Halloween Drive-in

On Thursday we loaded up the car with blankets and snacks and headed through to Glasgow’s Victoria Park for the Itison Halloween Drive-in screening of – appropriately enough – John Carpenter’s Halloween. The sell-out event boasted the world’s biggest mobile LCD screen, street food units and Micheal Myers themed entertainment.

Pizzas were on offer from So La Ti Dough, but we went for traditional movie-going fare of hotdogs and popcorn from the Glasgow Street Food Cartel. It was seriously the most salty salt popcorn I’ve ever had in my life! Much water was needed!

As we were in a 4×4 we parked up at the back, but we had a great view of the screen. Sound was via the car FM radio so you had a surround sound experience. The pre show entertainment of a themed weather report and a sing along rendition of Ray Parker Jr’s Ghostbusters was a bit off in tone – probably because they were also for the family friendly screenings of Ghostbusters during the day – but were over quickly enough. I would have prefered to see a couple of horror movie trailers personally. A nice touch was a very tall man dressed as Micheal Myers spooking people in their cars and mini-Myers handing out glow sticks on entry. There were a few technical glitches, but nothing severe. I’m sure they gave someone behind the scenes some headaches, but having worked at outdoor screenings, it was nothing surprising.  The film itself ran through no problems.

As a first-timer at a drive-in movie, I really enjoyed the experience. Obviously, I’ve seen Halloween a million times but it was enhanced by the genuinely quite creepy experience of sitting in a dark car in the middle of a park. I’ve always wanted to go to a drive-in movie (it’s on my 30 Before 30 list) and I was not disappointed. Screenings continue throughout the weekend but they are sold out. I would recommend grabbing a ticket if they do repeat the event in the future though. I would also like to add that the staff and stewards were brilliant and ensured that  300 cars were in and out of the park with minimal fuss.

All in all, a great way to have spent Halloween – thanks, Itison!

P.S. Sorry for the terrible photos – I did take my camera with me but I left the SD card in my laptop. Doh!