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London Movie Theater is Using Ninjas to Stop People from Texting

by Ethan Anderton
September 13, 2012

Much like our friends at the Alamo Drafthouse, we hate when people text in movie theaters. It's distracting, disrespectful, and just completely unnecessary. The problem is, there's no real way to stop it unless a theater employee happens to catch you when they walk in once or twice during the film, or you have someone bold enough to tell off the violator. Well, The Prince Charles Cinema has a solution as they have gotten a team of volunteers with Morphsuits (think Green Man from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") to sneak around like ninjas and emerge from the shadows to stop people from talking and texting during a film.

Digital Spy (via Bad Ass Digest) has the story which points out that Morphsuits founder Gregor Lawson had the idea himself before approaching the movie theater:

"I’m a big fan of going to the cinema, but there’s an unspoken code of conduct when you’re watching a movie that some people just don’t understand. Then when some fans were discussing being ninjas in their Morphsuits on our Facebook page I had a eureka moment. I thought I’d find a cinema and see if we could bring a light hearted taskforce to the aid of movie fans."

But is it effective? Well, SlashFilm has a quote from one of the accused and it seems to have had an impact:

"I normally hate noisy people in cinemas, but I got a call from my friend just as the movie started and thought I could get away with taking it. The last thing I expected was two completely blacked-out people suddenly appearing by our seats and give me and my mates a warning to shut up. It was actually pretty terrifying at first, but then I realised it was a bit of a laugh and a great way to make it clear what I was doing was having an impact on those around me. It certainly made me hang up and shut up for the rest of the film."

What really makes this great is that these are volunteers. In return, anyone acting as a movie theater ninja, simply gets into movies for free. So if you're looking for a great way to get into movies for free and have the best possible experience, maybe you can bring Morphsuits to your theater and take care of business. Any way to stop people being inconsiderate during a movie without stirring up trouble is fine by me. Thoughts?

Filed under Cool Stuff, Movie News

From around the web:

http://twitter.com/nlj Nathania Johnson

It's clever, but after the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, being approached by dark-suited men in a dark theater would probably lead to some, um, self-defense.
- EmagSamurai
  
  Agreed. I like the idea of getting people to shut it during a movie, but I got a little antsy when someone got up and walked out during TDKR to take a phone call. I can just imagine what some people would do if a random person in a black suit popped up out of nowhere.
DAVIDPD

In America, all it would take would be for one of the "ninjas" to be too gung-ho and touch some one, and BLAM. Lawsuits galore. Also, since so many dudes (and duddettes) are into MMA here, I do not think it would too safe for the "ninjas" to surprise people like that...
http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Sleider/1847907840 Brian Sleider

Certainly a neat idea but I think it will lead to many a punched face.
conrad

i'd posit that it's easier for somebody in plain clothes to conceal a weapon than somebody in a skin tight morph suit. And 'you can't surprise people like that', really? How slow are we assuming these people are? A simple heads up before the start of the movie would hopefully keep the average person from trying to kill the guy reminding them to be respectful. Although, this is america we're talking about.
Isildur_of_Numenor

Swords and smoke bombs are a must!
Wiseboy

Yeah after the shooting...douche move. Whoever came up with this idea should be fired. It's going to alarm to many people possibly, if seniors are in the theater it might give them a heart attack. Your going to have more people in panic calling 911 or the whole theater of people getting trampled on. Like really what do you expect is going to happen having a bunch of guys in black suits doing this. They should have really thought of this more clearly in light of the recent events in Aurora which many people died just because of that.
- Richie G
  
  Aurora was terrible, but people in London won't be thinking about it when they go to the movies. Not trying to be disrespectful, it's just outside their bubble
- Xerxexx
  
  Not if there is a disclaimer posted where everyone can see it. Aurora happened, but we should not fear the movie theaters...Holmes is the bastard that pulled the trigger, the theater was sadly his chosen venue. People that text and talk in movies are completely deserving of such ninja "attacks."
truong18

this probably wont work in the U.S.
Cody W

Yeah if some ninja put his hand on my mouth out of nowhere in a movie theater, it would lead to a broken arm and a lawsuit....good idea but terrible way to do it. Its up to the people who are being bothered to warn others to shut up.
robert negrin

What if the person being told to be quiet starts a fight with the person in the morphsuit?
Xerxexx

I'd rather fellow attendees just nut up and tell the douche texting or talking to stop it. A simple "Hey, would you mind not talking?" OR "Hey could you not text in the theater?" OR "Hey can you take your call in the lobby?" OR "Fuck you! Get off the phone!"
http://twitter.com/A5J4DX A5J4DX

haha this is brilliant
http://www.facebook.com/MagsMansson Magnus Månsson

No cell coverage in cinemas work wonders. The tech is out there already.
http://djkento.com/ Kento

This has to happen at the premier of Slenderman.
Slash2055

I wish they'd come to my theater...