Trash Film Debauchery: An Interview With Theresa Purcell
Two things on the Trash Film Debauchery MySpace page beautifully sum up what is so awesome (to me, anyways) about the screening series of B movies and gore-fests. They are as follows:
Who I’d like to meet: C.H.U.D.
and
CLICK and add me on TWITTER! I swear it will only be about upcoming movies. I won’t text you every time I take a shit, or anything.
Brilliant. Theresa Purcell is the woman behind the series. I met her last week so I could pick up a copy of the DVD The Room, considered by many to be the worst movie ever made (though it is hard-pressed to beat out Troll 2 in my opinion, but I will find out soon). I really love the work Theresa is doing, proving that moviegoers can have as much fun at a bad movie as a good one, if not more fun sometimes. Below is an interview I conducted with Theresa via email.
EM: When and how did TFD start? Why do you do it?
TP: I started TFD in 2003. Back then it only took $15 and three people to form an “official” student club so I thought it would be awesome to register so my friends and I could use the University’s facilities to watch movies on their huge screens. I got my friend Aaron on board and we came up with the name Trash Film Debauchery in his dorm room. Our first screening was a double feathers of “The Best Head Explosions in Cinematic History”. I showed Scanners and Maniac. We decided to make up some fliers and post them around just in case other students felt like coming, and they did! It ended up being surprisingly popular and after a while, what was supposed to be just for me and a handful of friends originally, started attracting hundreds of students and nonstudents from all over the Twin Cities.
I do this just out of love for bad movies. Since the beginning its been really important for me to keep the screenings free because I want everyone to be able to attend and for cost to never be a factor. Fortunately through grants, donations, and enthusiastic filmmakers I’ve been able to cover the costs of licensing fees without charging admission.
EM: Is it only you doing this? What was the inspiration for Trash Film?
TP: Yep, TFD is pretty much just me. It was originally my idea although I have had help throughout the years. I’ve had some really talented graphic designers make fliers for our screenings. People have helped me hang up fliers around town and around campus and other promotions in print and on the radio. I also always take recommendations for films from people so the audience certainly can help with film selection. It’s a lot less work now that I’m at the Turf Club that it was when it was at the U of M because I’m only doing screenings once a month and they help with promotion. Trashy movies really aren’t fun to watch by yourself. The more people you can share them with and laugh and scream and freak out together the better. I get a ton of joy out of planning a movie that not a lot of people have seen, showing it on a big screen, and knowing that everyone is having a great time.
EM: Is it devoted solely to screening fun, bad movies?
TP: Yeah, for the most part I try to stick to B movies. I look for extremes when I’m planning films. Is it extremely bad? Is it extremely violent? Is it extremely funny? Is it extremely weird? If yes, it’s probably a good fit. I have gone with “extremely good” a few times but they don’t go over as well. I tried Harold and Maude years ago and while the turnout was decent, I can’t even count how many times people said “This isn’t a trash film…” to me. And they’re right, it’s just too good for TFD. I’ve never screened most of my favorite movies just because they wouldn’t work. And “good” movies aren’t nearly as fun to watch with a group of people.
EM: Do you love watching bad movies?
TP: Absolutely! I love film in general and have been watching and collecting them since I was a little kid. My favorite films change so often.
EM: What are some of your favorites?
TP: Some staples for me are Harold and Maude, Dead Alive, A Boy and His Dog, Freaks, Leon: The Professional, Happy Together, Even Dwarfs Started Small, The Deer Hunger, BioZombie, Ichi the Killer, The Graduate, Dolemite, Gummo, Blue Velvet, Brazil, The Happiness of the Katakuris, In the Mood for Love, Waiting for Guffman, Let the Right One In, Man Bites Dog, Oldboy, The Proposition, Ong Bak, The Doom Generation, True Romance, and of course Predator. That list is way longer than it needs to be, sorry.
EM: Your least favorite?
TP: As far as least favorites go, I get the most angry about films I’m excited about and have high expectations for that disappoint me. Like I could say I really hated Big Momma’s House or something but I was expecting it to suck so no harm done, it wasn’t made to appeal to me anyway. On the other hand, as a big Batman fan I was pretty horrified when the Catwoman movie came out and it was so terrible. I also thought they butchered the Hannibal Lector franchise. The Alien vs Predator movies were so disappointingly bad. The other Matrix movies. Anyway, you get the point.
EM: Why do you think there is such a following for shit movies? This is certainly not a new niche of cinephilia.
