Continuing my exploration of alternate film venues in San Francisco, I decided to check out Bad Movie Night at The Dark Room, located at 2263 Mission Street. Bad Movie Night is held every Sunday evening; here's the upcoming schedule:
http://www.darkroomsf.com/BMN/BMN.htm
The Dark Room is basically a black box theater space. For Bad Movie Night a screen is dropped and dvds are projected. I'm not usually one for dvd projection, but, the popcorn is free and deliciously artificially flavored, you can bring your own booze, and there's just such a genuine sense of wanting to have fun that I was won over. Bad Movie Night is hosted by Jim who starts the evening out by singing the Bad Movie Night theme song on his banjo. He is quick to explain that it would be illegal for them to charge to watch a dvd so the $5 cover is for the banjo playing. Once the song is done, everything else is free: the popcorn, the plastic whistles, the dvd, the rude comments! Jim was quickly upstaged by his pet boxer driven mad chasing after a red laser light. A clip of Jim crooning the theme song is available at the above url.
Bad Movie Night is like Mystery Science 2000 live. Guest comedians satirize the movie in process. For Ted V. Mikels' Astro Zombies the wisecrackers were Geek Boy, John Harrison and Mikl-Em and, I have to admit, they were pretty funny. As for Astro Zombies, it is atrocious. But I'm a Tura Satana fan and this is the one where she puts her cigarette out on a German's cheek. How could I resist?! Sure, the dvd started sticking ten minutes towards the end and we never really got to see the ending but by then who cared? I didn't! In fact I'd damn well had enough. I'd thrown my usual pet peeves to the wind and was smartmouthing anyone who would listen. No one was. They were too busy being rude themselves. Lots of fun for the occasional Sunday.
