Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise: Talking Trash at the BFI

 

As part of the BFI’s ‘Trash!’ season at the South Bank, I have been invited to give a lecture on my three-volume Trash Project, published by Strange Attractor Press. Comprising three volumes, plus an additional Trash Concordance, this expansive and fragmented study contains personal reflections on Trash and Trash Culture developed over the years. Divided into Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, the Trash Project presents a complex but structured mosaic of perceptions on everything from alchemy, beauty and sovereignty to sexploitation, biker movies and underground cinema. It was always intended to be wide-ranging but never definitive.

 

Thanks to the BFI, I have been given the opportunity to look back on the whole thing for the first time since the Trilogy was completed. I will be reflecting in particular on the relationship between movies and Trash, starting with the ‘Purple Death’ episode of Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe and then moving further into the deep spaces opened up by Jack Smith, Doris Wishman, Kenneth Anger and Mario Bava. I’m not saying that it won’t get messy, but it will be interesting – so do please join me.

 

The lecture will be taking place in the Reuben Library on the evening of Wednesday 29 April. You can find more details and book tickets by clicking here.

 

I will also be signing copies of Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise in the BFI bookshop before the talk and would be delighted to say hello to anyone who drops by. 

 

Here are the basics:

Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise

Ken Hollings’ Guide to the Trash Underworld

Wednesday 29 April 2026 at 20:00

In the Reuben Library

The BFI South Bank

 

Ken Hollings Shares Bill with Newly Restored Print of ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’ at the BFI

 

I feel particularly honoured to have been asked to provide an introduction to a special screening of Edward D Wood Jr’s cinematic masterpiece Plan 9 from Outer Space at the British Film Institute on the evening of Tuesday 7 April. As part of their ‘Trash! The Wildest Films You’ve Ever Seen’ Southbank season, the BFI will be showing a newly restored 35mm print of this fabulous movie, so we can all bathe in its pristine glory.  

 

Anyone who knows me also knows that I bow to nobody in my love for Plan 9, which I revere with an intensity that would shame the fires of Hell itself. I first saw it at the old Scala cinema in Kings Cross around 1982 – I came to laugh but stayed to worship. One of the people who came along with me spat out their ice cream at the sight of it. Since then, I have made numerous references to it in many of my books and essays and have rewatched the movie on countless occasions. Time spent with Plan 9, I have found, is never time wasted. When recovering from cancer surgery a few years back, I would listen to the Plan 9 OST, including all of its inspired dialogue and Trevor Duncan’s tense library music score, on my i-Pod. It got me through more than one lonely, fearful night.

 

I’m not going to praise Plan 9’s many virtues here – I’ll merely draw your attention to its astonishing cast, from Bela Lugosi and Vampira to ‘Swedish Angel’ Tor Johnson and the Amazing Criswell. After that, you’re on your own. If you know, you know. If you don’t, Google it.

 

On the evening of 7 April, I will be giving a special reading to introduce Plan 9 from Outer Space. It’s going to be an unforgettable night and is not to be missed. You can find more details about the screening and where to book tickets by clicking here.

 

Here are the basics:

Plan 9 from Outer Space

Tuesday 7 April, starting at 18.10 

In NFT1 at the BFI Southbank

 

STOP PRESS: I will also be giving a lecture at the end of the BFI’s ‘Trash!’ season in the Reuben Library on 29 April. Look out for details. I’ll be posting them on here.

 

Pictured above: Vampira, Vampira and Tor Johnson, Plan 9 title, Vampira