Since it debuted at Sundance earlier this year, first-time director Ari Aster's Hereditary has been called everything from traumatizing to terrifying, with many people considering it the best horror film since The Exorcist. Its first trailer alone managed to scare the shit out of us, but someone went ahead and showed it to a theatre full of children.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a screening of the twee cartoon Peter Rabbit was terrorized with images of a burning man, a demon possession and a child being covered in ants when the Hereditary preview was accidentally shown in the theatre.
The mistake took place at Event Cinemas in Innaloo, Western Australia. Eventually, the screen was shut off and concerned attendees were offered replacement movie tickets for the mix-up.
Still, it wasn't enough to avoid traumatizing the audience.
"It was dreadful," a parent told the Herald. "Very quickly you could tell this was not a kid's film.... Parents were yelling at the projectionist to stop, covering their kids' eyes and ears. A few went out to get a staff member but she was overwhelmed and didn't really know what to do. Some parents fled the cinema with their kids in tow.
"A lot of the kids were upset. If you think back to your own childhood you remember things that scared you when you saw them for the first time. I still remember the first time I saw a robber on TV."
Watch the trailers for Hereditary and Peter Rabbit below.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a screening of the twee cartoon Peter Rabbit was terrorized with images of a burning man, a demon possession and a child being covered in ants when the Hereditary preview was accidentally shown in the theatre.
The mistake took place at Event Cinemas in Innaloo, Western Australia. Eventually, the screen was shut off and concerned attendees were offered replacement movie tickets for the mix-up.
Still, it wasn't enough to avoid traumatizing the audience.
"It was dreadful," a parent told the Herald. "Very quickly you could tell this was not a kid's film.... Parents were yelling at the projectionist to stop, covering their kids' eyes and ears. A few went out to get a staff member but she was overwhelmed and didn't really know what to do. Some parents fled the cinema with their kids in tow.
"A lot of the kids were upset. If you think back to your own childhood you remember things that scared you when you saw them for the first time. I still remember the first time I saw a robber on TV."
Watch the trailers for Hereditary and Peter Rabbit below.
