I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Apart from the screening with Bai Qiquan, other screenings of "The Crying" also encountered problems to varying degrees.

For example, in one screening, a parent insisted on bringing their elementary school-aged child to see the movie despite the staff's advice. As a result, the child was so frightened that they burst into tears and had to be taken out of the theater.

For example, in one show, an audience member who went to the restroom locked himself inside and started crying and screaming. He was rescued by staff after a long time, which frightened several other people who went to the restroom.

For example, in one movie, a couple was arguing at the beginning, which disturbed other viewers, but the noise stopped as the movie progressed, and by the end, the two had made up.

It's rare to see a group of people, like Bai Qiquan, so gripped by fear that they couldn't leave the movie theater.

How could young people who lack motivation during the day but are full of energy when scrolling through their phones at night listen to this?

That very evening, tickets for "The Cry" were sold out for the following day, especially the latest late-night showing.

Many people want to see just how terrifying a movie can be that can scare audiences like this!

Chapter 166 Midnight Show

On Weibo, discussions about the films under the relevant topics of the Yannan University Student Film Festival are in full swing.

I just watched "The Night Is Short" today, and it resonated with me deeply. It reminded me of the hardships I faced when I first graduated, and I couldn't help but shed tears.

This "College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam!" is ridiculous! A bunch of high school seniors aren't studying properly, they're busy with family matters. When we were in our senior year of high school, we didn't have so many problems.

[The Crying Movie was the most surprising one for me this time. I never imagined a horror movie could be made like this. I'm speechless, my cabinet is moving.]

The love story between the male and female leads in "Past Events Like Smoke" is truly divine, so sweet and captivating, absolutely amazing!

I've heard that many people were too afraid to leave the cinema after watching "The Crying"; to clarify, they were too afraid to leave the shopping mall!

[Let me tell you, you absolutely have to buy tickets for a late-night showing of "The Crying" – watch it around 11 or 12 pm! That's the most enjoyable and immersive experience! I saw it during the day before and kind of regretted it; I'm planning to go see it again at night sometime!]

[The movie "The Crying" seems really scary. I'm too timid to go to the cinema; it would be so embarrassing to get frightened.]

Interspersed among these topics are some news stories, such as how the audience members who left the mall last night were too afraid to take a taxi home by themselves, and since public transportation was suspended, many people who lived nearby simply walked home together, causing a driver who was driving at night to think he had seen a ghost and call the police.

Also, a staff member at a movie theater that screened "The Cry" last night was found huddled in the staff break room this morning. It is said that after watching the movie in the break room, he was too afraid to leave or go to the restroom, and just waited trembling until dawn.

For young viewers, what the movie is about is not that important.

Many people go to the cinema simply to kill time when they have nothing else to do. Their real intention is not the movie itself, but to hold hands during the film and have conversations afterward.

Most viewers don't care much about the specific logic of a movie. As long as the plot is generally coherent and the visuals are exciting and the story is thrilling, a lack of logic is acceptable.

Another factor is trending topics. If a movie is very popular and goes viral, and everyone around you is watching it, many people will subconsciously choose to watch it as well. This creates common topics in social interactions. For example, if a girl you have a crush on posts on her social media that she just watched a certain movie, wouldn't you want to watch that movie too and find common ground with her?

Therefore, "The Cry" has successfully capitalized on the hype.

The first-day box office results showed that several films had similar screening schedules, so their final box office figures were roughly the same. Only "The Crying" was fully booked for the second day, and even the third and fourth days were full. It is expected that the box office has already reached number one.

In response to this situation, the theater chains and film festival organizers were not fools; the very next afternoon, they announced that they would increase the number of screenings for "The Crying Cry".

To be fair, these screenings will not take up the time slots of other movies, but will all be placed in midnight screenings.

Midnight screenings, showings after midnight, usually include a mix of bad movies or classic old films, aside from premieres. There are also all-night screenings, where three movies run from midnight to 6 a.m.

Normal people wouldn't go to a show like this.

Who would stay up all night at the movie theater?

But this time it's different.

"The Cry" is a horror film.

Horror movies are only really exciting when watched late at night!

Moreover, the sound and visuals in the movie theater are top-notch, making watching horror movies in such an atmosphere incredibly enjoyable.

Therefore, when the news of the midnight screenings first came out, "The Cry" saw a lot of ticket refunds – most of them refunded the daytime screenings and went on to buy tickets for the midnight screenings.

Of course, not everyone can like something, and even the most popular things will have opposing opinions.

The film "The Cry" uses horror and suspense as its selling point, which naturally makes it scorned by some people who are numb to horror films and seek horror thrills.

On Weibo, some people have made comments.

I'm a forensic scientist, and I've seen all sorts of corpses. I think movies like "The Crying Cry" are probably just a gimmick; they're scary enough for the general public, but they shouldn't scare me. I'm planning to go and try it out with my classmates.

The person with the account name "Spicy Eggplant" is indeed a forensic medicine student named Zheng Li.

He posted this Weibo post partly because he genuinely felt that ordinary horror movies were bland and uninteresting, and that movies like "The Crying Cry," which everyone was praising, were just the traditional jump scares.

On the other hand, it's also about showing off to get some traffic and buzz, in case it becomes popular.

