Let’s be honest. You’ve seen a horror trailer, said “that looks scary, I’m not watching that,” and then somehow ended up in a cinema seat surrounded by your friends two weeks later. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. There’s something about horror films that makes us abandon all sense of self-preservation and dive straight in, as long as we’re not alone.
But why is that? Why do we suddenly become brave when there are five of us stuffed into a row, sharing one bucket of popcorn and taking turns covering our eyes?
It’s actually science. (Sort of.)
When we watch something scary together, our brains do something pretty interesting, we sync up. Shared fear creates a kind of emotional bonding that’s hard to replicate anywhere else. One minute you’re acquaintances, the next you’re clutching a near-stranger’s arm because something just crawled out of a sarcophagus.
There’s also the safety-in-numbers thing. Logically, we know nothing is going to reach through the screen and grab us. But emotionally? Our bodies aren’t entirely convinced. Having people around us sends a quiet signal that we’re okay, that the threat isn’t real — and that if something does happen, at least six of us are going down together.
And then there’s the pure, unmatched joy of watching your friend lose it.
Come on. Half the fun of watching horror in a group is the reactions. The person who screams at literally everything. The one who acts tough and then jumps highest when the score does that thing. The one who’s narrating the whole film like they’re not terrified. These moments? You can’t get them on a couch at home. They only exist in a cinema.
Which brings us to The Mummy — now showing at FilmHouse Cinemas.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is exactly the kind of film you shouldn’t watch alone. A young girl vanishes without a trace in the desert. Eight years later, she comes back, but something is deeply, horribly wrong. So round up your most dramatic friend, the one who screams at trailers. Get your tickets. Come to FilmHouse Cinemas and remind yourself why the big screen exists.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is now showing. Come watch it together because you’re going to need each other