I very much enjoy and very much value documentaries on horror fiction and horror films. In a blog post from last year, I highlighted one of the earliest horror film documentaries—Terror in the Aisles. That production was more of a straight-forward documentary, tracing the evolution of horror films up to that time.
This post looks at another horror documentary.
This creation from 1990 was produced by the BBC in a narrative round-table-style
format. - I had never seen anything like
it and I truly believe that no program
has even come close to rivaling its significance.
"April
1990—six fevered imaginations are gathered for dinner at the Horror Café; their
task—to create the ultimate horror movie for the end of the millennium, the
year 2000. They take as their starting point Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic
nineteenth-century horror tale, Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
The
opening of the announcer’s voiceover
§
Even though actual filming occurred at Lime Grove
Studios on 5 April 1990, Horror Café
first aired as a special broadcast on BBC Two TV’s The Late Show on 15 September 1990.
I have heard rumors of a DVD version existing,
but have not been able to confirm it. The first and (so far ) only way I have
found this program was via YouTube.
The September 1990 airing and the version I saw on YouTube ran to 81 minutes.
§
Six icons of the horror genre gathered for dinner
so that each could express their own thoughts and feelings on fear and horror.
Seated around the table were:
•Clive Barker – host (author), an English playwright, novelist, film director and artist. He was initially known for his weird fiction. Barker’s art has been featured in his books as well as galleries.
•Lisa Tuttle (author) who, with books like Familiar Spirit, A Nest of Nightmares and Gabriel, is hailed as one of horror’s most innovative and exciting writers.
•Roger Corman (producer & director) is an American film director, producer and occasional actor. Corman’s influence on modern film cannot be over-hyped. His impact upon modern horror film has been foundational.
•Peter Adkins (screenwriter) grew up in Liverpool along with Clive Barker and Doug Bradley. A well-known genre author and screenplay writer, Atkins authored the scripts for Hellraiser II, III, IV and The Wishmaster.
•John Carpenter (director), an American filmmaker, screenplay writer and composer, is best known for his work in the horror and sci-fi genres in the 1970s and 80s. Many of those works have become genre staples and cult classics.
•Ramsey Campbell (novelist), an English horror fiction writer, has been writing for over 50 years and has authored over 30 novels and countless short stories. In addition, by many leaders in the genre, he is considered to be in the same league as H. P. Lovecraft.
George C.
Romero was originally supposed to appear, but he cancelled at the last minute.
His place at the table was ably taken by
Peter Adkins. But, even so, I regret
that Romero did not take part. His input
and thoughts would have been invaluable to the horror genre.
And speaking of regret, there is one other aspect
of this broadcast that is a major disappointment. When originally aired (and on
YouTube), its length ran to 81 minutes as I stated above. However, in the
comment section of a Reddit post, dated 30 November 2015, Ramsey Campbell
stated, in referring to the 81 minute broadcast from 1990:
We actually shot for three hours - this is the edit that was broadcast. It was Roger's birthday, and much champagne was consumed afterwards.
Later, in the same Reddit post comment thread,
when asked if the 3 hour version is available anywhere, Campbell responded with
“Not that I know of, alas.”
Three hours! This round-table went on for three hours and all we got was 81 minutes! Less than
half! Imagine what gems were left on the cutting room floor!
Yet, all hope is not
lost.
In the November 1990 issue of the British horror
movie magazine, Fear, is the only
detailed description of Horror Café
in print that I have been able to unearth; not a transcript per se, but a
detailed summation nonetheless.
And, making this article even more significant is
that the article talks about the full 3 hour
version and not the 81 minute broadcast version! It delivers tantalizing
glimpses into the topics and dialogue
that were excised out. It is well worth the effort to track down. A link to
download a PDF version of the magazine is here.
