Guilty Pleasures: Logan’s Run

It’s hard for me to think of any SF/F guilty pleasures mostly because that sort of thing doesn’t bother me. I’m open (and often vocal) about my love for weird and dorky things. Here’s something that’s a bit embarrassing, though. For my 30^th birthday, rather than go out and party with friends or family, I stayed home by myself and watched Logan’s Run.

For those who haven’t seen or heard of Logan’s Run, it’s a sci-fi movie from 1976 starring Michael York and Jennie Agutter (later in An American Werewolf In London) about a seemingly Utopian future world where everyone lives in a domed city and everything is provided for their comfort. The catch? All this luxury only lasts until you’re 30. On their 30^th birthdays, citizens take part in a ritual known as Carousel, which promises renewal. This is, in fact, a means of population control in the self-contained city. Some citizens, as they near 30, realize Carousel means death and become Runners, seeking a legendary place called “Sanctuary.”

Logan is a Sandman, one of the citizens charged with stopping Runners and keeping order by either bringing the Runners back to complete Carousel or killing them. Logan enjoys his job, and the perks that come with it, and believe he’s doing good, until he is charged with finding “Sanctuary.” His life-clock is sped up so it begins to blink, indicating he is approaching Lastday. He then must go on the run, hunted by those he thought were his friends, in a desperate bid to find where all the other escaped Runners have gone.

So you see, it’s really THE most appropriate movie to watch on your 30^th birthday, isn’t it? Not only is it a great bit of cheesy 70s science fiction, but it also makes you feel better about getting up tomorrow and being 30. YOU don’t have to go on Carousel, do you? You’ve still got a lot of life left! Okay, it made ME feel better, which is why this one particular viewing of Logan’s Run was my guilty pleasure.