Images: Jess Worrow
Ah, for the connotations of US drive-in movie theaters, now in decline over the pond, but embedded as characteristic romantic americana; the rock n roll era, waking up little Suzie, and Danny Zuko making his move on Sandy while a monster movie plays on a giant screen in the background. It was folklore Brits forever envied….
Okay, yesterday evening at Hillworth Park in Devizes wasn’t precisely like that for their annual open air cinema experience! Replace the Chevrolets and Cadillacs with collapsible camping chairs and blankets and pillows, rock n roll with Was not Was and whatever songs about dinosaurs Fantasy Radio could dig up, and the “Snack-N-Vue” with homegrown outlets like Piña Colada connoisseurs The Muck & Dunder, Freddy’s Juice Bar and of course the in-house, fabulously tasty SoupChick.
But what else could I possibly compare this unique event to?! Awaiting twilight, the park appeared more like a local music festival more than any cinematic jaunt. Apparently US drive-ins held grand fairs to entertain, and tire children before sundown too. As well as the everyday features of our fabulous town garden, we also had waddling dinosaurs chasing children through the park; terrifyingly simple but effective!
Yet, this doesn’t compare to the contemporary soulless experience of a trip to a modern cinema; buy tickets online, flash your phone at a scanner on the door and collect your popcorn from a vending machine. You don’t utter a word to another human!
Pricey merchandise thrust into your kid’s faces, and overpriced one-size-fits-all popcorn buckets the dimensions of a cathedral, are standard at multiplexes. Here it’s a moderate portion of popcorn for three coins, and merch only exists on those already dressed for the occasion in Jurassic Park t-shirts brought elsewhere. The word of the day is communal, for it was a little Devizes thing, where you rub shoulders with friendly faces, and that’s like no other cinematic pleasure I’ve experienced.
Congratulations to Hillworth Park and Devizes Town Council, for the age demographic was plenary, the atmosphere adventurous and although stars were amiss with an overcast sky, rain thankfully didn’t show. But mostly, the film choice was apt; a movie set in a park, in a park, where a dad playfully pretends he’s a T-Rex, blowing raspberries on the belly of his captured prey, his giggling son, makes priceless memories.
Jurassic Park was democratically decided upon. Civic & Community Engagement Manager for Devizes Town Council, Cherry Rosalind Cullen explained, “the public were invited to vote on which film they would like to see, and we had a total of eight films to choose from. The result was neck and neck between Jurassic Park and Dirty Dancing. As it was tied, we held an additional poll to determine the winner.”
I’m content, for Dirty Dancing is not my cuppa, and certainly doesn’t touch the sides of the universal appeal of Spielberg’s 1993 masterpiece. This is the event’s sixth occasion since the first in 2019. “For our Twilight Cinema events,” Cherry informed me, “we have always given the public the opportunity to choose the film.”
The unrivalled skill of Spielberg returned to me rewatching this after years of questionable sequels and rehashing; to adapt Michael Crichton’s relatively gruesome techno-horror novel, into a family-friendly sci-fi, is reflected in a modern franchise where, while plots remain similar, total CGI erases the authenticity of its suspense somewhat. There’s the jumpscare elements of Jaws in the original Jurassic Park, ingeniously combined with ET’s nurturing warmness. And gen z looks upon clunky vintage CGI like gen x does scratchy vinyl.
The plot also captures a period of Dolly the sheep, where the possibilities of genetic cloning were open to interpretation for the most imaginative fiction authors. Of course, cloning dinosaurs is now regarded as impossible, that’s the fantastical point! There’s a funny dinosaur chasing kids around Hillworth Park; that’s more important here than scientific evidence; killjoy!
“This isn’t just a film night,” Hillworth Park said, “it’s a chance to experience the magic of cinema in the heart of Hillworth Park, under the stars.”
And the description fitted, it was certainly popular and a safely organised friendly evening. In a town where you’ll be sent to Facebook jail for enquiring when the cinema might reopen, this is a brilliant incentive!
I confess, with regard to the cinema, I might’ve jinxed it, for which I humbly apologise. Living in Marlborough we craved for the flicks, I moved here delighted we had a cinema. It closed and one opened up in Marlborough! As if you ever needed an excuse to tell me to pack my bags! But, hey, you should know by now I like to cast my beady eye over happenings here, you don’t have to read them. This was something a little different for us to cover, and I’m delighted to report it was a fantastic family occasion!
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