On Friday, Oct. 27, WLOY Loyola Radio held its annual Halloween event. Last year, WLOY co-hosted the event with Spectrum, an LGBTQIA+ club at Loyola. This year, the Halloween showing continued that tradition once again–but with a twist–it was hosted on the campus quad.
The 1975 film, “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” according to IMDB, is “an exceedingly grand visual and musical camp satire of the golden days of the B-movie horror and science-fiction genres.”
The film screening and costume contest have been hosted every year for over ten years by WLOY.
“[WLOY’s partnership with Spectrum] helps spread the word to a larger audience on campus and makes people aware of this super fun event,” Ben Ostrowski ‘24 said, production manager at WLOY.
The students crafted a makeshift movie theater on the quad using lawn furniture. As people piled in to watch the sci-fi meets drag show musical, the lawn furniture ran out quickly. Thankfully, the popcorn did not.
“We are keeping it very Halloween themed and popcorn will be available for the first 50 people, and we will have a supply of candy for all to enjoy while supplies last,” Ostrowski said.
The nearly full moon hung just above the movie screen. The night was cool, but not bone-chilling. The students, layered in hoodies and blankets, enjoyed a fall movie night. The decision to host this year’s event on the quad agreed perfectly with the weather.
Halfway through the movie, the costume contest participants gathered at the front to be judged by a panel of three. Each contestant struck a pose and then were directed to their seats to finish the movie.
Suspense built as the audience prepared for the demise of the movie’s main character.
“Now, you’ve done it Frank M. Furter,” Jonathan Adams said while playing the character of Dr. Scott, his voice echoing across the quad.
As the movie came to an end, everyone waited to find out the winners of the contest. An individual dressed as a rockstar won third place, and was given a $20 Starbucks gift card. Second place was someone dressed as Wednesday Adams who won a brand-new “Rocky Horror” game.
Students patted their legs aggressively creating a drumroll, as a Michael Jackson song played in the background. A student dressed as Michael Jackson was crowned the winner of the costume contest. Daniel Carter ‘26 took home a Bluetooth/USB Turntable.
“Last year I did ‘Beat It,’ and I came in second place. So this year I decided to go more in depth with my costume,” Carter said.
Dressed in an Amazon-purchased, all-red leather suit, sporting “Thriller” this year, Carter was able to take home the first place prize. For this year’s contest he was able to “Beat It” dressed as Michael Jackson once again. Carter expressed his excitement about his turntable and plans to set it up with the record player in his dorm.
“Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has a very strong fan base despite not doing well when it was originally released in 1975. The movie has made a home amongst the queer community. “Rocky Horror” took a drastic hit in popularity due to COVID-19, but its tradition lives on here at Loyola.
“I liked it. I heard that it was a bit out there, so for the first few scenes, when it wasn’t out there I was like what is going on,” Teddy Shugars ‘27 said.
To learn more about upcoming events, check out WLOY and Spectrum on Instagram.
