BAR TRASH continues our 12th sensational season — SATANIC PANIC! — with a god-fearing double feature of Christian horror films (each about 1hr long!).

THE BURNING HELL (1974) 

A preacher warns about the dangers of hell, where sinners will suffer eternal torment.

• Director: Ron Ormond
• Cast: Jimmy Robbins, Tim Ormond, Robert G. Lee
• Film: 58mins | USA | Subtitles

“Located somewhere between the kitsch heaven of underground film and the fire and brimstone of evangelical propaganda stands THE BURNING HELL.”

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Ron, June and Tim Ormond — a Nashville father-mother-son trio — cranked out a wild bunch of movies over 30 years, from westerns and exploitation films to evangelical Baptist extravaganzas made on a shoe-string far away from the Hollywood mainstream. With their entire back-catalogue destroyed in a flood (true story…), three collaborations with Baptist preacher Estus Pirkle remain unscathed. One of them, THE BURNING HELL (1974), is a true believer’s horror film featuring plenty of gore, face-eating worms, and the righteous word of God.

SATAN WAR (1979) 

Unseen satanic forces terrorise a young married couple in their new home.

• Director: Bart LaRue
• Cast: Sally Schermerhorn, Jimmy Drankovitch, Jane August
• Film: 64min ‘original cut’ | USA | Subtitles

When newlyweds Louise and Bill Foster move into a new house, they’re confronted by a supernatural entity. And things only get worse from there… A D.I.Y. answer to THE AMITYVILLE HORROR from Texas actor Bart LaRue, SATAN WAR (1979) is an unforgettable Satanic panic artefact and plays like God-fearing community-theatre Christians have remade POLTERGEIST (on a micro budget with very little light — it’s a dark film in more ways than one — and LOTS of ectoplasm). Never legitimately released until its blu-ray debut in 2025, “SATAN WAR floats across the screen in a black cloud of pummelling synthesisers, hallucinogenic visuals, and unsettling themes” (AGFA).

Polite notice: We are projecting THE BURNING HELL and SATAN WAR with subtitles from the best available digital sources. The ‘original cut’ of SATAN WAR ignores the tacked-on / unrelated Voodoo rituals of longer/alternative versions. There will be a 15minute intermission between the films. These cinema archives from a lost era of DIY 16mm filmmaking have been restored using the only remaining source materials: please approach them with love, awe, and empathy.

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £6 + fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for updates. More info at tokenhomo.com ///