In a world with too much choice, it's sometimes a relief to have decisions made by somebody else. That sentiment is now being extended to cinema, where audiences will be left in the dark (in both senses) until the last minute.
Vue are promoting a 'Mystery Movie' night on 5 May across their UK cinemas, including several London venues. The secret title is brand new and will be shown ahead of its official release. You won't know what you're paying to see until the projector fires up, and if you don't like what's on offer you're allowed to walk away with refund in the first 20 minutes. Given that the film has the same certificate and similar run time to a certain space-based, pointy eared scifi reboot, we'd be very surprised if anyone slinks out.
Meanwhile, Future Cinemas - the guys who invented the whole 'secret cinema' concept in the first place - are launching a very similar idea. SECRET SCREENINGS (to ape the press release's shouty capitalisation) will happen monthly and simultaneously in London, Brighton and Edinburgh. The first event takes place on May 2 at 11pm, and the London venue is the Clapham Picture House. Again, punters will have no inkling of what the film might be until the opening credits begin, but we're promised a mix of 'forgotten classics, cult favorites and exclusive previews'.
Image of a Secret Cinema courtesy of Joe Lee from the Londonist Flickr pool.
