Subtitled Or, the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World’s Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits, this documentary picks up the story of the infamous London repertory cinema. In all its guises, it was a magnet for a certain kind of film fan, and the eclectic screenings provided an impressive alternative to the stuffy National Film Theatre.
The full story of the cinema in its three incarnations, including the most famous in Kings Cross, was told in Jane Giles’ enormous book, which was released by FAB Press. Giles co-directs here with the book’s editor, Ali Catterall. With the limited time allowed for a film, the content is a little more focused on one side of the cinema’s appeal rather than taking in every aspect and special guest that appeared there. So we don’t get to hear about the times that outside promoters brought in Hershell Gordon Lewis, Joe D’Amato, or Chow Yun Fat, but there’s still plenty of interesting history brought to life by the recollections of those who were there.
People like actor Ralph Brown (who worked in the coffee shop), musician Barry Adamson (who also provides the impressive soundtrack for the documentary), FrightFest founder Alan Jones (whose ‘Shock Around the Clock’ all-nighter was the precursor for the iconic, world-famous festival), and punter Adam Buxton all have fun and interesting anecdotes about frequenting the cinema. The film takes the cinema’s blending of music and obscure cinema as its basis to tell the story of the member’s only mecca of the weird and wonderful. An important part of what made the cinema successful was its appeal to all sections of counterculture, particularly the gay community. The always-wonderful David McGillivray (writer of Satan’s Slave and House of Whipcord, amongst others) has many of the best moments, recounting some of the debauchery that took place there and is the star of a Marvel-ous post-credit scene.
As a testament to the power of outsider art and off-the-wall characters, Scala!!! is just a mere taster of a place that was the nearest the UK had to a grindhouse cinema and is sorely missed.
SCALA!!! is in UK cinemas from January 5th and Blu-ray/DVD from January 22nd, 2024
