DETROIT – The Insidious Live Show at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre, advertised as an immersive horror experience, left audiences disappointed and confused, leading to significant backlash.
The Insidious movie was a hit. But some people believe the Broadway version of the franchise under-delivered and -- quite frankly -- they want their money back.
Dylan Sides is one person who regrets spending his hard-earned cash on a ticket to see a showing of Insidious on Broadway at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre.
“When I walked out of the theater, it wasn’t even a sense of anger. Everyone was just as confused as I was,” said Sides. “I wouldn’t even call it a parody because a parody would infer it’s funny.”
The production is so different from what was shown in trailers. Sides said it was a clear case of false advertisement and nothing shown in the marketing was on stage.
The website for the show calls the play “a scare of a lifetime, as the world of Insidious jumps out of the screen into your theater seat.”
“Basically the only immersive part through the entire engagement was five volunteers who went up on stage. They were put in white jumpsuits and it became painfully apparent they were all plants,” Sides said. “And it’s like where’s the engagement? Where’s the immersive experience? Why advertise it as that if they’re not going to try?”
Detroit was only the fourth stop on the tour, but as a result of the horrible reception, the show has canceled the remaining 66 stops on the tour.
“It was promoted to be ‘edge of your seat,’ but people were actually leaving their seats,” said Mark Ramos.
Ramos, who runs MarkLovesHorror, already bought his tickets for the Texas show, but he said he was been notified that the show has been canceled because of the backlash in Detroit.
“Don’t promote things where you’re over hyping it because as a true horror fan and fans of the film, you’re expecting one thing and getting another,” Ramos said. “It’s just not a good thing to do to the fans of the franchise.”
Officials with the Fisher Theatre are working with the production company to figure out if refunds are possible.