Weekends get weird with new film series

February 19, 2009 by Bryant Nguyen 

CineVegas features cult movies in ‘Area 52 Screening Series’

Let’s face it, college students have a lot to think about – what credits are needed to graduate, paying bills, how to survive the weekday, etc. Deciding weekend plans shouldn’t be one of them.

To help the unsettled weekend goers, CineVegas is back with another event showcasing a series of bizarre midnight cult films starting Sunday, Feb. 22. 

The CineVegas Area 52 Screening Series at the Onyx Theatre is a series of out-of-this-world science fiction movies that will be shown Sundays at 9 p.m. for four consecutive weeks.

Remember those nights as a kid, staying up past midnight watching the most unusual and strangest television programming? Those late night B-movies are a classic example of the “midnight movie” that started this particular cult genre of entertainment.

“The first time I watched [a cult genre movie] was at a friend’s house back in Dakota,” said UNLV sophomore Luke Quam. “We were at his house and he knew I didn’t like those kinds of movies from my past history. This was at like 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. in the late hours of the night.”

The midnight cult genre started during the late 1950s in films that were dubbed “midnight movies.” The most recognizable shows were “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Vampira Show” featuring the pop culture phenomenon and busty bloodsucker, Elvira.

“When I was a kid… in the 70s and early 80s, I would watch replays of the old genre movies on Saturday afternoons,” said Jim Finn, director of the cult film “Interkosmos. “The whole cult genre is a little bit weird and unclassifiable.”

Now those “midnight movies” are revived for a limited time with a modern twist. Finn’s “Interkosmos” will be one of the four films to be shown at the special screening series and is a modern example of a midnight cult movie.

“It’s a more of a unique brand of movie,” Finn said. “You’re going to have to open up to something different. Often times, movies that I don’t like the first time, I’ll like later on after watching it over again.”

“Interkosmos” will be shown on the opening Sunday of the special screening series. The film is about the peculiar account of a secret collaboration between the Soviet Russia and West Germany. taking place in the murky vacuum of space. 

“The idea of not having any real rules and to be totally open is really appealing about the genre,” Finn said. “You can ignore rules like physics and go at the speed of light. The past is done and somewhat limited as far as imagination goes, while the future is more epic with an unknown quality to it.”

A reception will be held at 8:30 p.m. before each film and tickets are $7 per person and may be purchased at the Onyx Theatre. The special screening series will include film shorts and trailers along with the feature-length films.

“I think a lot of young people will like the series of films,” Finn said. “It’s nutty and smart, and a lot of college students are used to challenging the ideas in films and literature.”