WICKED, WICKED (1973) 

• Director: Richard L. Bare
• Featured gimmick: Duo-Vision!
• Cast: David Bailey, Tiffany Bolling, Randolph Roberts
• Film: 95mins | USA | No Subtitles | Intermission
• Event: 20:45 – 23:15 [18+]

SEE THE HUNTER, SEE THE HUNTED, BOTH AT THE SAME TIME!

Cult film night BAR TRASH continues our 13th sensational season — SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES! — with “a new concept in motion picture technique”, psycho-thriller WICKED, WICKED (1973) in spectacular Duo-Vision!

Short-lived cinema gimmick ‘Duo-Vision’ promised audiences would “witness simultaneous action through the use of a double screen” offering “an experience that will challenge your imagination!”. Actually a simple split-screen technique, WICKED, WICKED’s true gimmick was that the entire film was shot from different perspectives, creating a boundary-pushing alternative to cinema’s slew of PSYCHO copycat killers.

On one half of the screen, WICKED, WICKED follows a psychotic electrician stalking the corridors of an elegant Californian hotel. Simultaneously, the other half of the screen follows the hotel guests who are unaware they’ll be checking out soon (as well as providing occasional flash-backs into various characters’ lives and backstories). Adding to all the deranged chaos, the carnage is accompanied on screen by an organist playing music from the 1925 silent classic, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

Despite promotional posters screaming ‘TWICE THE TENSION! TWICE THE TERROR!’, Richard L. Bare’s film was dismissed by incredulous contemporary critics as “Half Grand Hotel and half Grand Guignol”. With Tiffany Bolling returning to Bar Paragon after the terrifying KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977), and an extraordinary air of (unintended?) camp, WICKED, WICKED might just be your next favourite BAR TRASH title.

Polite notice: We are showing WICKED, WICKED without subtitles from the best available digital source. This isn’t the sharpest of restorations (effectively restoring two feature-length films for the budget of one!), so please approach the source materials with love, wonder and empathy. NOT to be confused with the blockbuster movie musical about the witches of Oz.

/// 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. ///