18 February 2012

The Woman in Black & The Woman in Front

The freedom of having a car is fantastic and something I took full advantage of this week when at the spur of the moment I suggested to Peter that we head to the cinema to see The Woman in Black. A story that has terrified me for a good while now, having seen the old ITV version and the stage play, I was pretty sure there would be points I'd find myself hiding from the screen in this new one. Unfortunately though I found myself hiding from something else entirely!


At the start of the trailers, the Woman in Front had her iPhone out texting. Fair enough I thought its only the trailers and she'll probably turn it off when the film starts.
I couldn't have been more wrong! All the way through the film she was either texting or updating her Facebook status. I eventually had enough and put my feet up on the seat in front and slouched down a bit in order to hide myself from the light of her phone, although she had kindly turned the brightness down before the film started, it really didn't make much of a difference!

This is something I've been experiencing more and more often and it really is getting beyond a joke. What is it with these people that they can't go 90 minutes without their phone or Facebook? Someone please tell me. Do they not think that the light will distract other movie goers? do they care? or do they even know?

I know I wasn't the only one distracted, so my question is would it be frowned upon if I had the guts to kindly tell her to turn it off as it is distracting? 
My other question is, where the hell did all the staff go? I remember cinemas always had an usher in to make sure there was no recording or noise. What happened to that? In the theatre its expected of me to 'Sssshh' people if they're making too much noise and to tell them to turn their phones off. Surely there is something cinema staff can do?

Normally if it's only one person with a phone I'm ok and can just about bear it, but when it comes to a movie like the Woman in Black that uses sound and silence to build up tension, having someone texting and gabbing to their mate about said text can ruin the whole moment!
The thing I don't understand the most is this.  The cinema can cost quite a bit now, so why do folk pay good money to go see a movie that they are going to ignore by playing with their phone?? Go home and watch telly!
Rant over!
The Woman in Black (1989 film)
Image via Wikipedia
As for the movie itself, it was pretty good. Different from the old one and the play and not quite as scary, but still enjoyable. And yes I did eventually end up hiding behind my knees... that bloody rocking chair!!  

Despite looking a bit young for the role,  Daniel Radcliffe did really well and I hope he does more roles like this as time goes on. Sound is used really well, making it feel like an old fashioned horror movie. It made me think of the original version of The Haunting which pretty much used sound and sound alone to scare the pants off the audience!!
So if you like a good scare then its worth seeing, just sit down the front so no one with a phone can shine it in your eyes!

If you want to see it, I'd recommend the 1989 version of the Woman in Black  too and if you ever get the chance to see the play, go for it and enjoy being scared!! (Just don't do what I did at work and sit at the back)

Had any bad cinema experiences lately or have you seen the movie yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts - please comment below or Tweet me

No comments: