London film theatre terrifies kids by showing horror trailers before Puss In Boots

I really shouldn’t laugh about kids getting traumatized, but oh man, I would pay good money to have been in the Wandworth Cineworld recently.

The Guardian reports that the South London cinema accidentally aired trailers for The Devil Inside and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance to a cinema full of young kids expecting to see animated kitty-cat cuteness in Puss in Boots. 

Parents had to frantically shield their children’s eyes as scenes from the found footage demonic possession film The Devil Inside appeared, showing things such as violent exorcisms and a girl writhing in bed with dislocated limbs.

Catherine Walker, one of the parents in the audience, described it as “every parent’s nightmare – kids watching exorcism trailers.”

But the horror continued when the next trailer revealed was that for Nic Cage’s new supernatural comic book film, which showed scenes of the titular Ghost Rider’s head bursting into flame, along with a menagerie of demonic characters.

Peter Flynn, another parental cinemagoer said that he had to cover his 4-year old daughter’s eyes, as she “was extremely frightened by what were exceptionally strong images, even by adult standards”.

To be fair, I also cover my eyes every time I see a Nicholas Cage trailer nowadays, but for totally different reasons.

I can just imagine what the kids’ reaction to all of this must have been:

The Sun Newspaper spoke to David Denyer, the deputy general manager of the complex, who gave them this statement:

“I can only apologise. I would be upset if my children had seen those trailers, which were meant for Underworld Awakening, the next film to be shown. We’re investigating how this error happened and action will be taken if appropriate.”

Well, Mr Denyer, my advice for you would be to start your investigation by finding out if you employ anybody by the name of Tyler Durden. Also, never eat the cream of mushroom soup.

Last Updated: February 22, 2012