Our friend ‘S’ had booked tickets to Prometheus in the Melbourne IMAX a month prior and had rallied the gang for the most anticipated film (for us) of the year. We met at a pub beforehand for lunch and a few brews. My friend J (S’s partner) was acting slightly odd, much quieter than usual for a pretty gregarious dude.
We finished up and hit the IMAX, got our ridiculously oversized glasses and entered the sold-out cinema. This is when J tells me he ate a hash cake before he left home, which explained his state. We took our seats,, and S handed out bags of homemade popcorn.
Cut to an hour later & the scene where Shaw self-operates & pulls the alien embryo out of her stomach. Pretty ridiculous scene but it worked like gangbusters in the moment. I look over at J, who is fast asleep at this point. S tries to rouse him, but he is in deep. Things quiet down as we get to the scene where Shaw discovers old mate Guy Pearce is hiding on the ship.
Then J starts moaning next to me like he’s having a bad dream. The moans turn to shouts. Then he starts convulsing, like a xenomorph is about to burst from his chest. Then he starts vomiting, all over his bag of homemade popcorn & over our friend M who was sitting in the row in front of him. The packed theatre (461 people to be precise) all turned to see what the commotion was. The stench of vomit filled the air.
Poor old S, who had been waiting for this movie all year, had to drag J out & ferry him home, missing the rest of the film. But as bad as I felt for S, J’s convulsions / spew fest definitely added to the theatrical experience & helped freak out an already tense audience…
On the extremely rare chance one of you were at that screening, please let me know...
Comments