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«Smile»“Customers leave the cinema early” – new horror strip traumatizes viewers
Young people sneak into Swiss cinemas to see the horror film “Smile”. Some expect too much: the strip traumatizes, viewers have to leave the hall early.
- von
- Michelle Ineichen
- Tim Haag
Apparently, some are taking on too much with the new horror flick.
Screenshot Youtube
Some viewers are said to have left the hall early.
Screenshot Youtube
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The horror film “Smile” is making waves.
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“We’ve never had so many young people under the age of 16 who want to sneak into a performance,” says Felicitas Zehnder of the Cinewil cinema.
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The psychologist Felix Hof assesses.
“It was the most terrifying movie I’ve ever seen.” The US TikTokerin Aymansbooks told her followers a few minutes after she left the cinema. Several videos are circulating on the social media platform showing frightened guests leaving the cinema early. The reason for the excitement: The new horror film “Smile”, which has also been running in Swiss cinemas since the end of September (see below).
Here, too, customers are beating down the doors of the cinemas because of the film: “We have many more visitors than with other horror films,” says Felicitas Zehnder of the Cinewil cinema. The thriller is particularly popular with the younger generation: “We’ve never had so many young people under the age of 16 who want to sneak into a performance.” For this reason, the identity checks for “Smile” have even been tightened.
Young people take on too much
An employee of a Zurich cinema had similar experiences: “It is mostly a very young audience who want to see the film. Some groups also try to sneak into the show by buying tickets to another film and then secretly trying to switch halls.”
However, some are apparently taking on too much with the new horror film: “We’ve already had cases of visitors who left the hall early because the film was too scary for them,” says Zehnder.
A disturbed young woman seems to perceive something that nobody but her can see. Shortly thereafter, she dies in the most brutal manner in the practice of psychiatrist Rose Cotter. Rose tries to find an explanation. But it doesn’t take long for the doctor’s life to take on an increasingly sinister quality. Why does she suddenly see people everywhere giving her a frightening smile? The reality of the psychiatrist gets out of joint.
Psychologist Felix Hof explains how films can evoke such extreme emotions: “Horror films specifically address people’s basic fears, such as the fear of the dark. Certain films manage to penetrate so deeply that the line between reality and screen blurs,” says Hof. This deprives viewers of the certainty that it is only fiction and can traumatize vulnerable people in the long term.
“Smiling should trigger positive feelings, it has a disturbing effect”
For Margrit Tröhler, emeritus film scholar at the University of Zurich, the phenomenon of the “Suspension of Disbelief” plays a role: by suspending disbelief, the viewers allow themselves to be drawn into the film’s illusion. “This behavior occurs even though the viewer is aware that it is actually fiction.”
According to Hof, the cold, ominous smiles of the characters in the film “Smile” are what terrifies them most: “Smiling is actually associated with positive feelings, and this paradox can be disturbing.” The reason for the popularity of horror films is simple: “People tend to confront their fears out of curiosity.”