The 1982 film was rejected by its conservative financiers but had an influential afterlife at cinemas such as the Scala in King’s Cross. A restored print is showing in London this monthYou never forget your first visit to Café Flesh. Mine took place in June 1986: it was a month before my 15th birthday and I was spending Saturday afternoon, as I often did, at the notorious Scala cinema in tawdry, pre-gentrified King’s Cross. I don’t know which staff member thought it appropriate to allow an acne-peppered child in to see the post-apocalyptic sex fantasy Café Flesh – in a double-bill with the equally explicit hardcore horror-comedy Thundercrack! – but I’m glad they did.When I emerged blinking into the early evening sunlight, I had witnessed sights that few 14-year-olds could have imagined. The movie is set in a desolate future where “the Nuclear Kiss” has left 99% of the population unable to enjoy intimacy without becoming nauseous. These are the Sex Negatives. The remaining 1%, known ...
The 1982 film *Café Flesh*, a post-apocalyptic sex fantasy featuring real sex, was considered too unconventional for the porn industry and disliked by US porn audiences. Despite initial rejection and brief screenings, it found a cult following at cinemas like the Scala. Director Rinse Dream (aka Azazel Jacobs) aimed to subvert porn conventions, drawing inspiration from musicals and creating outlandish scenarios. His co-writer, Jerry Stahl, described *Café Flesh* as a "fuck you" to pornography.
