Wandsworth News
Petrified children shown horror trailers before Puss in Boots
9:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012
Children as young as four were left terrified after a trailer for an exorcism film flashed up before a kids' cartoon was shown.
The petrified youngsters were reduced to tears at Cineworld, in Wandsworth, after frightening scenes from horror flick The Devil Inside were accidentally shown prior to the screening of U-rated Puss in Boots.
To make matters worse, bungling cinema workers immediately subjected the already scared children to another inappropriate trailer for violent supernatural thriller Host Ride: Spirit of Vengeance.
A horrifying close-up of a woman possessed by a demon was shown in the trailer for the 15-certificate The Devil Inside, which has the tag line "No Soul is Safe".
While the trailer for Ghost Rider featured equally inappropriate images of a burnt skull shooting flames from its mouth at the devil.
According to reports, angry parents were left shouting at cinema staff to turn the trailers off as they tried to comfort their crying children.
Peter Flynn, who too his four-year-old daughter Lauren to see the film, told the Mirror: "She was extremely frightened by what were exceptionally-strong images, even by adult standards. I tried to cover her eyes."
Another cinema-goer Catherine Walker, who was with a family friend, added: "It was every parent’s nightmare - kids watching exorcism trailers."
According to the British Board of Film Classification, the cinema could face a fine or lose its licence over the incident after breaching strict operating rules.
A spokesman for Cineworld cinemas admitted the wrong trailers were inadvertently shown before the Puss In Boots screening.
Cineworld deputy manager David Denyer said: "The trailers were meant for Underworld Awakening, the next film on. We’re investigating and will take action if appropriate."