A mum is taking legal action against a cinema chain after they ‘traumatised’ her young children.
Jenny and Robert Ellice took their two sons, four-year-old Max and Bertie, five, to see Lilo & Stitch at Cineworld in Enfield, London.
In total they paid £85 for the ‘4DX’ viewing which promises ‘an extreme sensory experience’ which moves the seat while watching the film.
The family settled down to watch the film on June 7 and sat through several adverts and trailers for other upcoming films, as is expected at the cinema.
Generally, cinemas only show trailers for films with the same or lower age rating than the film audiences are actually there to watch.
But Jenny, 43, was shocked when instead of trailers for other PG-rated films, Cineworld showed trailers for PG-13 rated films Jurassic World Rebirth and horror film Megan, as well as a second horror film.
‘The first one was Jurassic World, and I thought that seems a bit off, but I thought it could be a PG film like Lilo & Stitch,’ Jenny explained.
‘The seats move really violently and my boys like dinosaurs so it’s fine.
‘The next one was Megan, and I was sure that wasn’t a PG – it got really graphic really quickly.
‘It’s like those Chuckie movies.’
When combined with the moving seats, and despite covering her sons eyes, Jenny says both of her sons were left ‘rigid with fear’ and ‘terrified’ by the horror trailers.
They were so scared that they left the cinema altogether, missing out on the film they were supposed to see in the first place.
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Cineworld staff apologised for the mistake and offered free tickets, but Jenny says this doesn’t go far enough.
Describing the impact on her sons, she explained: ‘Max has been waking up screaming and Rob said to his teacher yesterday that he was scared from the cinema.
‘But you just don’t know with kids, they’re like sponges, you think they’re not listening, but they are.
‘They were pretty graphic trailers. There was swearing and screaming in them – my eldest was rigid with fear. I had my hands over their eyes.
‘I had no idea why they were showing these trailers for a U movie – these are four-year-olds exposed to graphic swearing and violence.
‘They were terrified.’
Jenny reached out to Cineworld via Instagram to complain further, but was told the cinema would take no further action after they had been offered free tickets.
So the mum has now instructed her solicitors to take further action, contacting Cineworld as well as Enfield council and the film licensing/rating body.
She explained: ‘We were the only ones who went into the 4CX showing.
‘We got popcorn and drinks, and they were so excited. They were all happy with their 3D glasses.
‘Max hasn’t even started school yet, with a big corporation this shouldn’t be happening.
‘If they had just put me in touch with someone from head officer then it would show they care.
‘I want to ensure this never happens again as the cinema are not taking it seriously at all.
‘Had the cinema had the decency to speak to me about it I probably wouldn’t have taken legal action, but they have treated my complaint as more of an annoyance.
‘Children at that age are like sponges and so impressionable, even just the noises of violence can leave a lasting impression and it’s just not something two young children, especially one of pre-school age should ever be exposed to.’
Metro has contacted Cineworld for comment.
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