Abnormal Activity (long

[customersruinmylife]

All of my threads have been sightings!

So this was probably the worst experience I have ever had at the movies. It was so bad, I am considering NEVER going to the movies again after Avatar, which I am desperate to see on the big screen.

A couple of friends and I decided to go and see Paranormal Activity. New Moon has obviously been released, so the cinemas are obviously full of teenage girls desperate to see Robert Pattison. We thought Paranormal Activity would be empty.

We were VERY wrong.

The whole cinema was packed (on a Tuesday!!) and everything was selling out from New Moon to A Christmas Carol. Paranormal Activity was extremelly full.

So the lights dimmed and the movie began...

For the first TWENTY-FIVE minutes, people were still walking in trying to find seats, and most of them weren't quiet about it. For nearly half an hour, all I could hear was large groups of teens slamming the door and screeching "WHERE SHOULD WE SIT???" and using their phones as lights. One couple decided that they absolutely had to have the seats next to me and my friends, despite others being empty and proceeded to climb and trip over us, whilst giggling.

Ten minutes into the movie, people were going to the bathroom. One guy spotted a friend on his way, and stopped to talk!

The chick sat in the row in front of me text all the way through the movie, and then started playing games on her phone.

At a crucial point in the movie, someone yelled "BOO!"

After the "BOO!" incident, someone must have complained, because a member of staff was sent in to the screening. His walkie-talkie kept going off.

A group of teens a couple of rows in front just would not shut the fuck up. I saw someone in the row behind them lean over and pull one of their groups hair, growling "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" The audience clapped and cheered. They were quiet after that.

Then, a little kid piped up. "DADDY I NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM"...

...wait a minute, a little kid? Paranormal Activity is a '15' rated movie. It is not like the US or other countries where kids can get in if they are with an adult. They have to be 15, it's the LAW. Oh yeah, and the member of staff noticed this. The kid was with a large group of people, so the member of staff had to ask them all to leave. The father took exception to this and screeched "I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER!". Someone in the audience shouted "GET RID OF YOUR FUCKING KID!" and he left with the kid. The rest of the group, who were the correct age, remained.

THEN, some guy went to the bathroom, and forgot where he was sitting. He walked in and started shouting "EMMA! EMMA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

The film ended. Thank fuck.

As we walked out, the father and kid were at the door, arguing with the manager.

Manager: You bought tickets to A Christmas Carol, and you snuck into a 15 rated movie.
Father: That doesn't give you the right to throw us out three quarters of the way into the movie!
Manager: YOU broke the law.
Father: I am going to write to head office about you.
Manager: Do you honestly think they will take your side? You took your underage son into a 15 rated horror movie. Take some responsibility for your actions.
Father: What kind of manager are you?
Manager: I am a very busy manager, in case you hadn't noticed. I am done talking to you. Good day.

The manager wasn't lying. The cinema was about ten times busier than it was when I first entered. The lines were half way down the street!

I can't even decide if I liked the movie. I never saw any of it.

[EricKei]

Father: That doesn't give you the right to throw us out three quarters of the way into the movie!

Like hell it doesn't o_O

I hope you get a chance to actually WATCH that film sometime soon

[customersruinmylife]

Like hell it doesn't o_O

I hope you get a chance to actually WATCH that film sometime soon

I know, from what I saw, it looked pretty good, and had a great ending!

If the place hadn't been so overwhelmed I probably would have passed on some of my concerns to the staff. Unfortunately, due to the psycho Twilight fans, it was not possible

[TheTigress]

Father: What kind of manager are you?
Manager: One who has a spine and won't bend policy for self entitled assholes like you.

[joe hx]

so that's what makes that movie so terrifying. y'know, i think i'm fortunate because i've never encountered that behavior in a movie theater

[MaggieTheCat]

Sucks you had such a rotten experience, especially with a movie like that. You really gotta see it right the first time to get the full effect. Now that you know parts of it it's just not the same the second time through. It's a really good movie, I hope you get to see it again without all the interruptions!

[blas]

I am so glad I didn't watch the original ending in theaters. I had a hard enough time sleeping that night after the movie, and it didn't help that my boyfriend periodically would pound the wall or whisper into my ear that night.

[MaggieTheCat]

I had a hard time sleeping for a couple nights after watching that movie, too. If my husband had done anything like that, Blas, I would have smacked him, hard.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Pirates of the Carribean. The first one.

Frankly, and I so mean this, I cannot believe that movie theaters have not gone tits up ages ago. I mean, the prices of a ticket are through the roof, and then you sit there and have to put up with this kind of foolishness. They charge you so much money to get in you'd think they be able to hire some ushers to keep the peace. Hell, forget the ushers, for what they're charging you ought to be able to have Dog Chapman come in and kick people out.

At least you didn't get into a fight. See, I cannot go to the movies without getting into a fight. And I don't want to get into a fight if I have pay for a ticket. I would rather get into a fight for free. Or, pay for a ticket and watch a movie in peace. But unfortunately, the paying and the fighting seem to be a package deal. No a la carte.

