Freddy Krueger and a Tulare movie theater are teaming up to make sure you’ll be shaking in your seat when you see the new version of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Galaxy Tulare has joined what its owners hope is the latest hot trend in movie technology: seats that move in sync with action on the screen. The theater is one of just 27 in the world — the next closest is Mann Theatres in Hollywood — to install motion seats, which will debut in Tulare with “Elm Street,” a horror-flick remake that opens Friday.
Theaters have tried before, often failing spectacularly, to enhance ticket sales by adding to the sensory experience of a movie.
In the 1950s, for example, when the new medium of TV was a threat, Smell-O-Vision filled theaters with odors to accompany scenes in the movie. The experiment didn’t last long.
Perhaps the most notorious failed attempt to add a sensory dimension to movies was the 1974 release of “Earthquake” in Sensurround. Giant subwoofers were installed to shake the floor — making some patrons sick and causing structural damage to theaters.
But a recent explosion of 3-D movies — ignited by the success of “Avatar” — has encouraged theater owners to experiment again.
Extras like 3-D and motion seats will survive as long as audiences believe they add to the movie-going experience, said Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theatre Owners. So far, however, “it’s a little too early to predict how motion seats will do,” he said.
Rafe Cohen, president and chief executive officer of Galaxy Theatres, already is a believer.After reading survey results from other Galaxy theaters that installed the moving-seat technology, “we became convinced,” he said. Moving seats “enhance the fun of going to the movies.”
For a price, of course. Galaxy Theatres charges $8 — on top of ticket prices of up to $10 — for the pleasure of feeling the action. Seats can be reserved on the web at www.galaxytheatres.com.
Earlier this week, crews installed two rows of the bright red motion chairs in the Tulare theater. Each requires wiring to power the piston that makes the seat move and carry a computer-driven signal that makes the movements match the film action.
The computer programming is created by D-Box Technologies Inc., based in Longueuil, Quebec, using an advance print of the film provided by the studio. Programmers go through the movie frame by frame, a process that can take up to 500 hours, said Guy Marcoux, vice president of marketing for D-Box.
The seats will move about 1 1/2 inches. Marcoux said that’s enough to give the sensation of movement without causing motion sickness — even if the movie also is in 3-D. The motion also is small enough to avoid annoying patrons in the row directly behind the motion seats, he said.
Each seat comes with a control to adjust the intensity of the movement. Seats also are fitted with sensors that stop the movement when a patron gets up.
You won’t be able to wait until the movie starts and then slip into empty seats because only those sold will be activated. The area also will be roped off to discourage anyone who wants to move to the slightly wider seats. There are 14 motion seats in two rows that each previously held 19 seats.
Some patrons may be willing to buy motion seats even if they have no interest in feeling the action, Galaxy Tulare General Manager A.J. Taylor said. It is a way to be assured a seat for a blockbuster movie without standing in line for hours.
D-Box installed the first motion seats last year for the release of “Fast & Furious.” That was followed by such action-packed movies as “Terminator Salvation,” “2012” and “Sherlock Holmes.”
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” scheduled to open May 28, will be the next release to feature the motion element.
For now, the Tulare theater is the only Valley venue to offer motion seats. But the SR Entertainment Group, owners of Sierra Vista Cinema 16 in Clovis, is considering them. The Regal Entertainment Group, owner of the majority of theaters in Fresno and Visalia, didn’t return calls.
TV and movie critic Rick Bentley can be reached at rbentley@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6355. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com.