§
The stated premise of this round-table discussion
was to create “the ultimate horror movie for the end of the Millennium.” It
proved a focus for wide-ranging discourse and provided a mandate they could
return to. There are two quotes from the broadcast (and YouTube) I would like to particularly highlight. First, and
beginning at 9 minute 17 seconds, in response to and elaborating upon something
John Carpenter had just said, Roger Corman explains:
It was earlier stated, uh suggested, that what we were doing is giving a negative experience. I don’t think in any way it’s a negative experience. I think it’s a positive and very helpful experience. Both on the basis of what John said and also if you go into a Freudian interpretation…If you are touching some fear in the unconscious mind, according to Freudian theory, by exposing that fear, by bringing it to the surface, you can actually help the patient, as it were…
I was very impressed and surprised by Corman’s
comments and insights. In a like manner, a quote from John Carpenter at 14
minute 32 seconds is worthy of note:
There’s an essential question that you have to answer. And, it’s…it’s…it’s…it’s basic when you make a film. There’s two kinds of, there’s a left-wing horror and a right-wing horror. Now, the right-wing horror, we’re all a tribe and the evil is out there (points away from self). It’s gonna come and get us. It is, uh, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It’s the atomic monsters, ok. There is also a left-wing horror and it’s right…in…here (points to his own chest).
And, a little further along, Carpenter very
briefly picks up that thread again at 17 minutes 25 seconds:
‘Cause isn’t that primitive man sitting around the fire, and, and the sounds out in the night.
Although only reflecting a tiny sampling of what
was said in the broadcast, taken together, these few comments expanded my
understanding of the horror genre as well as my appreciation for it. In
particular, Corman’s and Carpenter’s thoughts and comments were incredibly
profound, coming not from academic outsiders, who only study the art, but
rather the creators themselves expressing their vision.
Corman’s confident statements on Freud and the
psychology behind the appeal of horror were a worthy complement to Carpenter’s
cinematic talent to scare the hell out of people. Carpenter’s innate
understanding of what horror means, was a treat to behold. Of particular note
and significance to my understanding of the nature of horror fiction,
Carpenter’s linkage of primitive man with his theories of horror was invaluable
to me. Brief and in passing though it was, it highlights the truth that a sense
of horror is rooted in mankind’s deepest past; something that humans have
carried with them from their earliest days.
§
It is well worth the time to track down the
broadcast version of Horror Café
found on YouTube. Even if only the
edited version and not the full 3 hours; a careful reading of Fear magazine’s November 1990 issue will
offer a peek into the full version.
References
Print Resources
Digital Resources
Horror Café. Dir. Janet Fraser
Crook. Host Clive Barker. BBC. 05 April 1990 (filmed), 15 September 1990
(aired). Online. 04 May 2019. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TosdCShzD4g&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1WqIhGmIVyO2fGF2Yu5D5_RCK5WsX2LMkxSjudfuz_vdZ6Zp_5x64LEM4>
Online Resources
~. “Fear 23 (1990 11).” Internet Archive. November 1990. Issue Number 23. [PDF file]. <https://archive.org/details/Fear_23_1990-11_no_ads/mode/2up>
~. “Horror Cafe (1990) directed by Janet Fraser
Crook.” Letterboxd. Letterboxd
Limited. Web. 31 January 2020. <https://letterboxd.com/film/horror-cafe/>
Enless, Kaiter. “Horror Cafe (1990). Logos Literature. Wordpress.com. 23 June
2019. Web. 26 January 2020. <https://logosliterature.wordpress.com/2019/06/23/horror-cafe-1990/>
Kreacher K. “Clive Barker’s Horror Cafe Endgame.”
Wise Words with Yours Truly Podcast.
Anchor FM Inc. 07 May 2019. Web. 31 January 31 2020. <https://anchor.fm/tha-real-kreacher-k/episodes/Clive-Barkers-Horror-Cafe-Endgame-e3vc89>
Paul, Zachary. “Join Clive Barker and John
Carpenter for Dinner - 1990 BBC Special 'Horror Cafe'.” Bloody Disgusting. Bloody Disgusting, LLC. 23 March 2017. Web. 24
January 2020. <https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3429017/join-clive-barker-john-carpenter-dinner-1990-bbc-special-horror-cafe/>
RamseyCampbell. “Horror Café - (1990) Hosted by
Clive Barker, John Carpenter and other horror icons discuss the ultimate horror
movie for the year 2000.” Reddit.
Reddit, Inc. 30 November 2015. Web. 28 January 2020. <https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/3utsea/horror_caf%C3%A9_1990_hosted_by_clive_barker_john/>
