Scary movie (Cloverfield) making viewers sick

[DesertRat]

"Cloverfield" is the first adrenaline-pumping monster hit of the year, bringing in more than $40 million dollars on its opening weekend. The thriller is told from the point of view of five young New Yorkers using their handheld camera. But for some viewers, being "part" of the movie is making them sick -- literally.

One blogger on the popular movie database IMDB.com said, "I had to get up and leave the theater for nearly 20 minutes just to keep from hurling." Other moviegoers have reported being nauseated and dizzy.

Most viewers are unaffected by the film, but for those who are, experts say the problem is in their heads.

"This is a classic case of vertigo," said Dr. Michael G. Stewart, chairman of otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat medicine) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weil Cornell Medical Center. "You can look around and feel like things are moving, when they aren't."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/01/24/movie.sickness/index.html

[xchrom]

1. i'm just not fond of those kinds of techniques.

it gets in the way of seeing the movie for me.

[DesertRat]

2. My daughter got sick at the movie last weekend

She went out to the lobby during the movie because it was making her sick. She said that there were many other dizzy people laying down on the lobby floor. She did eventually see the rest of the movie then got sick on the ride back home.
Her boyfriend wasn't bothered by the film at all.

[xchrom]

3. i waited on three people at the store i work at

yesterday -- they had just seen the movie -- and they all had headaches.

just an interesting observation.

[Tinita]

14. If it is that scary I wish to see it

i Love scary movies.

[Sal Minella]

4. Watching part of the trailer on my computer screen nearly made me fall out of my chair.

I can't imagine trying to watch the whole film in a theater.

[xchrom]

5. lol -- that's funny! -- yeah a little of something like that can go a long, long way.

[Yael]

6. I am very sensitive to vertigo-inducing images and movement

Thanks for the heads up. I think I will skip this one.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. I liked it. I sat kind of far back in the theater (not many seats left), so I figure

that helped as I didn't feel sick at all.

[leeman67]

8. Yes, the key is to sit as far back as possible.

the shaky camera thing drove me nuts too. It made the Blair Witch Project seem like a series of still-life photos. In terms of "realism" I could understand it, particularly during the action scenes but even when they're all just standing around like at the party in the beginning, the guy holding the cam just cannot keep it still for even a split second. I felt sick even before the monster showed up.

Other than that, I thought it was pretty cool.

[russian33]

9. i wasn't too impressed with the movie

wasn't sick (didn't see anyone in our theatre sick), just wasn't too impressed...left too many questions unanswered, because of its format

[NYdemocrat089]

10. I saw it the night it came out, and no one I saw it with had any problems.

I can see how it could affect some people. I just thought it got annoying when they moved the camera back-and-forth and out of control.

[ForRusty]

11. I had no issues with it.

There is some anti-vertigo dizzying over the counter medicine I believe you can buy and take to help before watching it. I thought the movie was fantastic, probably one of the best I've seen this year and 2007.

[Montauk6]

12. Sounds like marketing hype, if you ask me...

I'm dating myself obviously but I faintly recall when The Exorcist was first released back in (73? 74?), there was buzz about barf bags being handed out at theatres.

[Angry Mollusk]

13. Good movie, but the camera shaking could have been toned down

I enjoyed the film- the monster and attack looked real- what looked fake to me was the shaking camera- that camera shook far more than a real hand held camera- in the scenes where the shaking was to extreme, i had to shut my eyes to avoid getting sick...

[bermudat]

15. My brother told me he vomited from watching the movie.

I haven't seen it yet. Plan on going to the $1.50 theatre to catch it.