Even Southern Nevada can’t escape the destructive force of a sharknado

By Bethany Barnes

Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013 | 8:18 p.m.

As the lights dimmed for Friday's midnight screening of "Sharknado," a SyFy channel movie that hit theaters for one night, the audience was told a gag reel was in store if we survived the shark-filled tornadoes headed our way.

I don’t know how the other 199 theaters did, but those of us in Henderson didn’t survive to the end. The one-night showing at Regal Colonnade was one of only two options for Las Vegans looking to see the movie on the big screen.

DVRs can be tricky though, even for Fathom Events, promoters of the event. About an hour in, the show stopped. A Dish DVR message appeared on screen.

Had the sharks made their way to the control room?

We were told the satellite connection had dropped -- proving you can't go inland enough to escape the damage of a sharknado.

At one point, a small child offered to be the sharknado. He led everyone in the wave and then did an adorable dance before his parents decided it was time to head to higher ground.

The cult-like crowd seemed torn about whether they wanted to be outraged or bask in the ridiculousness of it all. Yells varied between “Worth every penny!” to “I have it DVR’ed at home already!”

In the end, the audience walked away with $25 in movie passes.

Though like any disaster, people were quick to criticize the aid that was given.

One woman snapped at a movie theater official that she came to see “Sharknado,” not one of the theater’s “crappy movies.”

I know my friends and I were pretty satisfied with our “Sharknado” experience. The passes are bragging rights for those who judged us for paying $12.50 for a movie that’s notoriety comes from its blunt force stupidity.

At the end of the day, one just has to understand you can never really prepare for a “Sharknado”.