In a shocking turn of events, a cinema in Aachen, Germany, mistakenly played trailers for horror films during a screening intended for children.
The young audience, who had come to watch the family-friendly "Paw Patrol," was instead subjected to previews of "The Exorcist: Confession" and "Saw X."
Moritz Stürtz, the managing partner of Filmtheaterbetriebe Stürtz, which operates the Cineplex cinema in Aachen, acknowledged the mistake.
He explained that a series of technical errors combined with human error led to the inappropriate trailers being shown. Normally, it's technically impossible to show age-restricted trailers during films without age restrictions, like "Paw Patrol."
The cinema has since apologized to the audience and assured that such incidents would not happen in the future. As a gesture of goodwill, they offered free tickets to the distressed families.
The incident was initially reported by "Bild," quoting the mother of a four-year-old as saying, "It was so shocking." The trailers that were mistakenly shown had an age rating of 12, while the main films are rated FSK 16 and 18, making them highly inappropriate for the young audience.
"We know we made a mistake," Stürtz said. Before the film began, the cinema staff gathered the guests and apologized. As compensation, free tickets were distributed.
