Get ready to be scared silly. The All-Nite Scream-O-Rama is returning to The Loft Cinema this Saturday, Jan. 28. From 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. the theater will marathon seven specially chosen horror movies to chill the audience’s blood and make their skin crawl.
The event will feature films spanning all subsets of the horror genre from psychological thriller to zombie flick in order to give every audience member a chance to be truly spooked.
RELATED: Horror movies in winter: what makes us enjoy fear?
The night begins with the classic Stephen King novel adaptation, “The Shining.” Jack Nicholson’s performance as a winter hotel caretaker slowly losing his mind can send a chill up even the bravest of spines and leave viewers checking over their shoulders for little twin girls in matching dresses. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, after all.
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” follows with a story about a leather-faced lunatic armed with a chainsaw and the five friends who are forced to fight for their lives after encountering him and his band of cannibals. This one’s definitely not for the squeamish and really earned its R rating.
No horror marathon is complete without a vampire flick. The third movie, “Fright Night,” brings together a teenager enamored with scary movies and a man that used to star in them in order to take down the vampire living next door.
Old scary movies can be enjoyable whether they hold up through the years or get cheesier with age, but “Green Room” is a truly terrifying story for today’s generation. After bearing witnesses to a murder, a punk band is attacked by a group of neo-Nazis and held captive. The film was released in 2015 and is sure to scare you silly.
Some scary stories are most effective when short and spooky, and the anthology horror film “Trick ‘r Treat” is proof. The movie recounts five creepy tales of Halloween horrors and dishes out some seriously scary shorts.
“Return of the Living Dead” comes next, bringing a horde of zombies and throwing some punk rockers into the mix. The film is written by Dan O’Bannon, the writer of sci-fi thriller “Alien,” but this horror movie throws in some humor along with frights.
The final movie of the night, “Cat in the Brain,” is by far the bloodiest of the night as it tells the story of a horror film director slowly losing his mind because of his own creations. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is nothing compared to this no-holds bloodbath.
The Scream-O-Rama has been a popular event for Tucson horror movie enthusiasts, and The Loft assistant manager, Brenda Rodriguez, said the event sold out the 500-plus-seat theater last year. Events such as this are one way the theater brings together people from all over Tucson.
RELATED: Looking back at the history of the Loft Cinema
“Seeing a horror film in a group setting is something I loved to do when I was younger,” said Jamie Cadoff, a theatre, film and television senior. “Go to a scary movie with a bunch of your friends and freak out—that’s what I would want to go for.”
Cadoff hasn’t attended a Scream-O-Rama event in the past and is hoping to make this weekend’s her first if she is able to spare the twelve hours.
“[Scream-O-Rama] is kind of like having a big slumber party with your best friends that you don’t know,” said Rodriguez who has repeatedly attended the event, said.
Between films the theater will play old horror trailers, and The Loft’s program director Jeff Yanc will quiz audience members with movie trivia. With the snack bar open and a German food truck parked outside, there will be plenty of snacks to sustain dedicated moviegoers through the night.
For those who make it to sunrise there will be a free breakfast, along with the pride that comes with making it all the way through the night.
Tickets are available in advance for $14 and at the door for $15, so it is recommended to purchase them early or arrive with plenty of time to get a good seat. So grab your blankets, put on some pajamas and get ready to get your socks scared off.
Follow Victoria Pereira on Twitter.
