SYNTHETIC FLESH! – Closing Night: HOWARD THE DUCK (1986) at Genesis Cinema (Weds 17 December 2025)
HOWARD THE DUCK (1986)
- Director: Willard Huyck
- Featured special makeup effects: Bari Dreiband-Burman
- Cast: Ed Gale, Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins
- Film: 110mins | USA | Subtitles | Intermission
- Event: 20:45 – 23:15 [18+]
A sarcastic humanoid duck is catapulted from his homeworld to Earth where he must stop an alien invasion with the help of a nerdy scientist and a struggling rock singer.
“TRAPPED IN A WORLD HE NEVER MADE.”
Cult film night BAR TRASH concludes its 11th sensational season — SYNTHETIC FLESH! — a tribute to more than 100 years of monster makeup FX. We’ll also be announcing what happens next!
Our ‘end-of-season’ films are always meant to be a lot of stupid fun, and no film nails that brief more than the awkward cross-species coupling of HOWARD THE DUCK (1986). From executive producer George Lucas (STAR WARS), and the pages of Marvel comics, HOWARD THE DUCK (released somewhat bashfully in the UK as ‘Howard… A New Breed Of Hero’) is a comedy adventure spectacular about a fast-talking, cigar-chomping, beer-loving duck from a parallel universe who crashes to Earth and somehow winds up in Cleveland.
”There’s a chance that American audiences simply don’t want to see a duck starring in anything besides a plate of orange sauce.”
William Rabkin
It’s hard to imagine it now, but HOWARD THE DUCK was the first official big-screen adaptation of a Marvel comic book since the CAPTAIN AMERICA film serials of the 1940s. A major critical and commercial failure (losing more than half of its production budget), the film is often cited as one of the worst films ever made and was nominated for seven Razzie Awards at the Golden Raspberry Awards (winning four!). Needless to say, HOWARD THE DUCK is a stupid amount of fun.
Polite notice: We are projecting HOWARD THE DUCK 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 themed drinks, introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £3.50+. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on IG & Letterboxd or visit tokenhomo.com for all the gory details ///
Programme supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London. Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery. www.filmlondon.org.uk/film-hub-london
