SPOOKIES (1986)

• Director: Eugenie Joseph, Thomas Doran, Brendan Faulkner
• Cast: Felix Ward, Maria Pechukas, Dan Scott
• Film: 85mins | USA | Subtitles | Intermission
• Event: 20:45 – 23:10 [18+]

“A NIGHT OF UNRELENTING TERROR!”

A wicked sorcerer tries to sacrifice a group of people, using their vitality to keep his wife alive.

BAR TRASH celebrates our 3rd year and 10th sensational season with WE ARE TRASH!, a fan-made mixtape of cult and chaotic cinema (14 May to 20 Aug 2025).

Criminally overlooked and critically undervalued, SPOOKIES (1986) is the best 1980s rubber-suited creature feature you’ve (probably) never head of! It’s also insanely weird and is as famous for its expertly rendered creature effects as it is for the production’s bizarre backstory.

Produced by Michael Lee – founder of notorious UK home video distributor VIPCO – SPOOKIES faltered when its original creators Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran were fired from the production (originally titled ‘Twisted Souls’). They were replaced by editor Eugenie Joseph who only had half a film to work with and so went on to shoot additional footage to fill in the blanks… The new footage used an entirely different cast and storyline.

Some of SPOOKIES is about a carload of idiots who find themselves seeking shelter in a spooky old mansion where they find an ouija board… The rest of SPOOKIES is (possibly…) about a boy who runs away from home and is attacked by a monstrous werecat (with a hook for a hand!). But don’t worry, the whole is far greater than the sum of these disparate body parts: “There aren’t a lot of horror films so daring as to cram as many weird rubber-suited monsters into one movie.” (Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting).

Polite notice: We are showing SPOOKIES from a 4K restoration of the long-lost original negative. SPOOKIES will screen with subtitles from the best available digital source and makes very little sense.

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

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