Get ready to yell at short film fest Scream It Off Screen

Scream It Off Screen, one of the weirdest and most passionate events I've ever attended, returns this Friday.

How it works: Organizers of this monthly(ish) short film festival randomly pick 15 entries to screen at the Parkway Theater, sight unseen.

• The twist: The audience gets a say (or a scream) in which film wins a giant $101.01 check.

Details: About halfway through the film, organizers turn on an ominous red light and wheel out a gong. The audience has to scream "GONG" or "LET IT PLAY" as loud as they can to decide the film's fate.

• If the loudest vote gong, organizers end the film immediately. The latter, well, you get to watch the whole thing.
• The winner is later picked from the surviving videos via a sound level meter.

My experience: I attended February's competition and, to echo the words of a fellow attendee, I'd never seen Minnesotans this aggressive about anything.

• Finalists included a truly horrifying surrealist film, something about "Lettuce Man", a well-produced sci-fi short and an 8-minute review of a Pop-Tart.

The results: The Pop-Tart video won — only because the sci-fi director didn't show up.

• If this sounds like your thing, get your tickets to Friday night's Scream It Off Screen at the Parkway Theater.