By David Jenkin
Not everyone is going to enjoy watching movies in a 4DX cinema, but there’s no denying that the ‘fourth dimension’ adds a great deal to the experience. For the uninitiated, that fourth dimension consists of pitching and rolling seats, vibrations, wind, face air (from little jets in front of the viewer), ‘ticklers’ on the back of the legs, scents, fog, strobe lights and water spray. Those who have tried out the small 4DX cinemas found at arcades and theme parks will have an idea, but watching a full-length film is quite a different experience.
In all honesty, the technology is not perfect yet, but some elements did work very well and seamlessly enhanced the film. When the seat slowly tilted and rolled during the film’s eerie intro, it created a suitably unnerving experience that was wonderfully subtle. The wind and fog effects also came together to create an atmosphere far more dazzling than anything possible in a regular 2D or 3D cinema. Frights were certainly more frightening, jolting the viewer’s nerves through the seat, while the ticklers made the skin crawl and elicited some startled shrieks whenever they went to work.
Some things, however, were frankly a little distracting. The blasts of air in the face were harsh and loud, and an extended action scene involves a lot of jolting and shaking, with popcorn spilling and drinks fizzing. After two hours or more of that, it’s easy to imagine some audience members finding it a bit too much. It would be wise to take a jacket into the theatre owing to the fact that extended wet and windy scenes can get a bit chilly. It’s also advisable to keep a lid on any drinks.
The 4DX treatment won’t suit every movie and it certainly won’t suit every audience. Those looking for a relaxed experience in which they might be permitted to nod off if they lose interest, or engage in a bit of snogging with their date, would certainly find it frustrating. Viewers are forced to engage with the film, it really isn’t optional. Younger audiences are sure to love it though, and something like a horror film – which is all about dramatic shocks to the senses – would be immensely more thrilling.
The element that was perhaps the least effective, in the view of this reporter, was the scent dispensers. Smells were largely indistinguishable from each other, sadly, with a pervasive soapy-chemical odour that lingered in the sinuses long after the film had ended. Hopefully, that will be something that improves with time as science masters the art of synthetic fragrance.
As far as the film itself is concerned, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was enjoyable and strange in a charming way, typical of Tim Burton. It is perhaps best described as a kind of X-Men meets Nanny McFee – gothic, British, and magical with a healthy dose of scary monsters. It was a suitable choice for 4DX.
Nu Metro’s Hyde Park Corner has the third 4DX cinema in South Africa, after the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and The Pavilion in Durban, and is the first in Gauteng. More are sure to follow in the years to come, provided the novelty factor doesn’t wear out, which seems unlikely.