SWEET TRASH

John Hayes was one of the most unique cinematic voices to emerge from the 1960s and '70s underground film scene. A failed playwright, Hayes’ films were bleak, sexually charged morality tales that combined Tennessee Williams’ troubled souls with R. Lee Frost’s exploitation stylings. In SWEET TRASH, an alcoholic longshoreman who’s deep in debt is forced into an increasingly debauched nightmare as he tries to avoid the mob. Along the way, he meets local oddballs, violent criminals, and lusty women. With a mysterious computer controlling everyone’s actions, this grimy artistic film with a sci-fi fear of mind control was ahead of its time.