Film club gets scary and festive
Halloween comes only once a year, and it’s nice to see some people celebrate the occasion accordingly. This year one of the groups to do so was the Saddleback Film Club, who hosted a movie night consisting of an outdoor double feature with a horror theme last Friday night.
The event took place in the field between the Business and General Studies Building and the bus stop on the north campus, and called for a projector and a modest blow-up screen. This is the first time apparently that something like this has been done on campus.
Michelle Jensen, 19, film, organizer of the event and president of the Saddleback Film Club, said that the group had “been looking for an event” and this one just fit very well with everything they hoped to do – not to mention what a lot of fun it would be to have a movie night. Nevertheless, Jensen said that the main reason for the event was to raise funds for a scholarship for a film student.
Attendees, some of them in costume, approached the ticket stand and paid for their admission and occasionally a few treats. All was available for well under the price of a standard movie ticket at a local theater, to say nothing of the concessions and the fact that it was a double feature, too.
The showing began with “Nightmare Before Christmas” at a little after 6 p.m. with the audience sitting on folding chairs and blankets in the grass. The movie was followed by a brief interlude, consisting of songs like “Thriller” and “Monster Mash.” There was even a mash-up clip show of classic horror movies like “Creature from the Black Lagoon,”
“Frankenstein” and many others. Afterwards they finished the night with “The Haunting of Emily Hartley,” one of the more tame films dealing with demonic possession.
In all, the event was supposed to be “fun for the family” according to Jensen. Considering the groups within the crowd as they huddled together on their blankets, it seems safe to say that the organizers succeeded.
Unfortunately, the crowd as a whole seemed smaller than expected, totaling roughly two dozen people sitting within the oversized area that had been taped off to hold many more.
Jensen seemed unfazed by this, nonetheless, and even expressed hopes that the club would do better the next time around. Already she has plans for similar future events and plans to publicize these events more when the time comes.
If nothing else, the event appeared as a fun night for everyone that came and was practice for all the movie nights to come.
For more information about the Saddleback Film Club, visit www.saddlebackfilmclub.com.