood Color!” Always the showman, in an attempt to get publicity Friedman even went so far as to request an injunction against Blood Feast to prevent it from being shown. To his surprise, the judge granted the injunction, so he then had to fight to allow his movie to be shown. Of course, the film was roundly panned by the critics, but that did nothing to hurt it. It was an especially huge hit at drive-ins throughout the country.
The team of Sonney and Friedman eventually produced dozens of soft-core sexploitation films. It wasn’t long before they decided to expand their horizons and become theater owners. They bought a theater in downtown Los Angeles and named it the Pussycat. This became the flagship of the infamous Pussycat Theater chain. The Adults Only market had grown considerably in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and Friedman and Sonney were on the ground floor. Friedman went on to become the first president of the Adult Film Association of America and was a crusader for First Amendment rights.
Splatter films. Since this horror subgenre’s birth in the early 1960s, there have been too many to count. Seemingly, with each new era, the splatter factor has been raised. As we stand now, in the age of torture porn, possibly the only thing that could shock audiences would be a true snuff film. And I have my doubts that today’s jaded viewers would be too outraged about that.
Fuad Ramses III, the grandson of the maniac in Blood Feast, has inherited his grandfather’s catering shop. He comes to town with the best intentions, planning to reopen the business and be the best caterer he can. Little does he know that in his storeroom waits the same statue of Ishtar that possessed his grandfather and caused him to become a cannibalistic serial killer. As soon as Fuad III lays eyes on it, the statue also takes control of him. He will prepare a blood feast for his goddess as his grandfather did, using nubile young women gathered from the wedding party of his very first client. His devotion may be absolute, but his business sense is awful.
If you’ve seen the original film, you realize this is almost the exact same setup and you also know how it ends. Lots of blood, a few breasts and the killer dies in the end. For fright fans, there are many subtle references to the first film throughout, as well as little nods to current horror flicks. One interesting change from the first movie is the way the gore is filmed. In the first flick, it was filmed quite starkly and innocently. Lewis and Friedman were trying something new and it showed. The gore was presented somewhat unsurely, as if the filmmakers were saying, “And now, look at this. Whaddya think?” In Blood Feast 2, the gore is filmed knowingly, with the loving attention that is rightfully lavished upon any movie’s star. It is lighted perfectly. The close-ups are plentiful and exaggerated. The filmmakers are saying, “And now, here’s the main attraction. Isn’t it wonderful?” And wonderful it is—inventive too: eyes are scooped out with a melon baller; brains are pulled through an ear with a corkcrew; intestines are fingered lovingly; throats are slit slowly; scalping morphs into the skinning of a face. This movie is a love letter to splatterhounds.
And the gore is not the only thing ramped up. The number of naked women has increased as well. There’s even a nudie scene where the bridesmaids have gathered for a lingerie shower that looks as if Fred Olen Ray stepped in to direct. If you’ve ever seen a Cinemax After Dark flick, you know what it I mean. It seems Lewis has been taking notes over the years.
“What’s in the basket?”
As children, Duane and Belial were quite happy as one, but their father insisted they be separated. And though the operation was a success—with Duane being the surviving entity, as they say in business—Belial was not disposed of effectively. So, of course, Duane retrieved Belial from the trash and stashed him in a basket. Belial then wreaked vengeance of a biblical sort on their father, and the boys were raised by their amazingly sympathetic aunt, who sensed their secret but told no one. 
As you might expect, Duane and Belial’s tale spirals downward from there. In print, the plot of Basket Case seems grim, but onscreen it manages to be fairly amusing in a dismal way. While watching the movie, I got the feeling there was a subversive layer of symbolism at play. As I wondered earlier: what’s really in the basket? Could it be Duane’s repressed homosexuality? You be the judge. 
