Get Trashed: Late Night at the Trash Film Orgy

“When you pass thru this portal, you leave all cares behind,” read the sign in the entryway of the Crest, and that night it seemed especially appropriate. It was approaching midnight, and zombies had taken over the stately and historic theatre-in other words, it was opening night for the Trash Film Orgy. The movie being shown that night was the cheesy horror classic Dawn of the Dead and, in tribute, performers as well as numerous audience members were adorned with ripped clothing, pale makeup and liberal amounts of fake blood.

The Trash Film Orgy (TFO) is far more than just a midnight movie showing. If you think you are going to sit quietly through a film with your sweetie, think again. And this opening night was no exception. Near the entrance of the theater was a Zombie Shoot-Out, where participants shot a Nerf gun at shuffling zombies in order to win prizes. You could also take a spin on the Wheel of Lootin’ or try your luck at the Zombie Survival Quiz. (I scored 39 out of 40 on the latter; you definitely want to have me around in the event of a zombie invasion.) A wacky stage show preceded the feature presentation, and zombie-attired audience members vied in a brain-eating contest during intermission. As for watching the movie, well, that was an experience in itself. Heckling is encouraged, and the shouted comments and cheers of the crowd often drowned out the dialogue of the movie.

I actually missed the first half of the movie, as I was down in the bar area having a drink with producers Christy Savage and Amy Slockbower. (Yes, they have a bar there.) I was surprised to find out that TFO was in its eighth year-all these years of living in Sacramento, and I’d been totally oblivious! It all started with the closure of a similar theatre show run by local comedian Keith Lowell Jensen at the Colonial Theatre. Having nothing better to do, Christy approached Sid at the Crest, and TFO was born. The core of TFO also includes Darin Wood, who writes all off the scripts for the stage shows, and does the voice for TFO’s mascot, the Mighty Tiki. In addition to these four, a typical night also requires a slew of volunteers to be on hand to run, and many of tehse volunteers are involved in other local theatre groups.

The choice of movies varies, but they typically fall under the vague category of “cult classics.” Campy horror is by far the most common. Past features include such favorites as Night of the Living Dead, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and An American Werewolf in London. This year’s upcoming shows include The Warriors and They Live! In recent years, TFO has ventured into making their own films, and their titles are surely deserving of eventually reaching cult status themselves: Curse of the Golden Skull, Cheerleaders from Hell, and Monster from Bikini Beach. Their latest creation, Grunk the Smasher, will premiere in 3D (yes, in 3D!) at the July 26 show. And that’s not all that is new this year. For the first time, they are accepting original content from the outside. They are seeking short animated films of three minutes or less for this year’s Trash Til Dawn on August 2, which will be “all cartoons all night.” (If you’d like to submit, contact info can be found on the website: www.trashfilmorgy.com.) I tried to find out what other cartoons they would be showing, but if they told me, they’d have to kill me. “Trash Til Dawn is always a secret,” Christy insisted. “We never release our titles cuz it’s like a fun game, you never know what you’re going to get.”

However, TFO is known as much for its stage show and audience participation as much as it is for its quirky movie choices. Regular attendees recognize many of the characters from show to show. The caped and masked El Tigre Diablo made an appearance the night I visited, as did the new favorite, the Bloody Bunny. Evil Sid, the theatre owner, was greeted with boos and hisses from the audience as she threatened to shut down TFO and show only French art films. Sid really is the owner of the Crest, and Christy insisted she really is evil. Amy notes the interactive and organic interaction between the performers and audience. “We make up different characters and bring them out for our stage shows, and the audience chooses which ones stick,” she explains. “We didn’t pick the bunny to be the next big hit, but he is, and we have to run with it.” And indeed, sometimes it’s hard to pick out the audience from the performers, as people tend to attend the shows in costume.

One thing missing from this year’s TFO is their infamous Zombie Parade, in which anyone who showed up in zombie regalia could shuffle around town with them. “We were thinking about doing one this year, but they’re pretty hip right now. There’s been three or four of them in our town in the last year, and we’re always trying to be different,” Christy tells me. However, TFO’s first Zombie Parade in 2001 will always carry the dubious honor of being the first in recorded history. (According to Wikipedia, at least.) Now, I know you all know that Sacramento is a city with a lot of history, but I have to say, that is way cooler than Sutter’s Fort.