Lubbock’s Best Things Ever: The FMX Midnight Movies

I fought myself over this title a bit, but I think it's pretty authentic to call them the "FMX Midnight Movies."

The only time that "Midnight Movies" seemed to be a real thing around here is when 94.5 FMX was involved and we had a blast. So what made the movies proprietary to FMX? Well, many were of a rock nature, and we'll get to that in a minute.

Whether it was because we didn't have as many options or because of the communal experience, it became quite a regular thing to go to the FMX Midnight Movies. Let's be honest here, the plan was usually to go to the bars while they had open bars (usually 7 to 10), then linger and stretch out that last drink before we headed to the South Plains Mall and checked out some freaky cinema.

So what was on the bill? Usually The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pink Floyd's The Wall or Heavy Metal. We'd occasionally get that weird animation fest featuring the classic short Bambi Versus Godzilla (we were easy to entertain back in the day). I know Evil Dead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Eraserhead also made appearances. I'm positive we did Attack of the Killer Tomatoes several times. I believe the theater also displayed some of their day fare during these midnight showings as well.

The thing I remember most about the FMX Midnight Movies was they were always packed out. It was like going to a concert at night, which is surprising that there weren't more concerts included in the showings. Yeah, a lot of us fell asleep during the movies and a lot of us were just getting our parties started when the movies ended.

For all of these reasons and more, The FMX Midnight Movies was one of the best things ever.