Why should you care about physical DVDs and DIY movie nights?
One woman's guide to bringing the fun back into your cinematic life.
It’s strange to remember that Netflix wasn’t always a streaming service. For those too young to have lived it (feel shame), Netflix was originally a website where you would order newly released DVDs and have them mailed to you. In 2012 in the UK and 2007 in the US, Netflix made the change to a streaming service where you could instantly watch TV series and movies from the comfort of your own home, for a fee each month, a lot of them created by Netflix. Minimal effort required. In 2017, streaming services overtook sales of DVDs for the first time in the UK. Later, 2019’s COVID-lockdown came around, and use of streaming services hit their peak, as more people were watching at home.
Don’t get me wrong; streaming services are super convenient. They allow us to watch our favourite TV shows and movies on a laptop or phone whenever and wherever we want - sometimes in better quality than they originally aired a couple of decades ago. But as streaming services become more commonplace, more are being created (HBO max, Apple TV, Paramount, Hulu, Disney+, etc) that seem interested in profit than anything else. Suddenly, you’re paying five subscriptions a month of over £10 each, without ads, just to watch your same 3 favourite TV shows and movies.
And let’s not even talk about the movies that go straight to streaming, and you lose out on the communal experience of watching a film in a real cinema with your friends. We might be saving in time and effort, but we are losing so much more. So, what’s the solution to this isolating streaming experience? Well, I have a few ideas.
First, I’d suggest buying DVD boxsets that you know you will watch often. These can be found on eBay, unless you’re looking for something super obscure, in which case I’d recommend a specialised DVD shop like Radiance, Second Sight , Terracotta or Diabolik. Having your favourites on DVD means that you actually own them, instead of just renting for a fee each month from different streaming sites. If you’re a Chronic Rewatcher like me, you won’t have to worry about what will happen if your favourite TV show changes platforms (which they often do) or is removed from the internet altogether.
There are also plenty of indie cinemas and film nights specialising in the kind of subversive and strange films that streaming lacks. One of those cinemas is the “fully licenced grindhouse, bar and video shop”, The Nickel, in London. Created by Dominic Hicks, "It's about creating a space that serves the art, that feels transgressive and challenging. Namely (screening) the strange, shaggy-dog films that don't fit the mould of an increasingly monotone culture.” But what is it that people are getting at a place like The Nickel that they can’t already find at an Odeon or on Netflix? Hicks responds, “In a world of soulless chains, people respond to something real. And streaming services are convenient - there's no denying it, but they keep us apart.”
The Nickel also sells physical DVDs and merchandise at their video shop inside the venue. Talking about the importance of physical media, Hicks says: “I think having tangible, physical objects to hold in your hand is somehow more meaningful than files and platforms - they become a real part of our lives. I also don't trust the streaming platforms to be the sole repositories of these films - if a large streaming company decides a film is problematic or just unpopular, what's to stop them erasing it or burying it on a server somewhere? Are we really going to trust these tech people to be the custodians of film art? I don't think we should.”
Part three of my ingenuous plan to bring the fun back into your cinematic life? The Rio Cinema in Dalston is home to Category H, a DIY film-programming group regularly showing horror and “cult” movies through a queer lense (though open to everyone!) such as Salem’s Lot, Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and The Lost Boys. They also host themed movie nights such as “Goth Space Prom”, a double bill of Carrie and Alien, encouraging movie-goers to dress up, as well as midnight screenings of Eraserhead, Night of the Living Dead and Candyman – as homage to the midnight movie screenings of yesteryear, when cult movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pink Flamingos found their outcast audiences.
Similarly, at the Genesis cinema and Beer Merchants Tap in London, TOKEN HOMO runs Bar Trash, a regular film night with “cult films and strong drinks.” "Bar Trash nights are all about finding the wonder in marginalised cinema, and the diverse people that made it." Says founder Token Homo. They screen movies that toe the line between camp and pure trash, such as blacksploitation movie Dr Black, Mr Hyde!, John Waters’ Desperate Living and The Bride of Frankenstein. At the end of a screening, audience members are asked to fill out a card to vote on whether the movie they just watched is ‘trash or treasure.’
Bar Trash revels in the interactive movie experience, as audience members are encouraged to yell, laugh and boo at the screen. Community is also found in Bar Trash screenings. I'm told some people have been to around 50-100 screenings, and some will come alone because they know they’ll make friends at the event. “My one Bar Trash rule is to let the film shine. Of course, we don’t want people to be on their phones or shouting back at the screen so no one else can hear what’s going on (unless it’s ROCKY HORROR), but we do want people to share the fun they are having. Laugh, boo, cheer, or if things become too unruly on screen, shout out our ‘bullshit repellent’ catchphrase, ‘Shut Up You Sicko!’, which comes in handy pushing back against discriminatory language. As you might expect, a huge amount of effort is put into making it feel friendly and inclusive, and keeping the ticket price as low as possible.”
Molly Miles, one of the Category H film-programmers, says of a typical Category H screening: “People can expect fun and surprises! I like to think we show people something they haven’t seen before, or if they have seen it, in a new context. We always have a gimmick alongside the movies we screen – we had a necrophilia double bill for Valentine’s Day that included a kissing booth with a skeleton inside. Category H is also a community itself, and part of a larger community of DIY film programming in London, so people can make friends too. It’s a great time to go to the movies.”
Click on the individual links to purchase tickets for Bar Trash and the Nickel.
