Alternate realities, evil aliens, crime fighting cyborgs and post-apocalyptic wastelands.
These themes are just a few that will drive the films featured at The Loft Cinema’s third annual Sci-Fi Slumber Party! this Saturday, April 29, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The non-profit theater is a famous Tucson favorite that often shows independent and classic films, sometimes coupled with events that create an interactive viewer experience.
During the Sci-Fi Slumber Party!, participants will enjoy six science fiction classic films, along with vintage movie trailers and trivia games that include prizes.
Additionally, the German Food Truck will be serving street eats from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Loft will have drinks and snacks throughout the night and will serve a complimentary breakfast in the morning.
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The night will kick off with a screening of “The Matrix,” a film that combines stimulating and thought-provoking science fiction themes with lots of fighting action.
Following will be John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” which tells the story of an evil alien life form that impersonates its human hosts in an isolated Antarctica-based research center, who’s mission is to overpower all of mankind.
Next up is “Logan’s Run,” a science fiction thriller set in the future that follows a policeman named Logan and his girlfriend Jessica, who are bound to escape a society where people are executed after they turn 30.
“Robocop,” follows, a 1980s film about a Detroit policeman who was killed in the line of duty but rebuilt by an evil corporation to be a ruthless, vigilante cyborg— but Robocop has an agenda of his own.
“Night of the Comet” will be shown on real 35mm film print, telling the story of a comet-induced apocalypse that kills off everyone except two Valley girls from Los Angeles, who are subsequently forced to arm themselves and fight off the evil forces induced by the comet’s explosion.
“Snowpiercer”finishes the night with a post-apocalyptic ice age that forces the only surviving human beings to travel on a train that circles the globe non-stop. The train’s inhabitants quickly fall subject to an issue over social class, where the poor are forced to remain in the back of the train while the rich are allowed to be up front. Thanks to a familiar hero, the oppressed passengers fight to take control of the train, as well as their new world.
Jeff Yanc, program director at The Loft, said The Loft also does all-night “Scream-O-Rama” events with movie marathons of horror flicks twice a year.
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“We started the Sci-Fi Slumber Party three years ago, as a way to give people who maybe aren’t so into horror movies something fun to do as an overnight experience,” Yanc said.
Yanc said The Loft has seen great success with the relatively new annual event, and that turnout has grown over the past few years.
Devoted science fiction fans and night owls, now is your time to shine: according to Yanc, those who make it through the entire night will receive a prize for surviving the Sci-Fi Slumber Party in its entirety.
For more information about The Loft Cinema’s upcoming events, visit www.loftcinema.org.
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