I’m writing this the day after my husband and I drove 1 and a half hours from our home to watch two movies at a drive-in theatre. There are only a handful of drive-ins left where I live on the Atlantic coast of Canada, with probably 5 of them across 3 provinces. However, we are lucky enough to live near one of the operational drive-in theatres. As a person with misophonia this was the best experience at the movies that I’ve had in years. While many with misophonia are triggered by popcorn chewing, snacking and more, my main concern is the leg shaking, loud chattering, and just in general lack of control of the environment.
At the drive in… none of this was an issue. My husband and I were safely in our car, and whatever snacks were present we had agreed on together. The Drive-in experience was absolutely fantastic. I felt safe and comfortable in our car, and while there were a few flashing headlights here and there– I’ll take that any day over seats being kicked, loud chewers, chatters, phones beeping and more. The current state of regular theatres is one that I loathe as a person with misophonia, but the drive-in provided an opportunity to see two new movies that I would have waited until they came out streaming otherwise.
As a movie-lover, this was the best of both worlds. I had comfort and enjoyment, without the usual concerns I would have (will I see somebody moving in the seat next to me, will there be a loud person, will I have my seat kicked?).
For the record, we saw two unrelated movies, which both happened to be ones I wanted to see. We saw Lilo and Stitch and Final Destination Bloodlines, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed on the big-screen, in a trigger-free environment. There were far less sensory concerns than other environments and my husband and I went for a walk before the show (we got there early to get a good parking spot). I will say that this is the way movies should be seen- peacefully, with your own space, but still in a way that offers the opportunity of the big screen. Movies also sound amazing on car speakers, by the way!
I think it’s time that drive-ins make a major comeback.