A Year Later – How a Movie Won Over The Highway Men on ‘The Walking Dead.’

Lately, I have been thinking about a post I made two years ago as of yesterday. A year before we knew there would be a global pandemic. A year before, I had to face the fact that some of the talking points I laid out in my article, How a Movie Won Over The Highway Men on ‘The Walking Dead’ would become somewhat true. The crazy part is I remember the last time I went to see a film in a theater– the exact day. It was March 12, 2020, and I saw two films that night. I saw The Hunt, and I saw Bloodshot. And since I saw Bloodshot first, the last film I saw in theaters was The Hunt. 

Two very different films. One film I adored and the other I did not mind watching for the experience of an action film in a theater. There is nothing like a good action film in a theater. Sometimes I would get nachos with extra jalapenos or extra cheese. Other times I’d get some popcorn and some milk duds. Then I would put the milk duds in there, and they would melt against the popcorn, and when I got a handful sometimes, it would have this sweet-salty mixture. It was heavenly. The experience was terrific. So, I must admit that movie theaters have been what I have missed the most during this pandemic.

Although I’m positive my one friend who will read this might think it is getting a massage. That’s a close second. I also know we haven’t gone full-blown zombie apocalypse, obviously, so people will wonder why she is complaining. They might even tell me to go to a lower-capacity theater if I want to go that bad. They might also tell me these valid points: 

All these services have movies originally slated for theaters for free if they have the service. You don’t have to deal with the three-year-old in a horror film anymore. Staying at home to watch Tom & Jerry in my nightgown was the best; why is she trying to ruin this for me by wanting theaters to become a thing again? 

I get it, and I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed those moments. In fact, as much as I enjoyed using Teleparty to watch The Lovebirds with one of my best friends, I would have loved to hear her laugh at the parts in the film that had us using LMAO. I wanted to experience WW84 with my Godson and my father. I wanted to hear their thoughts afterward on the drive from the theater. I seriously wanted to drag everyone to see Woman in the Window after I went on forever about how I could not believe they didn’t read the book beforehand. And, I kinda want to wear my Kitana or Mileena mask to see Mortal Kombat. Though that’s rather par for the course these days, so maybe that one can be my first film back. Who knows.

Regardless, I cannot help but think about my last piece and feel flabbergasted that slightly over a year later since I saw a film in theaters. Plus, I do not plan on actively going to theaters any time soon. I know I said maybe above to Mortal Kombat, but I’m iffy still. However, I cannot help but feel weird when I drive past our local Regal and see the parking lot empty. It’s so strange to me that our AMC does not have showtimes before 3:30 in the afternoon! However, it’s equally weird to go there and only see a handful of cars too. In many ways, our society has turned into a ghost town.

And let me say, I do think we should be that ghost town right now. I do believe that getting the vaccination for not only yourself, your loved ones, and the masses matter. Our health matters. An actual decline from this horrid disease, which has taken over 500,000+ lives in the United States alone, matters. It matters.

Although, if anyone had told me a year ago theaters would shut down and that this pandemic would get so bad that talk of them never opening their doors again would occur, I probably would have laughed at them. I never thought such an event would occur, let alone that kind of talk. 

After all, people were still going to the theaters after hearing about COVID. I was one of them. I did not think that COVID would get this out of control in the US alone. I had no clue that a new normal would exist for over a year or concerts I purchased tickets to attend would postpone until 2022! I don’t want this new normal when it comes to watching movies forever or concerts for that matter, but we are talking about movies. Nonetheless, I’m not too fond of the idea of even for a second moving my mask enough to get a straw in for a sip of water.

So thankfully, while I do not have to find out that I’m not a Carol, a Maggie, or a Michonne, I cannot wait until theaters can go back to their total capacity. I cannot wait until the next Marvel film that traumatizes us all and makes us sobbing messes lets me engage with another fan that was also traumatized and became a sobbing mess. I want that interaction and that comfort. I want to hear my friends laugh again during a film or see one of them jump back into their seats because Pennywise came out of the projector! I cannot wait to sit in a theater again. I want the hope of a random world back outside of my home. On top of that, I think we all need that hope back.

What movie made you take a trip to the theater during the pandemic? What was your experience? Is there an upcoming movie that makes you determined to get vaccinated so you can see it in theaters? Let me know in the comments below.