Sitting in the dark, faces lit up by the projector, students congregated in the Bigelow Commons on Oct. 25 to enjoy a movie night in celebration of Halloween hosted by the film club. The featured films were The Nightmare Before Christmas and Psycho.
The Nightmare Before Christmas, released in 1993, is a stop motion animated film based on a poem written by Tim Burton. It follows Jack Skellington, pumpkin king of Halloweentown, as he tries to take over Christmas. For most of the students, the movie was a nostalgic watch evoking hums of familiar songs and laughter at the signature captivating absurdity of Tim Burton films.
As the sky darkened, so did the movies, literally and thematically. Released in 1960, Psycho is a horror mystery movie that follows a woman on the run when she stops at a vacant motel and meets the peculiar owner of the motel, filmed in black and white.
Popcorn, pizza, snacks and drinks were provided. Students followed proper theater etiquette: no pictures, silence (mostly), and seated. But that changed as the evening went on. Forts made of chairs and music stands were built and students took to the floors to lay down and get comfortable with friends.
One of the presidents of the film club, junior Howard Huelster noticed how participants laid on the hard carpet and noted some adjustments to make: “[Next time] we need more pizza and pillows and bean bags,” he said.
Junior Lucille Brooks stayed from five to eight to watch both movies: “I enjoyed [the movie night] supremely. The movie choices were really nice, and it felt like a community thing. We were all laughing and gasping [at the movies] at the same time,” said Brooks.
Cleared pizza boxes, snack wrappers and chairs turned on their heads were revealed once the lights turned on. Students and advisors quickly cleaned up the mess. At the end, Huelster jokingly assigned homework for everyone: “Go write a Letterboxd review.”
With the movie night’s overall success, the film club hopes to host another.
