by Pratik Mainali

He was a recluse who enjoyed movies. He spent most of his time watching films and lived alone in a little flat in the middle of the city. His flat was crammed with DVDs and movie posters from his favourite flicks, and he had a wall-sized TV.

Except for the fact that he frequently attended the neighbourhood theatre, nobody knew anything about him. Every time, he would take the same spot in the front row. He would arrive early and remain late, viewing every film that was presented, even the bad ones.

He received a letter one day inviting him to a special movie showing. Even though the letter wasn’t signed, he knew it was addressed to him. As usual, he arrived early at the theatre and discovered that the doors were already open.

The movie theatre was practically deserted when he entered. Only the glow of the screen could be seen because the lights were off. He went to his normal front-row seat beside the aisle and sat down.

The moment he sat down, the screen started to flicker. While he watched the opening titles, he was unable to identify the film. The players were dressed in vintage attire, and it was in black and white.

The movie piqued his interest, but something seemed off about it. Strange camera angles and poor lighting were present. The performers’ movements were robotic, almost out of character.

He discovered that it was a horror flick as the film went on. He could feel his heart rate rising as the music became more tense. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement on the screen.

When he turned to look, nothing was there. When he returned to the screen, the film had altered. Even though the horror movie had changed, the eerie atmosphere persisted.

The door was locked when the man attempted to exit. He watched as the movies changed and become more horrific as they went along out of sheer panic. He made an attempt to yell for assistance, but the darkness muffled his voice.

Then the movie ended, leaving the man alone in the theatre. He hurried outdoors while gasping for air as soon as the door unlocked.

He became aware that he was being followed as he made his way home. When he turned back, he noticed a man watching him from the shadows. Though he fled more quickly, the figure followed him closely.

Once inside his flat, the man closed the door behind him. He fell fatigued and afraid onto his couch. In an effort to relax, he turned on the TV, but the horror film he had seen at the theatre was already on.

He soon realised that he had made a serious error, but it was too late. He had been tricked into falling into a trap by an unknown entity. He was aware that the cinema had permanently imprinted himself on him.

The door was unlocked when the man returned to the theatre the following day. The theatre was deserted when he got inside. When he entered the projection room, he discovered that the movie he wanted to see’s film reel was gone. He heard a sound behind him as he tried to understand what had happened.

When he turned back, he noticed a figure lurking in the darkness. The man had a hat pulled low over his eyes and was wearing a black suit. The man’s heart pounded as he became aware of his company. The stranger moved closer, showing his damaged and deformed face.

The unknown man identified himself as the theater’s proprietor and said he had stolen the film reel out of resentment that the man had come to see a pirated copy of the picture. The man begged for pardon, saying he loved movies more than anything else and had no desire to hurt anyone.

The owner appeared to relax and extended an invitation for the man to join him in watching the movie. The owner appeared to be speaking to the on-screen characters while the two of them sat and watched the film, the man remarked. This behaviour bothered the man, but he kept quiet about it.

The man felt a hand on his shoulder as the film was coming to a close. As he turned, he noticed that the owner’s deformed face was close to his own. I’m sorry, but I can’t let anyone leave this theatre alive, the owner said.

The owner was moving too quickly for the man to escape. The owner was after him and the man found himself entangled in a labyrinth of stairs and passageways. In spite of his fear, the man was aware that he needed to get out quickly.

The man saw an emergency exit just as he began to feel imprisoned and ran for it. You can run, but you can’t hide, the store owner’s voice echoed as he left the building and onto the street. You are now legally mine.
The man resolved never to go back to the earlier movie theatre. So he made the decision to watch a different movie in a different theatre down the street.

The man arrived at his destination, a little settlement outside the city. He moved in the direction of the abandoned movie theatre at the end of the street. As he got closer, he saw that the door was nearly completely obscured by a thick coating of cobwebs, and the board of the theatre was rusted and faded.

He inhaled deeply before pushing open the door and entering the hallway’s shadowy depths. The interior’s air was stuffy and musty, and it smelled like stale popcorn and worn-out leather seats. As he made his way to the front of the hall, the man could feel his heart racing.

He took a seat in the centre of the row, closed his eyes, and inhaled the theater’s well-known odour. He recalled how he used to visit this theatre once a week with his father to catch the most recent releases. The theatre, however, deteriorated and was abandoned over time.

The man abruptly picked up a peculiar sound coming from the projection room. It sounded like the projector was being adjusted by someone. The man got up from his chair and walked over to the room with the projectors. He discovered the door was locked when he got to the room.

Who is there? he yelled as he banged on the door. “Open the door!”

The tinkering noise persisted but there was no response. The man looked around for a spare key before discovering one in a shabby old drawer. He opened the door’s lock and entered the space.

As he turned to look around, he noticed that the ancient projector was on and that the shadows on the walls were unsettling. To his dismay, he noticed as he watched the movie that it was a scary film that had previously been outlawed.

The projector suddenly failed, causing the movie to start playing backward. When he attempted to turn it off, nothing happened. The sound grew louder and more distorted, and the images on the screen began to warp and twist.

The man then got a chill as he realised something was wrong. The shadows on the walls began to shift, and the images on the screen began to meld with reality.

The door was now locked from the outside as he attempted to flee. The man was entrapped, and the images on the television kept warping and twisting, growing progressively more horrific.

When the man saw he was now a part of the movie, he shouted in panic. Another victim had been claimed by the movie theatre, and his demise was inevitable.

About the Author:

Pratik Mainali, BIBM University of Wolverhampton. Mainali is an aspiring writer from Kathmandu, Nepal