Coldiron’s Junk Film

Katharine Coldiron’s JUNK FILM is a book that was recommended to me for my voracious taste in tacky, unreliable, exploitative, and crap cinema. A collection of essays that cover perennial favorites such as Plan 9, Showgirls, Switchblade Sisters, and The Room, Coldiron also explores some lesser-known (to me) classics that I immediately went out and bought remastered physical media copies of films/shows like Cop Rock and Death Bed. Each of these essays are introspective love letters to the craft, presenting some of the more well-known facts besides some academic analysis that showcase the true vibrancy of the craft. Coldiron’s main thesis, which she defends expertly, is examining the difference between film that is so terrible it isn’t worth watching and film that is so wonderfully made with an intense burning devotion that, despite being garbage, we always return to enjoy at home or in screenings that sell out week after week over decades to beat mainstream industry films. It is clear that Coldiron truly loves these films the same way the rest of us do – and she can explain why they are so timeless and unforgivingly enjoyable with the eye of an expert. This was a great book, and after having finally seen everything I haven’t I can say I wholeheartedly agree that these are the junk we carry around with us from apartment to house to a sick day to a fun weekend with friends. Not everyone will get it, but boy, those of us who do remain bloodthirsty fans of the crap these visionaries set out to make with all their hearts.