Bad Movie Theater Experiences

[Amibo_Amore]

Sometimes it's easy to enjoy a movie at the theater, but every now and then, there might be that one annoying person who won't shut up, or that infamous texter who won't turn his/her phone off. In this topic, share and discuss any bad experience(s) you've had at a movie theater. Whether it's someone talking too loud, a movie that was borderline unwatchable, etc.

I haven't really had any truly bad experiences at the cinema. However, when I went to see Terminator Salvation, the projector died out several times during the first 5-10 minutes. The audience was getting really impatient (myself included), and by the fourth time this happened, people were getting ready to leave. Fortunately, the projector was up and running for good in the next few minutes. It still pissed me off though, and nearly ruined my experience of an already crappy movie.

[CliffHanger2]

I remember when I went to see the Hobbit and a bunch of highschool kids snuck in and started talking and imitating the Narrator. It was kind of funny and annoying at the same time. Thankfully they got kicked out though.

[WillieMorgan]

That would have to be 'Revenge Of The Sith'. A young couple decided the best place to take their newly-born child was a dark, loud movie theatre. Morons. The poor little bugger screamed it's head off.

They got daggers drawn from the whole audience as they wheeled the kid out in his/her pram at the end.

Vader kind of summed up everyone's feelings - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[saul_on_the_road_to_damascus]

There was a bomb threat when I went to see empire during the rerelease. In february. I was in shorts. The audio track was really badly synched in that one freddy prince jr star fighter movie. Something wrong with the sound during thor 2 and divergent. And a little kid talking during captain america 2.

[Legato]

One time I was watching Winter Soldier. A father had his five year old kid started talking throughout half of the movie and cause all sorts of ruckus. Fortunately he and his kid got kicked out of the movie theater after they got reported

[Hawkster]

For me it would have to be Fellowship of the Ring. One theatre was booked for our work xmas function. The movie started off fine but just as they are about to enter Moria the sound cut out...but the movie kept on playing. When the manager finally arrived some 5 mins later, he advised that they couldn't restart the movie and our options were to wait for the sound to come back on or leave and get a refund.A few left but many stayed - sound finally came back on after Gandalf vs Balrog.

While that ruined my experience, i did see on the news at the time another cinema ended up playing the reels in the wrong order. So it went from Weathertop straight to Moria, totally skipping Rivendell.

[Lady Warp Spasm]

I've had all kinds of chatty/texting teenagers/etc. at many showings the past few years. That and the price hikes generally keep me away these days. Haven't had projector malfunctions in a long while though.

Am hoping the morning screening of the Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies won't be plagued by the things that would not shut up, but we'll see.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Dawn of the planet of the planet of the apes.
It was a family outing so naturally that meant we had to go in the evening once everyone was free from work, some people took our seats and wouldn't budge, the person at the snacks counter put sugar in my Coffee so had to buy another, my chocolate melted by the time we all got settled, then when the film started, queue the amount of people on the screen every 5 or so mins, children making noises.

That is why I generally prefer going early mornings, less busy and most of the time it is pretty empty too.

[Cyke]

Not the worst, but the most memorable to me:

-the Matrix Revolutions: the most dramatic moment of the movie seemed to be the right time for some idiot's phone to ring

-X-Men: Days of Future Past: sitting in front of someone who would laugh in support everytime a mutant used their powers, like Storm flying. Cheering for your favorites, I get. That's part of the experience. But why are you laughing at things they're supposed to be doing?

-For about a year, and I don't understand how it's possible, but my movie-going schedule seemed to line up perfectly with this one Filipino couple, who would treat the theater as their living room and talk in Tagalog throughout the movie -- especially weird since this is Chicago and we have many Filipinos here, but they just kept going to the same movies at the same times as me. Plus, they'd speak louder and louder because, y'know, that inconvenient movie making all that noise and despite the complaints. That eventually stopped, though I really hope that means they were just outright banned.

-Also, is it just me, or is the number of crying babies in theaters actually increasing?

[Legato]

-Also, is it just me, or is the number of crying babies in theaters actually increasing?

Which brings up one thing I want to discuss. Bringing little kids in theaters is one thing but there should really be a rule against bringing babies to theaters.

[Charmed]

I feel bad, because I'm totally guilty of talking in the theaters. Though, in my defense, it's usually under my breath, and only when I have something sassy to say about the film (which is pretty much for the duration of it)

I'll never forget when these little brats in the row in front of mine had these light-up tiaras on their heads. The batteries lasted for the entire film.

[Bradley]

When we went to see No Country for Old Men, it was just my wife and me-- and we were in our early 30s-- and a theater full of senior citizens (we lived in Boca Raton at the time, and this was an early afternoon showing). There was this one really chatty old lady who probably didn't realize how loud she was being. When Josh Brolin came on the screen, she shouted to her husband, "Look! It's James Brolin!" To be fair, he does look a lot like his father in Amityville in that movie.

So we get to the scene where Brolin's in the hotel room, and he knows that Javier Bardem is in the hallway, slowly walking towards his room. And the scene is just so intense, as Brolin is gripping his gun and Bardem is taking out the lights. I could feel both of us just tightening into little balls of anxiety-- this was as scared as I'd ever been in a movie theater. And suddenly the old lady shouts, "I'm scaaaared! This is a scaaaaaaaaaaary movie!" and just punctured all of that tension. Most of the theater burst into laughter. It was kind of awesome.

At the risk of being accused of shameless self-promotion, I'm providing a link to an essay I wrote about my absolute worst movie theater experience (although if this is inappropriate, I'll take it down as soon as someone says so). It's got all the things you'd expect in a bad movie experience-- snotty teenagers, cell phones, and the realization that I've turned into a grumpy old man. It's called "Fear."

[Amibo_Amore]

Also, is it just me, or is the number of crying babies in theaters actually increasing?

Yeah. I've always questioned why parents even bring their babies in the first place. Unless they had trouble finding a babysitter. Although the only time it really bugs me is if the baby starts crying, and the parent doesn't even bother to take them out of the theater.

[Legato]

I've always questioned why parents even bring their babies in the first place. Maybe they had trouble finding a babysitter. Although the only time it really bugs me is if the baby starts crying, and the parent doesn't even bother to take them out of the theater.

That is when you report them to management

[numberthirty]

Yeah. I've always questioned why parents even bring their babies in the first place. Unless they had trouble finding a babysitter. Although the only time it really bugs me is if the baby starts crying, and the parent doesn't even bother to take them out of the theater.

That is when you report them to management

It is odd when folks bring a baby to super heavy horror films.