After news spread that members of an audience vomited while watching the opening scenes of the new slasher horror film Terrifier 3, horror fans started to point and laugh. Videos on TikTok, mocking these unfortunate moviegoers, soon appeared, along with the usual memes poking fun. It seems the third Terrifier movie is getting the same kind of response it got from viewers of second one, where theater floors were reportedly covered in puddles of vomit.
While horror can have different effects on different fans of the genre, rumor has it that this particular audience had not been told they were going to be watching a horror movie. That they were, in fact, going to be seeing a holiday movie. And while Terrifier 3 technically fits that bill (since it’s set during Christmas), the movies in this franchise are typically extreme and over-the-top when it comes to slasher horror.
Still, it is no surprise that yet another horror film has resulted in members of the audience literally “losing their lunch” while viewing. In addition to vomiting, some moviegoers have had seizures, heart attacks and also fainted.
But it’s the vomiting which we’re more interested in here, so let’s take a look at the movies that have made moviegoers chuck up their last meal. Note that this list is not exhaustive, as there are many other independent and lesser-known films which may have had the same result on audiences. The movies included in this list are those which are more widely reported as films which caused several members of an audience to spew.
The Exorcist
Who says that Regan (Linda Blair) gets to have all the fun shooting vomit from her mouth? Reportedly, this 1979 film made moviegoers vomit, too.
Van Diemen’s Land
Every film director hopes that early showings of a film will bring in rave reviews. Unfortunately, this particular movie mostly resulted in putrid vomit churning out of the mouths of several moviegoers seeing it for the first time. The reason? Critics suspect that some people just can’t handle cannibalism, the very basis of this 2009 film.
Bite
In this 2015 Canadian film directed by Chad Archibald, the main character, Casey (Elma Begovic), slowly transforms into something akin to what we got to see in the 1986 film The Fly. And if you thought that was gross, you’re in for a real treat with this film, which makes the transformation a thousand times worse. One member of the audience couldn’t stomach it, and soon the vomit went flying.
The Blair Witch Project
While probably one of the tamest horror films, this movie was shot in a way to make it look like it was done by amateur filmmakers. Capitalizing on the “found footage” trend and revolving around an urban legend of the Blair Witch, this film’s shaky scenes were too much for some moviegoers. It’s said that some of audience members ran to the nearest toilet in order to have a good hurl.
Taxidermia
Not to hate on anyone’s obsessions, but to be so obsessed by taxidermy that you would be willing to perform it on yourself is a bit much. That’s what viewers of this 2006 Hungarian film are in for. It is this very part of the movie which possibly caused audience members to puke. Not the pig-fucking or the sight of cats eating the body of an extremely obese man. But a man performing taxidermy on himself.
The Walk
This 2015 film based on the real-life Frenchman, Philippe Petit, showed some pretty intense scenes of the acrobat and tightrope walker doing what he does best: Walking a tightrope. Except in the movie, the tightrope in question is secured between Tower 1 and Tower 2 of the as-yet-incomplete World Trade Center towers. The real event took place in 1974, with the tightrope measuring in at 1,776 feet high. It’s enough to make your head spin – or, perhaps, your vision, as it did for many members of the audience. These unfortunate moviegoers experienced fainting, extreme dizziness and extreme vertigo. It also made some of them throw up.
The Last House on the Left
This 1972 Wes Craven film had it all: Rape, body dismembering, torture and murder. It was so intense of a film that it made some members of the audience faint as well as vomit.
Honorable Mentions
The following films have had reports of people nearly vomiting while watching it, or actually vomiting, though these incidents remain isolated.
One would assume that movies ranking high on the Barf-Meter would be full of awesome gore. In most cases, however, it’s simply the result of moviegoers who overestimated their ability to get through a good slasher film. I know several people who approach watching horror and slasher films with caution, opting to pass on it if the movie’s trailer gives them the wrong vibes. Some people may choose to watch horror and slasher films in the privacy of their home, or skip them altogether.
Because audience members vomiting at early screenings or in theaters has happened so often, filmmakers have either taken it as an indication that they have done their job well or failed miserably. The bottom line is, you can’t really predict how moviegoers will react while watching a film. They might feel nausea or they might actually start chucking up their lunch. Either way, the fact that a slasher film has had the latter effect on the audience says a lot, like maybe this particular movie is one you won’t want to miss if extreme gore is your kind of thing.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dawn Colclasure is a writer in Oregon. She writes poetry, essays, articles, short stories and book reviews. She is the author and co-author of several books. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, websites and anthologies. She is also a columnist. Her websites are dawnsbooks.com and dmcwriter.com. Her Twitter: @dawnwilson325.
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