4DX Should Be Illegal

By Scott Willson · 2026-10-09

Curry Barker’s horror hit Obsession is coming back to theaters for one day only on October 14, this time in 4DX at Regal. The Focus Features release already pulled in more than $500 million worldwide earlier this year. Now fans can watch it again with seats that move, water that sprays and smells pumped into the room.

I love going to the movies, but I hate a crowded theater more than almost anything on earth. So when The Odyssey came out I searched high and low for a showing that wasn't sold out or close to it, and I finally found one at the TCL Chinese Theatre with about three people booked. Boom, I bought a ticket on the spot and headed to Hollywood.

I’d be remiss not to mention I was highly looking forward to watching this movie because my close friend Sean Avery is in it.

You see him? If you didn’t, you must be blind, but here, let me help you.

What a performance!

It wasn't until I got there that I realized I had bought a 4DX ticket. I had never been to one, so I figured how bad could it be, shoveled some popcorn into my mouth and waited for the movie to start. For the next 2 hours and 52 minutes I was blasted with water spray, thrown around in a seat that rivaled a roller coaster and treated to the smell of burning buildings every time a fire showed up on screen.

That was the worst movie experience of my life, and now they want to bring Obsession back in 4DX, which means somebody is going to pay money to get squirted in the face during a horror movie and call it immersive. There's a reason only three people bought tickets to my showing.

So I'm officially starting a petition to rid every theater in America of 4DX. Give me a dark room, a seat that stays still and a movie, and keep the spray bottle away from my face.