A Ghost Story Horror Story: On Walkouts and Film Snobbery

The overall point of this post: don’t be an arse.

Gary Green
Aug 23, 2017 · 5 min read

Let’s say you’re not that big a film fan. Fair enough — most people in the world aren’t. And let’s say one evening, you casually go to the cinema. Perhaps you’re on a date, or a group of you decided to catch something last-minute. You’re not that fussed about what you see; as long as it mildly satisfies its base function as a mid-level slice of entertainment, you’re happy. Most films are marketed as exactly that, after all, so why should you think otherwise? The movie’s the backdrop to your evening, not the focus.

The above is something we can all appreciate. I’m assuming that the very fact you’re reading this means you’re more interested in films than the average moviegoer, but you’ll remember a time before your cinephilia kicked in proper when you would just ‘go see’ a movie. You weren’t there for a favourite director’s vision; you weren’t there to admire the cinematography, or the way the focus puller must have jumped through hoops to accomplish a particular shot. No — you’re just there to see. The. Damn. Movie. It’s an art many of us have forgotten to appreciate on the most basic level, our obsession’s numbing byproducts being repetition and familiarity. When the cinema would be the place you’d go to every few months instead of every other other (or single) day, you could genuinely enjoy moviegoing as the grand populist entertainment form it’s designed as.

That’s the level I want to address you on when talking about the infamously rude behaviour of audiences during A Ghost Story. There’s this particularly eye-opening account from the US, and the reports of of walkouts — especially during Rooney Mara whetting an Olympic-level appetite — have reached a notorious number elsewhere online (although that Film School Rejects article is particularly crazy). I’ve even heard first-hand accounts from friends here in the UK about fellow audience members making it audibly known how much they weren’t enjoying the movie.

Luckily, my own screening was pin-drop silent. After hearing so many horror stories, I was heavily relieved — but I do realise that A Ghost Story, a quiet, meditative examination on grief’s pull and time’s passing, is certainly not prime Friday-night-movie material. Please consider this: the poster, if casually glanced at, looks like it’s advertising your typical (i.e. not particularly imaginative) horror film. There’s a (albeit silly-looking) apparition on the poster; the film’s title is literally telling you it’s a ghost story. So there you are, at the cinema with your date or your mates — so you buy tickets for what is ostensibly a horror. It’s not your fault. Neither is marketing to blame; how else are you supposed to sell a film where an Oscar-winner / sexual harassment accusee mopes about for 92 minutes wearing a bedsheet?

But there’s a quieter, far more sinister belief that’s being galvanised that’s far worse than any noisy walkouts: the thought that because you are enjoying a particular movie means you are better than those who are not enjoying it.

I don’t want to try and fit all my grievances with film snobbery into this post (we would probably be here all day), but rather, I want to remind us to nip it in the bud. Catch those feelings of misplaced resentment at the door. Likewise, if you’re expecting the jump-scare version of A Ghost Story as opposed to the one you’ll actually get, remember there’s a chance you’ll need to be open-minded during the screening.

And so, this is where moviegoers need to meet each other: on terms of mutual respect. In entering the hallowed chamber that is the cinema auditorium, we must readily accept that one person’s exploration of huge themes is another’s snooze-fest. We have to respect someone’s right to be bored stiff by a movie; lord knows there are plenty of times you’ve felt the same.

Accept some people won’t like your arthouse flick. Ignore any foolish notions that just because you ‘get’ a film, means that those who don’t are worse than you. I’m here to tell you that’s bullshit, and you realise it deep down too. Everyone is exclusively there to be enthralled, and any seemingly vast gulfs between tastes happily and rapidly shrinks upon that humbling realisation.

Conversely, accept that it’s absolutely fine if you aren’t enjoying the movie you’re watching. Remember that you have two choices: firstly, you can stay and watch the remainder of the film in silence like you’d expect of other moviegoers. You can go to work the next day and tell your colleagues how unbelievably boring and preposterous the film you saw last night was. As long as you don’t say it during the film itself, happy days. Secondly, you can quietly get up and leave. Either is fine. But do not turn that trip to the movies into a horror story for others. My further advice, though? Attempt to experience things with a more open mind, including movies like A Ghost Story. You may not overall enjoy them, but you might gain a deeper understanding of how your own tastes work. Don’t believe a film is terrible because you judged it instantly.

Ultimately, I’m simply pleading for both sides to understand the other, and to realise there actually aren’t any sides. Not really. There’s no ‘us’ and ‘them’; there are only people who go to see a film at the same time together. We know nothing about each other, and no one knows a thing about you. As such, there’s no room for judgement.

So, in exhausting conclusion: don’t throw your popcorn in protest, or talk (quietly or otherwise) to your friends about how much you hate the film. Leave, or shut up. But whether you’re the one who stays, enraptured, or the one who decides to leave, disappointed, stop believing in the malformed idea of filmgoing privilege.

The Hard Cut

Quick-fire thoughts on movies and the world at large.

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Gary Green

Written by

Unabashed lover of Pitch Perfect. Also freelance film critic. @GaryGreenScreen

The Hard Cut

Quick-fire thoughts on movies and the world at large.

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