Somewhere in between movie previews and a feature film, cinemas throw a disclaimer on the silver screen asking audience members to silence and pocket their phones. Now, in Japan, theaters are showing versions of Sadako 3D 2 and The Ring but they’re asking that you keep your handsets out and about to view the flicks in 4D. That’s right, 4D.
A new app available to moviegoers of the aforementioned showings adds a new dimension to their viewing pleasure. According to The Hollywood Reporter the details of the app will remain undisclosed, but it’s rumored to boast vibrating, flashing, extra visual, and sound effect features. It’s also been suggested that the title character Sadako (a wretched soul trapped in a smartphone that drives those who watch it to suicide) will give those who download the app an eerie phone call as a type of promotion/bonus feature hybrid.
If the premise of Sadako sounds familiar, it should. It’s based on the film Ringu that spawned a number of movies and spinoffs, including the 2002 Americanized version, The Ring.
While the app itself is sparse in terms of detail, the repercussions of the audience wielding their phones during screenings could be swift and unforgiving. While Yasunori Minomata of No Future, the company handling promotion, noted that there are no immediate plans of running the promo overseas, if for whatever reason the app made its way to our shores, I for one would not be pleased.
Not everyone has a smartphone these days (myself included) despite popular perception that they do, and if I have to suffer through hours of movie watching while lights are flashing and sounds are booming besides those on the screen, things could get ugly. It’s bad enough that participating in one of my favorite past times, going to the movies, costs upwards of $10 not including concessions, but added nuisances like these won’t be welcome.
However, for someone like me–without a smartphone or the budget to buy one at the moment–purchasing the likes of Apple’s upcoming, though unconfirmed, low-cost iPhone could change my mind. As long as I can partake in the fun that everyone else is afforded, I can be swayed. There’s been no mention of what mobile operating system will support the app, though, so stay tuned for more information regarding the app and promotion, should it come to the States.
What do you all think? Is this app and promotion going to change the way we watch and engage with movies? Will it ruin your theater-going experience? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
