Who’s watching the Watchmen audience?

KMTR reported yesterday that a man has shot himself during a screening of the film Watchmen. This is how Slashfilm reported it:

‘A 24-year-old man shot and killed himself at the Regal Cinemas in Eugene, Oregon during a late night screening of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen. According to KMTR, there were about 10 other people in the theater at the time. The yet-to-be-named man was seated in the back corner of the theater. Police were called after patrons heard a loud “popping sound” behind them, and reported it to the theater managers. The screening was stopped and ticket purchases were refunded.’

Now that’s one pretty harsh film critic. I appreciate that 160mins can be tiring, but that’s quite an extreme reaction (mind you, I’m sure that one or two guys who have been forced to sit through slushy rom-coms have tried sawing at their wrists with the ice-cream stick before now…)

And I love how the additional piece about ticket refunds is added at the bottom as though a) that somehow makes it all better and b) the cinema-goers were solely concerned with getting their money back, while stepping over the puddle of blood at the back of the auditorium. Still, there’s nothing like a bit of realism to add to the cinema experience…