Sensory Challenge: 4DX Cinema

Last year our cinema opened a 4DX theatre.

The idea is, all your senses can be entertained/triggered during a 4DX screening of a movie. Not only will you see and hear the movie, but your chair will move, there will be light/wind/smell/water effects to enhance the whole cinema experience.

As you may understand, I was not so thrilled… 🙂

I go to the cinema a lot. I love, love, love, loooooooove movies and loooooooove cinema. I can go as much as I want, since I got a subscription to Pathé (meaning, I can go to all the movies I want, as much as I want for 20 euro a month).

More and more films in Pathe cinema are in 3D. Although 3D can be a cool experience, especially in movies relying heavily on effects and not so much on story, it does feel weird on the eye and the brain to me.

And now we got 4DX. An absolute sensory challenge. For a long time I did not want to go, since I am managing my sensory input all day long…. But my significant other – J – loved it and really wanted to go together. So when I was feeling ok enough, I decided to give it a try.

We went to Rampage: Big meets Bigger. A great – superficial – movie, which is suitable for tons of special effects. 🙂 We got into our huge 4DX seats, which indeed moved throughout the movie continuously. To my surprise, all the effects were pretty cool. Fortunately I could switch off the water effect (no thanks – no unexpected water in my face – please!). The only thing really bothering me, were the flashing lights. They are just awful. Thank god, they weren’t used a lot.

So, I ‘survived’ the movie and had a good time! But after the movie, I did notice my body was rattled, and I got very annoyed about everything in my sight, feeling an urgent need to organize and clean everything up. By now, I know this is just a way to get control in a state of sensory overload, which I had put myself in.

So, it probably was too much for me, but I am happy I tried. I will not be in the 4DX cinema on a weekly basis, but I could go there. Once in a blue moon. 🙂