I was lucky enough to screen the documentary, Scala!!!, last year and I’ve been raving about it for the past several months to anyone who would listen, usually fellow cinephiles. For the uninitiated, the Scala Cinema was a London theater which operated from 1978 to 1993, and it became a haven for the people that society looked down upon or sometimes didn’t notice at all. The theater had an eclectic program which feature black-and-white classics as well as anarchic, banned (due to a membership loophole) and even graphic sex films. It was a wild scene, to be sure, and it was captured excellently in the documentary from directors Jane Giles and Ali Catterall. Now, Severin Films has released an all-encompassing box set for the documentary, and they sent one my way. After reviewing all the materials, it’s safe to say this is one of the best physical media releases of the past year!

As stated above, the Scala documentary is more than enough reason to own this collection. It’s featured here with a wonderful presentation, vivid video and balanced audio. I love how the film is organized, with a natural time progression including notable celebrities who frequented the Scala Cinema as well as those who worked behind the scenes, and I loved the portion devoted to the unique calendar posters that Scala and other cinemas would feature to promote their upcoming showings. Had I been alive and active in the time that the Scala operated, I would have frequented it myself, and this movie gives that lived-in experience that makes it rewatchable, and it makes that Letterboxd Watchlist grow with all the peculiar films that you probably missed and now need to catch. Scala is a time-capsule worth living in for 90 minutes.

Also on the first disc, there’s a solid commentary from the co-directors, and they discuss a myriad of other behind-the-scenes tidbits and stories that didn’t make the film. It’s a worthwhile commentary that adds to the experience. Along with the commentary, the first disc also has unused interview segments from John Waters, Mary Harron, and several others. It’s understandable why these elements were unused in the finished film, as they did not serve the overall story, but like the commentary, they add to the experience for those interested in more Scala.

There’s another short film on Disc 1, Scala (1990), from director Michael Clifford, that is actually partially featured in the 2023 documentary. It’s a good short doc about the Scala, but most of its info is featured in the complete feature. The same can be said of the short documentary, Scala Cinema, from 1992, which features a commentary as well. Both shorts were made prior to this feature doc, but the info on either is better served in the feature.

With all that, you can find some copies of the Scala Programs on this disc and a featurette on the Scala Archive, as well as some animation tests for elements used in the finished movie. These added to the experience, even if not the most impactful or memorable of special features.

This box set earns the title and carries the most weight in its second and third discs, which collectively feature twelve short films that played at the Scala during its time, which we’ll cover here:

-DIVIDE AND RULE – NEVER! (1978): a short documentary featuring interviews with various London residents about their experiences dealing with racism. While impactful with its stories, it’s a bit disorganized and jumps around quite a bit.
-DEAD CAT (1989): A man’s cat dies, and it triggers a psychosexual experience all around him. This trippy fare is disjointed and nightmarish. If you’re looking for a messed up and unusual short film, this one is for you. (There’s also a remembrance from the short’s director, David Lewis).
-THE MARK OF LILITH (1986): A student graduate film with bisexual vampires and musing on the horror genre, this is an okay but unfocused little piece that benefits from striking visuals and biting (pardon the pun) dialogue.
-RELAX (1991): A powerful and shocking short about a man waiting on his HIV test results. It’s frightening and anxiety-inducing and very accessible, and also very Scala in terms of shock.
-BOOBS A LOT (1968): a short featuring many, many images of boobs. A lot of boobs. You might even say Boobs a lot. They are shown in succession while a song, “Boobs a Lot” from The Fugs, plays over the proceedings. It’s perhaps the most accurate of titles, and you may just find the song from The Fugs entering your Spotify playlist.
-KAMA SUTRA RIDES AGAIN (1971): This Oscar-nominated animated short film directed by Bob Godfrey, was previously only available to view on a porn site for some reason, and it’s a rather risque (and, again, very Scala) kind of movie which follows a husband attempting to learn some peculiar sex positions to help his marriage was funny enough to recommend, and I’m so pleased it’s back on physical media.
-COPING WITH CUPID (1991): Three blonde aliens arrive from another planet and wish to conduct research into Earth romance. This one features a very young Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon), who plays one of the romantic “subjects,” Coping with Cupid was a delightfully funny short that plays with changing gender norms of the early 90s, and it’s wildly inventive.
-ON GUARD (1984): An overly long and frequently dull film (and, at 50 minutes, technically a feature), this heist-film features four women who wish to sabotage a reproductive engineering firm. Its ideas are in the right place, but it just doesn’t have any forward momentum.
-MANIAC 2: MR. ROBBIE (1986): More a proof of concept than a short film, but worth checking out all the same, this short collection of moments was meant to sell a sequel to the infamous horror classic Maniac, but never moved forward due to several factors, including the death of actor Joe Spinell.
-HORRORSHOW (1990): Another nightmare-fuel and trippy short, this one even moreso, follows a person who finds a demonic entity that killed the previous inhabitant of his room (there’s also a commentary from director Paul Hart-Wilden).
-CLEVELAND SMITH: BOUNTY HUNTER (1982): This popular find for fans of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell was produced near the release of The Evil Dead. Directed by Josh Becker, it’s a play on the Indiana Jones archetype played to lunacy, and it’s presented here with two cuts and a commentary (with Scott Spiegel). It’s a fun albeit dated piece that should have Campbell’s fans more than sated.
-MONGOLITOS: Set in a public toilet, you see a lot of things you wish you hadn’t. I watched this one twice (once with the commentary track), and it haunts my dreams, though I will say that it invoked enough of a reaction to warrant its viewing, though be warned about this one’s semi-nauseating effect.

Also included in the package is a piece on the making of movie theater programs, titled The Art of the Calendar, featuring several niche theaters and their calendar programs. It’s a thoughtful and funny look at something that fosters what you don’t get at an AMC or Marcus Theater: community.

Hidden within the short films, you’ll also find Splatterfest Exhumed, a feature documentary about the Splatterfest all-night movie marathon and festival that took place at the Scala theater, something very slightly discussed in the Scala!!! Documentary, and it’s honestly almost as good on its own merits. Splatterfest Exhumed is an examination of Scala’s very own Fyre Festival, run by a teenager, with little planning and a whole lot of insanity. Featured guests showed up with nowhere to stay and no ride from the airport, and not much thought was put into how to acquire and play the various films being presented. It’s a terrific documentary that would be worth purchasing on its own, but I’m so thankful Severin decided to include it here, as it makes for a terrific double-feature with the main feature.

Finally, there’s a short piece on the 1989 Scala appearance of H.G. Lewis, titled The Legendary H.G. Lewis Speaks. It’s fine, but not essential viewing except for perhaps the heavy H.G. Lewis fans.

Scala!!! is an excellent collection of art and cinema that more than earns its shelf space. It features an incredible retrospective documentary that I’ve been talking up most of 2024, and a veritable treasure trove of bonus features and shorts, including a terrific bonus documentary on Splatterfest that makes for an excellent Scala double-feature. For fans of weirdo cinema and movie history, the Scala Cinema’s place in the annals of theater history is cemented with this excellently-packaged presentation from Severin Films that’s one of the best physical media releases of the past year, hands down.

-Kyle A. Goethe