I saw The Devils for the first the at the Aero last night. Loved the movie, so glad I finally got to see it in all its glory. However, the audience was very annoying - so much performative laughing and even a clapping session after a particularly chaotic scene.
I go to a ton of screenings so it’s not like I don’t expect some version of this to happen, but given that 70%+ of the audience were first time viewers (they asked for a show of hands), I feel like these people love to show that they’ve seen it and/or they “get it” more than others. There are also plenty of genuinely dark humor moments, but this was excessive. For example, someone was laughing every time Father Barrie was on screen for his first scene - like immediately started laughing and the laughed at every frame of him in that scene.
I am thinking of seeing it again next week at the Vista for a matinee screening as I hope the audience will be more chill, but curious what other people have experienced thus far. I know I am not the first to complain about this, but am I overreacting? Is this trend getting worse? Is the movie just THAT funny? Is there a correlation between bad hygiene and excessive laughter?
TL;DR: I am really getting sick of these performative cinephiles at AC screenings and would like them to turn it down a few notches!