My Experience Of Watching a Horror Movie in The Cinema Vs Watching It At Home

As a student, I have a small budget set aside to be used for entertainment purposes only. Most of the time, I buy tickets on half price Tuesdays offers and watch the new upcoming movies in the cineplex theatre that is a 10 minute walk from where I live. On regular days, I watch Netflix TV shows and movies by myself on my I-Pad that is the size of my palm. My favourite down time to relax is to watch a slasher horror/ thriller movies from Netflix while eating home-made light popcorn while snuggling in my blanket on the couch alone.

The horror genre tends spike my adrenaline levels while watching the characters attempt to survive and this allows me to feel pumped and excited but also slightly scared. I get super paranoid afterwards and I am unable to sleep properly without nightmares for a week. However, I have never yet to have experienced watching a horror movie in a cinema setting mostly because I am scared to be alone in the dark.

Get quality help now

writer-Charlotte

Verified writer

Proficient in: Movie Review

4.7 (348)

“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Thus, I decided that I shall watch a horror movie in a cinema for the first time paying full price ticket an IMAX theatre that had perfect screens for scare jumps, explosions, and stunning visual effects to achieve the ultimate fear experience. I had decided to spontaneously treat myself to a movie as I came back home from a tiring day of work and study.

I managed to convince my roommate to tag along since we live next to the Cineplex Cinemas Yonge-Eglinton and VIP and she happens to also enjoy horror movies.

The only available horror genre movie was “The Nun”. Most of the people who are horror movie junkies know “The Nun” is a spin-off of 2016's The Conjuring 2, and the fifth instalment in The Conjuring Universe. I was beyond excited at the thought of watching the Valak (nun) from the painting as it was the most terrifying part i found in the previous genres which i had watched alone at home. It has been heavily advertised about the upcoming release date for months which led to people reserving tickets beforehand. Thus, Wednesday 7:50 show time was the best option since Thursday, Fridays and weekends would be really crowded and noisy.

My roommate and I had arrived early since they always show trailers for 10 minutes as well as time play which personally is one of my favourite parts of the cinematic experience. I like to make mental notes on what movie should i watch next time. We had bought the Ultra AVX tickets which cost a bit more than a regular ticket but we both agreed it was going to be worth it. The UltraAVX auditoriums had a larger "wall-to-wall" screen with 4K projectors and Dolby Atmos surround sound. The screen width i would assume would be about 73 to 119 feet which would display gory scenes. As lights go down, the whole theatre gets quiet quickly since the are only few of us in the room. The audience mainly consisted of older men, groups of friends or couples. Thankfully I was seated in my perfect seat. I get the one that's in the lower centre, but not too close to the screen. I watch as phones flicker off around me as people shut down all connections to the outside world. We had bought medium sized no butter popcorn to share and I was munching on it with enthusiasm The first studio logo fills the screen, the familiar tune of the warned bros pictures gets me humming along and as I sit in silence with my roommate beside me. The cold air from the AC combined with anticipation gives me goosebumps as I shiver. We were both ready to escape from the real world and let ourselves feel vulnerable to the horror that was awaiting. The movie started with a lot of potential for character development since my favourites actress Vera Farmiga’s younger sister Taissa Farmiga was acting as the main character and I had high expectation for her acting. She was not as strong in her acting as she was acting for her older sister. I was severely disappointed while cringing every second in the cinema from the cliche tacky acting.

On top of that, the movie narrative was repeated alternations between evil omens and praying. I personally found the consistent Christian remarks mentioned to be more confusing rather scary since I was a muslim by religion. The different accents led me to read the subtitles but the screen was wide so didn't have to squint my eyes to read. When the explicit meaning was used “ whatever you see, whatever you hear, don't stop praying.” I was personally terrified when it was combined with the eerie, vocals-heavy music created by Abel Korzeniowski from the dolby speakers. I found it to be spine chilling! They were very loud but I loved it since I could not hear the loud munching of food! At one point I jumped out of my seat from a crow croaking.

Overall, my cinematic experience of watching a horror movie in the cinema in comparison to watching it alone at home was not that much of a big difference besides the very high quality speakers which I could personally find in amazon if I wanted the similar sound effect.

Paying the absurd amount of money to sit in the cold with strangers around me is not my version of comfort. I personally get way more terrified at home due to the dead silence with the howling wind from door creates a spookier atmosphere in comparison. Maybe if i had picked better movie choice, it would have felt different. However, I am going to stick to my Netflix and chill alone sessions instead.