So, yeah. Netflix.

[mikoyan29]

About the only appeal to going to the theater is seeing a movie on the big screen, clarity of the picture and sound. But with HDTV and a decent home theater, it seems that advantage is quickly going to the wayside. Fortunately, when I do go to a movie, I don't have too many problems.

[MergedLoki]

Paranomal activity is a pretty good horror flick.

First 30 min or so is slow going (IMHO) but then it gets into some pretty creepy things that are worth the ticket price.

I had similar issues when me and my gf went to see it (although not to your extent) but yea, a group of giggly/talking/screaming (during scary parts) pre - teen to teenage girls.

who were told... FIVE times to shut the hell up (twice by my gf), and 3 times by other people.

I LOVE going to the movies (some films just have to be seen in a theatre to truly appreciate them) but i'm getting sick of people, using cells, talking (full out convo's not just lil whispers to their neighbour like regular considerate people do), and just being disruptive.

in the last... 5 movies i've went to I think either myself, or some other customer has had to tell someone else to shut up at least once.

[Broomjockey]

They charge you so much money to get in you'd think they be able to hire some ushers to keep the peace. Hell, forget the ushers, for what they're charging you ought to be able to have Dog Chapman come in and kick people out.

Except the theatres get shit-all from the tickets. Seriously. Opening of the Star Wars prequels, theatres got 0% of the box office. If you're lucky, on opening weekend, a theatre might get 15%. For a small, independent film. It goes up as time passes, but that doesn't help much as attendance falls. So, no, I don't think they'd be able to hire ushers to keep the peace based on ticket prices.

[Victoria J]

If it's fairly recent you could write and complain.

Normally I'd say you should complain at the time but in this case it's likely they'll be pleased you didn't.

You can emphasise that they were obviously over stretched, etc. You can also mention the incident with the father in a way that makes it clear you were disturbed but is also positive about the staff. That could even be helpful if he goes on to complain formally as they'll have outside evidence that he was in the wrong.

They'd probably give general vouchers if they give anything, but the most reasonable thing to ask for seems to be a new ticket for the same film. If you hadn't had it spoiled you wouldn't have any reason to ask.

And maybe suggest they think about an alternative to beeping walkie talkies in showings.

Frankly, and I so mean this, I cannot believe that movie theaters have not gone tits up ages ago. I mean, the prices of a ticket are through the roof

What price are tickets locally ? I'm less interested in an absolute price than maybe price compared to a relatively new movie on DVD.

Normally I hear US prices for the cinema and I'm amazed with how cheap it is. It's maybe not so bad in the UK, except that I live in London and am more likely to go into the city to see a film than out. Prices can be more than twice what I've paid in other parts of the country. Central London is around £11 to £12 for normal seats ! more for 3D or anything else. If you are buying 2 tickets that's enough for pretty much any DVD of your choice, or you could eat out for less than that.

Pretty much any ticket locally would be enough to give you a decent choice of older DVDs.

Though I often go with my mother who has a card for a disability discount. Last time it ended up being less than £3 each

About the only appeal to going to the theater is seeing a movie on the big screen, clarity of the picture and sound. But with HDTV and a decent home theater, it seems that advantage is quickly going to the wayside. Fortunately, when I do go to a movie, I don't have too many problems.

I still like going to the cinema. I don't have good home set up - but even if I did it's not that good. But sometimes you just can't beat the atmosphere. I saw all of the Lord of the Rings films in packed cinemas where everyone was glued to the screen, or the last of the Bourne trilogy where in one scene the audience gasped in awe, then shock then horror. Or watching the Dark Knight with 2 teenage boys sitting on the step just down from us (I know they shouldn't have been, but I suspect they couldn't find any seats together, and the code of teenage boys doesn't allow them to sit next to strangers) - watching them was almost as fun as watching the film as they were enjoying it so much ---> but with awe not horror

Victoria J

[RecoveringKinkoid]

About the only appeal to going to the theater is seeing a movie on the big screen, clarity of the picture and sound. But with HDTV and a decent home theater, it seems that advantage is quickly going to the wayside. .

True, but I have a very, very nice TV, the clarity of which makes some things look like plays instead of movies.

No lie, when we realized how sharp the thing was we started plugging movies in just to see how they looked. LOTR almost looked LESS real because it was so freaking sharp you could tell it was a set.

Which was cool for me, because I used to build sets and make costumes, so for me I guess it was like "scene and costume shop porn."

[LillFilly]

I think there should be harsh penalties for people pulling this shit in theaters, especially since they're ruining it for others who spent $10 to be there! Someday there will be some serious violence and fines will be put into place.

I could not believe the woman right in front of me last night who TOOK A CALL on her cell phone and TALKED for several minutes. I was ready to make her eat that phone. Then the woman right next to her who started checking her date book on her PDF. Why did you come to the movies in the first place!?!