While waiting for kids’ blockbuster Lilo & Stitch to start at Cineworld in Enfield, four-year-old Max and his five-year-old brother Bertie were left “traumatised” when trailers for two horror movies were shown
Two young kids were left “traumatised” after being forced to watch two horror film trailers before a screening of Lilo & Stitch, their furious mum has said.
Jenny Ellice, 43, and husband Robert took their two boys, Max, four, and Bertie, five to watch the kids’ favourite at the Enfield branch of Cineworld on June 7.
The family splashed out £85 for the 4DX viewing option – which Cineworld says delivers “an extreme sensory experience”. Usually, cinemas ensure the trailers they play are appropriate for the age of the viewers of the main film.
Rather than showing PG-rated films, the cinema showed PG-13 trailers. One was Jurassic World Rebirth, while the other two were horrors, including M3GAN 2.0, which is about a murderous robot.
Her boys were fine with Jurassic World, but the two horror adverts left the youngsters “terrified” and “rigid with fear”.
They left minutes later because her children were too scared to stay and watch Lilo & Stitch. Staff apologised for the mistake and offered free tickets, but Jenny says it doesn’t go far enough.
The TV journalist from Epping, Essex, said: “Max has been waking up screaming and Rob said to his teacher yesterday that he was scared from the cinema.
“But you just don’t know with kids, they’re like sponges, you think they’re not listening, but they are.
“They were pretty graphic trailers. There was swearing and screaming in them – my eldest was rigid with fear. I had my hands over their eyes.
“I had no idea why they were showing these trailers for a U movie – these are four-year-olds exposed to graphic swearing and violence. They were terrified.”
Jenny says it’s “lucky” that they were the only ones in the 10:10 screening of the film.
She added: “We were the only ones who went into the 4CX showing. We got popcorn and drinks, and they were so excited. They were all happy with their 3D glasses. The ads were on and then it goes into age-appropriate trailers for the film.
“The first one was Jurassic World, and I thought that seems a bit off, but I thought it could be a PG film like Lilo & Stitch. The seats move really violently and my boys like dinosaurs so it’s fine. The next one was Megan, and I was sure that wasn’t a PG – it got really graphic really quickly. It’s like those Chuckie movies.”
Jenny reached out to Cineworld on Instagram but was told after the offer of free tickets, her complaint couldn’t go any further. She has now instructed her solicitors to take further action.
She said: “Max hasn’t even started school yet, with a big corporation this shouldn’t be happening. If they had just put me in touch with someone from head office then it would show they care.
“We have sent a letter from our solicitors who will likely be making a complaint to Enfield council and the film licensing/rating body.
“I want to ensure this never happens again as the cinema are not taking it seriously at all. Had the cinema had the decency to speak to me about it I probably wouldn’t have taken legal action, but they have treated my complaint as more of an annoyance.
“Children at that age are like sponges and so impressionable, even just the noises of violence can leave a lasting impression and it’s just not something two young children, especially one of pre-school age should ever be exposed to.”
Cineworld has been approached for comment.