However, his Weibo post was quickly met with criticism, with people suggesting he do a live stream or meet at a movie theater for a challenge.

Zheng Li certainly couldn't back down; whoever backs down is a coward. After some online debate, he bought tickets for the midnight showing that night and made plans with a few netizens to watch "The Crying" together.

After buying the ticket, Zheng Li, just to be on the safe side, searched for the keywords "crying".

"I'm not afraid, I'm just saying that knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure you win every battle."

He wanted to find out if there were any explanations or spoilers. He wasn't afraid of horror movies, but he still couldn't stand the kind of scare that suddenly appeared with a ghostly face. It wasn't that he couldn't stand it psychologically, but that he would definitely have a physical reaction.

Zheng Li felt he wasn't afraid at all, but his body would react instinctively, and he couldn't suppress his instincts.

So he wanted to find out in advance if the movie had any such highlights, so he could prepare in advance, since he couldn't lose face in an offline competition.

However, when Zheng Li searched for information about "The Crying," he unexpectedly found news about Nanhua Private Renji Hospital. According to the plot synopsis, this seemed to be the hospital that was used as the subject of the movie.

Clicking on the link, Zheng Li saw that the hospital seemed to actually exist.

As he looked at the information summarized in the post, along with various photos and news comparisons, Zheng Li noticed something.

"Is this movie real?"

He felt a chill run down his spine. After all, it was all too real. It wasn't just a few words from netizens; even the local news reported it. It didn't seem like something fabricated for propaganda purposes.

"No, I can't watch this anymore, the more I watch, the scarier I get..."

Zheng Li decisively closed the webpage, trying to drive those thoughts out of his mind and stop himself from thinking too much.

It was past 11 p.m. when he arrived at the movie theater. To his surprise, the theater was packed with people, as if they weren't planning to go to sleep.

They're all here for the midnight showing.

Around 11:30, Zheng Li heard a sudden commotion coming from ahead.

He saw that it was the audience members who had finished watching the previous performance of "The Crying" and were coming out.

The audience remained silent, seemingly still immersed in the film, unable to tear themselves away.

One of the girls, supported by someone next to her, took a couple of steps when she suddenly seemed to see something. Her expression turned ferocious, and she took several steps back, letting out a scream.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

She fell to the ground, as if she had seen something terrifying.

"hiss--"

Zheng Li took a breath. He felt that as a forensic doctor, he had seen all sorts of things and wouldn't be surprised.

However, he had never seen such a scene before.

Chapter 167 This movie is addictive!

Zheng Li soon met with the netizens who wanted to challenge him to an offline duel.

Surprisingly, everyone was very kind and polite.

Although they might be ready to hurl insults at each other's entire families when arguing online, when they meet in person, they all become gentle and chubby, just chuckling to each other.

After receiving their tickets, the group entered the movie theater.

Zheng Li sat down in a chair, and even after the theater went dark, people were still yelling to create an atmosphere.

After the commercials ended, the movie officially began.

"Modern horror movies are actually just psychological suggestion, using scary things to create fear. In reality, someone like me who has seen a lot of corpses is not afraid at all. These things couldn't do anything to me when they were alive, so what can they do to me when they're dead?"

Zheng Li said something to the person next to him, then focused on the movie.

One o'clock in the morning.

The movie screening has ended.

During the end credits, no one in the audience left early.

The end credits rolled quietly, and even the cleaning lady didn't come to clean.

Zheng Li felt as if he were in complete darkness, surrounded by pitch blackness.

He is a forensic pathologist who deals with hospitals frequently, which makes the film more relatable.

Those corridors, those hospital beds, those pieces of equipment—these are all things Zheng Li usually comes into contact with.

He used to be able to joke around with a scalpel and eat takeout while looking at a corpse.

But now, Zheng Li suddenly felt an invisible fear of hospitals.

As soon as Zheng Li closed his eyes, he felt as if he were in the hospital corridor. The smell of disinfectant was pungent, the floor tiles were cold, and the bottomless fear wrapped around his body like vines, dragging him into a cold abyss.

It wasn't that he didn't want to leave as soon as possible, but that he could no longer stand up.

My legs are numb.

Zheng Li had tried his best not to shout in front of netizens. His expression was stiff as he turned his head away.

"Could we...?"

He saw that the netizens around him had already huddled together, trembling in their chairs.

It looks like she's still crying?

A tall, 1.8-meter-tall man was huddled in a chair, his eyes bloodshot, sniffling, looking rather embarrassed.

After a long while, the group finally stood up.

They didn't mention their thoughts on the movie at all, partly because it completely exceeded their expectations and there was almost nothing to criticize, and more importantly, because mentioning the plot would bring back those frightening images and trigger PTSD.

Stepping out of the cinema, the mall was deserted. Due to concerns about a repeat of the previous situation, the midnight screenings were all on the lower floors, with the exit directly connecting to the staircase. The staircase was brightly lit, and cinema staff were waiting at the entrance to greet visitors.

The night wind was cool, and some taxis were still parked at the entrance of the mall, trying to solicit customers. Zheng Li only felt a little more alert when the cold autumn wind blew into his collar.

"This movie is addictive."