TP: Sometimes it is simply astonishing the type of rubbish that is available for public consumption. But truly, these movies live on ONLY as long as people get pleasure from watching them. Harold P Warren might not have been out to make the worst movie ever when he made Manos: The Hands of Fate back in the 60’s. This is the only film the guy ever made! He wrote it, directed it, produced it, and started in it, and because it was so gut-wrenchingly awful he really achieved something great! While some may bring up Citizen Kane as perhaps “the best movie ever made”, this guy’s sad attempt at film making has put him on the polar opposite with almost as much notoriety. I genuinely believe that the draw to bad movies comes straight out of masochism. It’s so bad it HURTS, and we LOVE IT. We’re drawing pleasure out of the absurd. And, more simply, who doesn’t love sitting in a room with a bunch of friends and strangers, drinking a beer, and laughing hysterically? Some may see it as mindless fun but I probably spend just as much time discussing and quoting the bad movies as the good.
EM: What is the worst movie you’ve ever seen?
TP: I’ll probably make some enemies for this one, but the worst movie I’ve ever seen is Waking Life. And not in a good way.
EM: What qualifies as a Trash film to you?
TP: I’m not sure I have a quantifiable definition of the “Trash Film”. Basically I ask myself “is this entertaining?”. As long as something isn’t boring or tedious it’s got a good shot. Then, “is it too ‘good?’” Like with the Harold and Maude ordeal, people don’t come to Trash Film Debauchery to see a “good” movie. Then “has anyone ever heard of this!?”. While I love showing obscure and hard to find films, it’s harder to draw interest for something no one knows a thing about. The perfect trash film is one with a reputation, preferably something someone has heard of but hasn’t had the chance to see. When my schedule comes out the best response is “OH! I’ve been wanting to see ________!”.
EM: Is the word cult movie a dirty word to you? Or is it simply an overused media term at this point? I feel like it gets thrown around a lot these days.
TP: Nah, I don’t see it as a dirty word, but it is overused. Is such and such a cult movie? A trash film? Or should we call it exploitation? Or a B-Movie? Or a C- or Z-Movie? If we get too picky about categories and labels I think it sucks the enjoyment right out of watching them all together. I remember when 28 Days Later first came out I had quite a few horror hounds talking to me about “How could they be calling this a Zombie movie!?” since the notion of fast or super-charged “zombies” who were infected instead of dead was blasphemy to them. And I totally understand their point and agree with it for the most part, however, I don’t think that should have any significant affect on whether or not you LIKE the film, regardless of what you want to call the monsters.
EM: Do we all try too hard these days to predict the next cult or good bad movie?
TP: Pretty much any time one of those Fast and the Furious or Bangkok Dangerous or XXX movies come out I think “This movie is going to be so fucking AMAZING…in 20 years”. People can predict what movies will gain cult status. Only time will tell.
EM: How have the screenings been going?
TP: Our new screenings at the Turf Club have been going great! We’re getting really good turn outs and a decent number of our loyal audience members from campus have followed us over to the new venue. We’re getting a ton of new interest as well. I think the Turf Club has been the perfect venue to continue on outside of campus.
EM: What kinds of people go?
TP: We have so many different “types” of people showing up to the movies. That’s the main reason I want to keep it free, so anybody is able to come if they’re interested. On campus we had a ton of U of M students and students from other colleges, professors, homeless people, the elderly, just random folks from the community. Really it could be anybody. It just depended on what we were showing and who was interested. We’re a little less diverse at the Turf Club just because it is a bar so the screenings are now 21+. It’s created a different environment, but it’s still a great one. Like for our next movie we’re finally showing Wild Zero with the official drinking game. I could never do that on campus!
EM: What was the most fun you’ve had doing Trash Film?
TP: The most fun I’ve ever had at a Trash Film…that’s a hard one. I always like it when a movie is so awesome people have already seen it multiple times already and are shouting out lines along with the movie. A couple years ago I showed the entirety of R. Kelly’s ‘Trapped in the Closet.’ That might be the most fun I’ve ever had at one of these. It was so silly. There have also been about 3 times when the movie I showed was so incredibly bad or upsetting and people seemed to have such a strong reaction to it one way or the other that i felt the need to stand up and apologize after it was over…haha. One instance I can remember was when i showed Cannibal Holocaust on the West Bank. It was probably one of the biggest crowds we’ve had most likely due to the film’s reputation and some creative promoting. We lost a good chunk of our audience for that movie just because of how absolutely disgusting and offensive it is. I expected people to walk out, but there were A LOT, particularly women, who had to leave, which is understandable. I don’t even like the film, it was more so just that I could get away with something like that on campus. I’d definitely consider that to be one of TFD’s shining moments…if you wanna call it that.
EM: What is about watching a good bad movie with an audience that makes it such a fun experience?
TP: Its great to watch a movie with a bunch of people and not have to be quiet. You’re expected to talk and shout and crack jokes. Being Minnesotans we have a special affinity for Mystery Science Theater 3000 and by watching a bad movie with a bunch of other people you get to LIVE IT. You’re also meeting a bunch of other people who are entertained by the same sort of cinema. I’ve meet quite a few of my close friends at TFD screenings.
Tags: , Bad movies, DVD, Exploding heads in movies, Minneapolis, The Room, Trash Film Debauchery