Cinema set to ‘hypnotise’ viewers so they forget their favourite films

| Senior Film & Entertainment Reporter Published November 2, 2026 3:10pm Updated November 2, 2026 3:10pm Some lucky film fans are getting the chance to experience a movie for the first time again (Picture: Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Getty) A cinema chain plans to hypnotise a group of film fans to see if they can experience a popular movie they love ‘for the first time’. Can you imagine – or even remember – a world in which we didn’t know Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father in Star Wars or that Bruce Willis’s character Malcolm was dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense? (And if you somehow didn’t know either of those famous, decades-old spoilers then let’s hope hypnosis could help!) Historic Dutch chain Pathé has picked 30 volunteers, who registered their interest last week before making a choice from four different and very well-known films: the Wachowskis’ The Matrix, Se7en directed by David Fincher, La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle or Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. They will now work personally with established hypnotist Victor Kraemer in an individual online session before coming together to continue the experiment on Monday, November 9, at the Pathé Buitenhof cinema in The Hague. There, ahead of the screening of the picked movie, Kraemer will put the participants under hypnosis once again. Dutch chain Pathé has asked volunteers to pick from four films, including Se7en (pictured) and The Matrix (Picture: Peter Sorel/New Line/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock) The hope is he will successfully wipe their memories of it and make a repeated ‘first’ viewing experience possible again for these lucky few. Dubbed Pathé Rewind, the experiment celebrates Pathé Classics, which bring beloved films back to the cinema and give fans the chance to re-live well-known movies on the big screen. ‘Who wouldn’t want to see their favourite film for the very first time? We know that this desire is alive among many film lovers,’ said Pathé PR & Communications Manager Imke van Schaaijk. ‘At Pathé, we are constantly looking for ways to offer our visitors a special cinema experience, for example with special screenings and Pathé Classics. With Rewind, we are going one step further and trying to bring that first viewing experience back to life with a special hypnosis experiment.’ On November 9, 30 film fans will gather at a cinema in Th Hague with hypnotist Victor Kraemer to attempt the experiment (Picture: Paramount/Warner Brothers/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock) Fans online reacting to the announcement had some trepidation though. ‘Can you imagine if they made you forget your favourite film and you rewatched it and didn’t like it anymore because of all the things you’ve seen since then that crib off it, and it seemed lame and derivative to you now?’ asked Reid Southen. ‘Eternal Sunshining yourself to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,’ joked Allison. But others were hyped for the experiment. Fans online were conflicted over the experiment (Picture: Lionsgate) Films the Metro newsroom would want wiped from their memories to watch again for the first time... ‘Just to have all Star Wars wiped from memory and experience the original three for the first time’ – Andy Gaudion ’10 Things I Hate About You so I could fall in love all over again’ – Lauryn Berry ‘I would quite like to have Ali G: Who Iz I? wiped from my memory, but I don’t need to watch it again’ – Rob Young ‘Big Fish by Tim Burton. It’s one of my favourite films now but I was absolutely terrified by it as a child’ – Jess Austin ‘As long as I could have the memory restored after experiencing it for the first time again, the LOTR extended trilogy. Cinematic masterpieces that make me cry every time’ – Sabrina Barr ‘Gone Girl because it’s just gag after gag’ – Emily Bashforth ‘Super 8 by JJ Abrams!’ – Sydney Johnson ‘The Crazy, Stupid, Love reveal goes crazy the first time. That’ – Chris Rickett ‘Almost Famous, just a classic and makes me cry, or About Time -the ending scene I was weeping’ – Sarah Hooper ‘The Usual Suspects, cos someone spoiled it for me!’ – Ross McCafferty ‘Maybe Sinister? It was absolutely terrifying and I kinda wanna experience that lawnmower moment for the first time again!’ – Joshua Halm ‘Shallow Grave, which still lives rent free in my head even after all this time’ – Caroline Westbrook ‘The one where Russell Crowe plays the autistic guy that ironically I can’t remember the name of but do remember every detail of the plot and the twists [A Beautiful Mind]. I actually didn’t know Crowe could act before watching that because I’d only ever seen him in Les Mis’ – Maisie Spackman ‘The Room’ – many, many people ‘Seems like the highest returns for doing this are actually comedies. Imagine seeing Airplane! again for the first time, not knowing any of the jokes.’ argued Ernie Tedeschi. ‘Watching The Matrix for the first time as an 11-year-old in 1999 was one of the [most] mind-bending times I’ve ever had at the cinema. This is a pretty neat idea,’ tweeted Jimmy Wong. Arrow MORE: Zookeeper dies after being mauled by a leopard Arrow MORE: Eurovision issues apology to the Netherlands after country announces 2027 Song Contest boycott Arrow MORE: Zookeeper ‘mauled by leopard’ as horrified staff heard cries over walkie-talkie Switched On Get plugged into the week’s must-watch shows, unmissable moments, and expert reviews with Metro TV Editor Sabrina Barr.