POLYESTER (1981) with Odorama!

• Director: John Waters
• Featured gimmick: Odorama!
• Cast: Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Mink Stole
• Film: 86mins | USA | Subtitles | Intermission
• Event: 20:45 – 23:15 [18+]

Cult film night BAR TRASH continues our 13th sensational season — SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! — with John Waters’ ’scentsational’ suburban melodrama, POLYESTER (1981) including a FREE Odorama ‘scratch-n-sniff’ card for EVERY patron! 

For his first studio picture, filth maestro John Waters took advantage of his biggest budget yet to allow his muse Divine to sink his teeth into a role unlike any he had played before: a depressed suburban housewife. Blessed with a keen sense of smell, and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine Fishpaw (Divine) turns to drink before deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow (played by ‘The Sigh Guy’ himself, homosexual heartthrob, Tab Hunter). During POLYESTER, numbers will flash up on screen that correspond to numbers on your Odorama card: this is your cue to encounter one of John Waters’ signature scents developed exclusively for the film (just be careful about #2…).

Waters was a devout fan of our season’s icon, William Castle, playing the maestro of mayhem onscreen — even though the two look nothing alike! — in Ryan Murphy’s acclaimed anthology TV series, FEUD: BETTE & JOAN (2017):

“Without a doubt, the greatest showman of our time was William Castle. King of the Gimmicks, William Castle was my idol. His films made me want to make films. I’m even jealous of his work. In fact, I wish I were William Castle… Forget Ed Wood. Forget George Romero. William Castle was the best. William Castle was God.”

John Waters, Crackpot

The history of using smell as a gimmick is even older than the use of sound, with systems for pumping aromas around auditoriums dating back to 1916 and earlier. One of the most vivid examples was ‘Smell-O-Vision’, installed for its once and only theatrical debut with SCENT OF MYSTERY in 1960 (smells included roses, peppermint, gunpowder, bananas, and fresh sea air). In tribute to this olfactory innovation, Waters devised his own gimmick for POLYESTER: Odorama! Token Homo and Genesis Cinema are stupidly proud to confirm that EVERY patron attending this screening will receive a FREE ‘scratch-n-sniff’ card to accompany the film.

Polite notice: We are showing POLYESTER with subtitles from the best available digital source. 

/// 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 £3.50 + fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for updates. ///