A company is planning to hypnotize people into forgetting some of their favorite movies so they can watch them again for the first time. Seriously, this is a thing that is actually happening.
Pathé, a film and distribution company, is running an experiment in the Netherlands. They want to find out if hypnosis can make people forget movies they have already seen.
The idea is that moviegoers can again experience all the surprises, plot twists and suspense of a classic film without knowing what’s coming.
According to IGN, the experiment, called Pathé REWIND, will take place on November 9 at the Pathé Buitenhof theater in The Hague.
Thirty volunteers will participate, with hypnotist Victor Kraemer attempting to erase their memories of a movie they’ve previously seen. The movies under consideration for the experiment are The Matrix, Se7en, La La Land, and Interstellar.
The Company Wants To Use Hypnosis To Make Classic Films Feel New Again
In addition to an initial individual online hypnosis session with Kraemer, volunteers will also undergo another individual online hypnosis session just before the movie’s screening.
If it works, it could be very interesting. Imagine watching The Matrix again without knowing what’s really going on, or seeing Se7en without already knowing what happens at the end.
Of course, there’s one rather significant problem with the whole idea. Nobody knows if it will actually work.
As Unexplained Mysteries notes, Pathé doesn’t guarantee the effectiveness of hypnosis. In fact, the company even says it accepts no liability for the outcomes of the sessions or any consequences that arise from them. How reassuring.
Hypnosis Has Produced Some Pretty Strange Results Before
While using hypnosis to erase someone’s memory of a movie sounds far-fetched, there have been some pretty unusual claims about what it can accomplish.
For example, actor Danny Trejo once claimed Charles Manson hypnotized him while they were in jail together. According to Trejo, Manson was able to convince him that he was experiencing a heroin high without actually taking any drugs.
Then there was a British man nicknamed “Dr. Pepper Man,” who claimed hypnosis helped him quit his massive soda addiction. He reportedly had been drinking five liters of soda daily before a single hypnotherapy session helped him stop.
Neither story proves that hypnosis can selectively erase memories, of course. There is a big difference between changing a person’s behavior and making them forget an entire movie.
However, if Pathé does somehow pull this off, one can imagine millions of movie fans happily signing up. Especially anyone who wishes they could experience the ending of The Sixth Sense for the first time… again.