Gyrating Seats the Latest in Movie Theater Realism

Friday, 06 May 2011 | by Pat's Picks

If you thought the last Harry Potter movie had you quaking in your seat, just wait until the next installment. The Wall Street Journal says this summer a handful movies at a handful of theaters will offer up a new level of realism to moviegoers: gyrating seats.

What the custom-designed seats do will depend on what film is being screened—options range from “being pitched forward, backward and side to side, to experiencing a momentary freefall when a character, say, leaps off a cliff.” For those who get a little queasy just thinking about being tossed around by a chair, there’s a control on the side to dial down the motion; for those who want more intensity, the controls reach up to “two times the acceleration caused by gravity.” The Journal says it’s the latest attempt by the movie industry to create an experience that can’t be replicated at home.

The seats are from a Montreal-based company called D-Box