'Sorority Row': Should I Have Walked Out?
Filed under: Horror, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels
Within five minutes, I suspected the movie was a stinker; within 15 minutes, my suspicions were confirmed. Yet I stayed until the end of Sorority Row, a horrid pustule on the hind quarters of horror, filled with self-described bitches, sluts, and hos, and not enough Carrie Fisher with a shotgun. "Admit it, these are horrible people," one character says, describing the sisters of Theta Pi sorority who are the ostensible stars of the movie. And why would you want to hang out with horrible people for any more time than is absolutely necessary? So why didn't I walk out?
I have, in fact, walked out of movies before: at this year's SXSW, for example, I walked out of my third movie of the day within 15 minutes because I wasn't laughing at the comedy and had two more movies to see later that evening. I wasn't assigned to review it, but it sounded interesting; when it fell flat for me, I cut my losses and got some fresh air. I walked out of a shorts program at Fantastic Fest last year because I grew weary of viewing so much blood and too many disgusting images. And I've stomped out of non-fest flicks due to technical problems (i.e. poor projection and/or sound) and demanded my money back.
Somehow, though, the idea that I'd already been dumb enough to pay $9.50 on a Friday night to see the umpteenth flaccid remake of an 80s horror flick made me dig in my heels.
Sorority Row does have a few redeeming virtues, as Jeffrey M. Anderson generously pointed out. Its biggest sin is boredom: the sorority chicks are annoying rather than evil or truly bitchy, the "mystery" about the killer is yawn-inducing, the glimpses of nudity are random and fleeting at best. It was an exhausting, dispiriting experience.
About an hour into the movie, I was given the perfect opportunity to escape. Heavy thunderstorms in the area caused the projector to stop. Instead of the usual outraged cries and moans, the 50 or so people in the theater all yawned collectively. No one bolted, but no one stomped their feet with eagerness to get the movie going again. Probably nearly everyone else was like me, horror fans who wanted to see a horror flick on a Friday night, and wondering whether Halloween 2 could really have been that much worse a choice, as one attendee loudly bemoaned ("Thanks for making me miss Michael!").
Why didn't I walk out then? Simple inertia and stubbornness, I think, and the knowledge that it was raining hard outside and that it would be a tough drive home no matter when I left. And the lack of anything better to do. And, I confess, the thought that I might be able to write about the experience and thus somehow redeem the time and money I'd wasted.
Sorority Row ends as it began: on notes of pure, unadulterated "seen that, been bored way too many times by that, you mean that's all you got?" When faced with a movie like this, have you ever walked out? Are there other reasons that you've walked out of movies? Did you ask for a refund?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-14-2009 @ 12:48PM
Dirk2112 said...
... Yes.
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9-14-2009 @ 1:01PM
DJ Heinlein said...
I saw the trailer for the film and a couple of clips. In answer to your question about walking out of the theater when the movie is playing I must offer an emphatic: Yes!
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9-14-2009 @ 1:04PM
Kurt said...
I not only paid full price to see Battlefield Earth, but I drove thirty minutes (both ways) to the theater, so as much as I wanted to walk out, I couldn't. The projector stopped towards the end. We were all grateful for the brief break from the movie.
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9-14-2009 @ 1:21PM
Robert said...
It wasn't bad enough to walk out on. Not by a long shot.
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9-14-2009 @ 1:37PM
Matt said...
Had you walked out, you would have had no right to whine and complain, yet you would have anyway because that's what movie bloggers do. So, no, you should not have walked out. See the full film and earn your right to b*tch about it, or keep it shut (which is impossible for movie bloggers to do).
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9-14-2009 @ 1:25PM
Tony le Stephanois said...
I have never walked out on a movie that I hadn't already seen and was simply checking out again to fill some hours. I am going to get my money's worth, whether I enjoy it or not. I can usually find something enjoyable in every movie, and even if I can't, I usually upgrade my tickets so I can have a beer during the flick (or if it's awful, several beers). If I get a feeling it might not be my cup of tea, I usually opt for something else or wait for a rental. I have walked out of my living room several times, leaving my gal with Nights in Rodanthe...there is only so much I can take in my own home.
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9-14-2009 @ 5:27PM
MarkH said...
Here's my question: why walk *in* in the first place, to a movie that seemed so assured of being awful?
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9-14-2009 @ 2:05PM
boyd said...
Twice... In one night. I hated, absolutely hated House of 1000 Corpses after 15 minutes so I walked out and walked into Head of State; it's like getting punched in the stomach then turning around and getting punched in the face. I left after 20 minutes of that and went home in an awful mood.
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9-14-2009 @ 2:06PM
juwan808 said...
I have walked out on several occasions. But never without getting a full refund or at least a pass for another flick at a later date. Someone has to pay me for that s**t!
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9-14-2009 @ 2:07PM
Peter Hall said...
Man, I'm surprised you hated it so. I thought it was a lot of easily dismissible fun, which is as much back hand as it is back patting. Sure, it's familiar, but in a welcome way. I'd rather see a glossy 'throwback' slasher like Sorority Row than the brutal new-wave of slashers/torture flicks.
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9-14-2009 @ 2:36PM
pete thomson said...
At Cineworld you can get a loyalty card where for a reasonable monthly fee you can see as many films as you want. The last movie I walked out of was The Hangover which was juvenile and very stupid. Oh an a bit racist! Sadly most of the movies on offer nowadays are garbage.
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9-14-2009 @ 3:10PM
Bethany said...
I had the same feeling when I saw "A Perfect Getaway" last month. I KNEW who the killers were very early on, but I stayed because I wanted to know how this would be revealed. I was very disappointed in the extended flashback sequence when it would've been so much scarier if they would've stuck with the one shot that revealed all (the shot of Kiele Sanchez dropping the video camera, showing that the groom and bride at the wedding were not our main characters as expected). I thought that was an incredibly effective moment but then 15 minutes was dedicated to the back stories of the leads but also the innocent couple.
I confess I have been mildly curious as to the identity of the killer in "Sorority Row"... so I read about it and rolled my eyes even doing that. I am glad I didn't bother seeing it!
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9-14-2009 @ 5:10PM
jim said...
Don't you ever watch trailers? You could've saved yourself 9.50.
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9-14-2009 @ 6:59PM
Matthew said...
You shouldn't have walked in.
ZING!
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9-14-2009 @ 8:34PM
IanP said...
Here's how I learned my lesson:
I always thought I shouldn't walk out of a movie, it was my duty as a responsible filmgoer to see the whole thing. I had to go to the restroom. I held it, thinking, "Something decent has to happen in this flick". Things only got worse on screen, yet I continued to hold out some assinine hope for a movie that was so far beyond bad, it made me deeply HATE everyone involved in its production. The next day. I felt like I had given myself a kidney infection.
'Batman and Robin' taught me to never stay in an auditorium with a film you don't like.
So when my friends and I went to see 'Almost Heroes', I was outta there after 15 minutes, no regrets.
You shouldn't have walked out, you shoulda run!
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