At the very least it's time to stop attending the more popular films.

I think part of the problem this year is that they're publishing the lineup farther in advance, rather than just 1 or two weeks. It means, knowing what movie is being shown, more people plan to come. Feh, I want my small, elitist crowd that goes for the experience, not the film.

This is terribly disappointing news.

I'm saddened by this news. I've yet to attend a Cemetery Screening - I figured we would this summer. Now it sounds like the story I recently shared about my experiences at The Castro here in SF. Hipper than thou audiences treating classic as camp. Boo. Hiss.

Boo.

Sounds like the crowd there last night was there for an experience not for the movie.

But not The experience. It sounds like The Haunting has acquired a cult ironic following, as opposed to the crowd in the past which actually appreciated classic films in a non-ironic way.

I don't think it's time to be scared off entirely yet. We've been to 2 this season, and they were both great, even Harold and Maude which drew a large, but appreciative, crowd.

Maybe the crowd simply grew bored because, quite frankly (and I saw the rest of it the other night and mostly say this to tweak at Steve though I am being honest in my opinion), The Haunting sucks and the only way to enjoy it is ironcally.

Cemetery Screenings were also featured this month in a Los Angeles Magazine Article on outdoor cinema.

You're entitled to that opinion, but would you be rude enough to scream loudly "Thank God" when "The End" appeared on the screen?

I doubt it. But someone didn't care to have that kind of restraint.


There's a difference between boredom and crassness.

It isn't a fast-moving picture, of course. It is moody and atmospheric, taking a lot of time to get around to stuff a-happenin'. It is a classic Haunted House movie, one of the absolute best. Not only because it is creepy, but because it can be analyzed in so many different ways (I remember writing a paper back in college on the sexuality present in The Haunting). It is quite multilayered with interesting characters.

Yes, Eleanor is a repressed twit (or a repressed twa*, depending on your viewpoint). She has a semi-idiotic internal dialogue. But that doesn't make the movie "suck" (granted, you aren't giving us reasons for your opinion).

Perhaps the audience at the screening was expecting Hostel Part 3, or a William Castle campfest (noooooo I take it back, I doubt they know who William Castle was).

The Haunting is certainly NOT meant to be ironic. But perhaps with our 21st century jaded sensibilities, it can no longer be enjoyed on the big screen with a large audience. (Or a very large, very drunk/stoned audience, which is what I thought was rather obnoxious at "Gilda"... I mean..... come on, Gilda is NOT a "better enjoyed stoned" type of movie. Plus that is no excuse for simply turning around and having drunken/stoned conversations loudly with your friends that have nothing to do with the movie, i.e. at Gilda).

"Night of the Living Dead" is the same way... it's pretty damn scary when you watch it alone or with a friend late at night. But with a "Haunting" audience like the one on Saturday? I'd avoid it like a zombie plague.

I remember going to a screening of "The Exorcist" when they added new footage a few years back. The audience was laughing hysterically at what was once horrific.