STXfilms is promoting its R-rated puppet film The Happytime Murders with a pop-up tattoo parlor and speakeasy in Hollywood. The activation immerses guests into the world of the film while driving home its R-rated humor and providing photo ops for social media.
Open to adults 21 and over, The InkHole is a tattoo parlor and speakeasy manned by puppets and actors where guests can take a glimpse at the greasy underbelly of puppet life as depicted in The Happytime Murders. Visitors can interact with puppet and human characters from the film and get clues about its who-dunnit plotline.
The InkHole was scheduled for one weekend only but STXfilms told AListDaily that demand was so high that the activation returned a week later for another weekend full of puppet mischief.
Talking with puppets in The InkHole will earn guests a secret (R-rated) password, which can be spoken to gain access to a hidden speakeasy. Guests are treated to cocktails with names like “Good Time for You” and “DTF (Down to Fluff)” while being entertained by comedians, burlesque dancers and puppet lounge singers on the main stage.
Delving deeper into the speakeasy will reveal even more adult content, from a puppet peep show to BDSM performances. In the “Sugar Den,” a strung-out puppet named Midge offers guests sweet juices so they can get a sugar high with her.
The “Rotten Cotton Girls,” meanwhile, invite people to join them in the Photo Puppet Opp room where they can pose on a hot pink chaise in front of a neon sign of the film’s title.
Marketing for The Happytime Murders has been focused on the raunchy humor of the film, as embodied with the slogan, “No Sesame. All Street.” A pink van has been spotted driving around Hollywood that promotes topless puppet maids. Murals have been painted in spots around Sydney Australia, made to look like brothels complete with puppet prostitutes outside. The film’s name, hashtag and slogan are painted in the style of graffiti, hitting the message home that this is not a story for kids.
Last week, a public service announcement video was released in partnership with the Alamo Drafthouse that discouraged moviegoers from talking during the movie. Hosted by a puppet named Goofer from The Happytime Murders, viewers are warned that being a “moviefucker” and talking during the movie will get you shunned and send you into a spiral of hard candy addiction.
