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For a little background, “Tiki” refers to the first man in Māori culture, as well as a carved image of a god, and deified ancestors. As there has been more conversation about the sensitive celebration of Polynesian Pop, and “Tiki culture,” without appropriating Polynesian culture itself, there has also been a rise in the presence of horror and sci-fi-inspired “aloha wear” and art. Perhaps most famous amongst this movement is Josh “Shag” Agle, who displays at San Diego Comic-Con, and whose unmistakable work often applies a Tiki and mid-century modern vibe to iconic scenes (the Star Wars cantina, Disney’s The Haunted Mansion) and characters (Batman, Spider-Man). Another notable name is Jeff Granito, who has designed apparel giving the Tiki treatment to The Shining, The Munsters, and, again, The Haunted Mansion. The pop culture intersection with Tiki exploded onto the mainstream in 2016 with Geeki Tikis, the product line of drinkware, apparel, and accessories created by Brandon Giraldez and his Beeline Creative company. Having launched in 2016 with Star Wars Tiki mugs, Geeki Tikis now have more than 250 licenses from a wide array of franchises. Even pop culture collectible giant Funko acquired collectible company Mondo in 2022, which itself launched its Tee-Kis in late 2016 with a set of Gremlins mugs.
Jonathan Chaffin’s Horror In Clay likewise received some mainstream nerd media attention in 2012 when he launched a successful crowdfunding campaign for his Cthulu Tiki mug, which was ultimately sold on the ThinkGeek retail site.
“Geeki Tikis, Mondo, and Horror In Clay are just a few examples of companies marrying ‘geek’ pop culture and the tiki bar scene,” says Chaffin. “Even before Walt Disney decided to add a Polynesian experience to his theme park in 1963 tiki culture was enmeshed in the popular culture of America, appearing and incorporated into a variety genre-crossing shows and movies … Since the rise of the theme park and the haunted house, generations have fallen in love with immersive and themed environments, and that sense of wonder and immersion is intrinsic to a good tiki bar, making it an easy idea for people to connect around.”
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At Inuhele specifically, the playful meeting of Tiki, horror, and sci-fi can be seen all around, from the pineapple-skull swizzles of Bare Bones Tiki, to attendees’ elaborately designed (and heavy) hair fascinators sporting entire designs of pirate ships, and homages to The Overlook Hotel, Baby Yoda, Lilo & Stitch, and Little Shop of Horrors. It is present in the work of artist and vendor Derek Yaniger, in his version of the skeleton band from 1967’s Mad Monster Party? “Little Tibia and the Phibbeans,” and in the graveyard themed “Spoo-Tiki” mug, and other horror-Tiki designs, of Pete Klockau’s The Black Lagoon Room shop.
There was the meet-and-greet and “Tiki 101” talk held in a room themed to be Bikini Bottom from Spongebob Squarepants. Even the sounds of Inuhele, when they aren’t Polynesian or exotica, are representative of pop culture, such as with the horror surf-rock band The Creature Preachers, whose vinyl features a bloody cover with a gill-man, werewolf, and stitched together zombie woman all dressed in bathing suits.
If there is an unofficial mascot of Inuhele, it is The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The green-gilled cryptid from the 1954 Universal Monsters flick was represented at every turn. Along with beachwear-bedecked Frankenstein’s Monster and Bride, Sweet Siren Designs (aka Sara Yasmin) was selling “Mid-Century Swamp Couple” artwork and apparel featuring a Creature-inspired monster serving up a tropical libation in a clamshell to his bathing-suited beauty. Artist BigToe (Tom Laura) sold, amongst other glassware and artwork, a mug that resembled the bloody decapitated head of a Gill-man creature. And the “Ladies Who Tiki” community group hosted a “Cocktails in the Black Lagoon” room party complete with a full-sized Gill-man, along with a creature hiding behind a porthole and creature-themed cocktails.
