Staff photo by LINDSAY RENNER

Shawn Brooks, left, and Brittany Wong wear Edward Cullen and Jacob Black shirts Friday at the College of Southern Maryland La Plata campus’s marathon screening of the “Twilight” movies.

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There might not be any more books or movies to anticipate, but the love of the “Twilight” series is alive and well for some local residents.

On Friday, the College of Southern Maryland’s La Plata campus Student Activities Committee held a marathon of the film versions of Stephenie Meyer’s popular novels about the supernatural battle between a sparkling vampire and a werewolf for the heart of an “average” girl.

Although the five movies, which ran for 12 straight hours, did not receive a high turnout, as Jennifer Lesesne, CSM’s student life coordinator, pointed out, it was still well-received by those who did attend.

“We only had 20 people show up for the movie screenings,” Lesesne said in a follow-up phone interview. “It wasn’t what we expected. Considering what we put in, it would have been nice to see more people, but those who were there seemed to like it. They were very thankful, asking when we’d do more of these.”

Lesesne, herself an avid fan of the series, said that this was the college’s first time doing a marathon movie screening. The final movie, “Breaking Dawn, Part Two,” will be shown in the lobby of the campus’ student building for the remainder of this week, Lesesne said. To attract more people to screening events moving forward, Lesesne said she plans to work with the college’s marketing department to put the word out and gain more attention in the community as a whole. Potential future movie marathons include the Harry Potter series and the Marvel Comics movies.

CSM employee Julie Andrews-Walker said she has read all four books in the “Twilight” series and that she had waited to see the last film in a more peaceful environment.

“I didn’t get to see this in the theater, so it’s nice to be here and comfortable watching this,” Andrews-Walker said. “Five dollars got me the movies, pizza and other food. This is a really good arrangement.”

Brittany Wong and Shawn Brooks said that the story of the fabled love triangle was something that they got into together and enjoy watching together. They were clad in shirts adorned with characters’ faces and had a blanket with the face of the bloodsucking love interest, Edward Cullen.

“We’ve already seen the last movie like five times together,” Wong, a CSM student, said before the opening credits began to roll.

Brooks, a U.S. Marine, said that he liked the films in spite of the perception that they were only for women.

“There’s such a stereotype around them,” Brooks said. “I saw one with my male friends. It’s really for anyone.”

While Brooks and Wong both acknowledged that they could see where the films and books could be perceived as misogynistic, Wong claimed that that was a misinterpretation.

“I like Edward’s chivalry,” Wong said. “It’s good to see men out there who treat women so well like that.”

lrenner@somdnews.com