entertain

Midnight movies are not for everyone. It is that strange breed of young, urban hipster who frequents all-night diners and indie movie houses who enjoys a good midnight movie the most. Midnight movies are typically not mainstream blockbusters, unless you’re seeing the special first showing of the latest Harry Potter flick. Nor are they the indie films that are played at smaller theaters. Midnight movies are the movies that came out ten or twenty, even thirty or forty years ago and have since gained a cult following. This following consists of people who have seen the movie so many times that they know the plot and many of the lines by heart. These people are not only willing to see the movie again, but they’re also willing to pay $8 if it’s on the big screen. That’s where The Clay Theatre’s midnight movie series comes into the picture.

The Clay has been playing midnight movies for years. They are all cult classics and they all draw the same kind of crowd, varying only in numbers. This year they have shown such classics as "Pulp Fiction," "The Goonies," "Harold and Maude," "The Princess Bride," and "Rushmore." In the past such titles as "Army of Darkness," "The Warriors," and "Dazed and Confused" have been among their eclectic assortment of well-loved films. Sometimes there is a long line outside of the theater, as there was for "Army of Darkness" and this mostly depends on how many devoted cult members the movie can attract, not necessarily on the actual merit of the film. Fortunately, there is always parking around at that time of night which is a good thing considering how infrequent Muni tends to get in the wee hours of the morning.

Although the movies they play are almost always guaranteed to be good, the best thing about seeing midnight movies at the Clay is the weird crowd and the activities that the theater plans for the pre-show on Saturday nights. The same guy goes up on stage every Saturday night during the series and talks about the series and has everyone cheer if it’s their first time there, and then has everyone cheer if they’ve been there before. Then he asks for volunteers and the games begin. Another guy who works at the theater invariably comes up on stage at some point to be a part of the games. For example, before "Harold and Maude" the second guy came up on stage dressed as an old woman and the theme of the games was to "seduce grandma" (the themes are usually related to the movie that they will be showing). The games then consisted of several tasks that the competitors must complete with eliminations after each task. In this case there were four competitors. The first task was to retrieve a large piece of cardboard on which was written "Viagra" which was supposed to represent Viagra, from the back of the theater. The second task was to chug two bottles of "Ensure" and the final task was to give "grandma" a lapdance. All in all it was very amusing to watch, but you have to wonder why people put themselves through that kind of humiliation willingly.

So, in conclusion, midnight movies are not just about seeing your favorite movies on the big screen, although that remains the major allure of them. They are also about the weird sense of community you get from crowding into a theater at the witching hour with a bunch of hip, urban youngsters with the same taste in movies as yours: culty.