Secret Cinema Reviews 

Recently went to guardians of the Galaxy, as part of secret cinema. This has got to be one of the most favourable ones I’ve been to.

The finale scene was absolutely amazing, so much effort has gone into it, and I am sure I did not see one single person leaving in a negative manner.

I hadn't read these reviews before booking, but having been to the Guardians of the Galaxy event, I agree completely with several of the other users’ comments. In particular, the confusion around what you are actually supposed to do once in there. The performers were very committed to their roles and friendly, and were (mostly) helpful. Unfortunately, what other reviewers have said about the activities feeling childish or overly simple (e.g. jazzed-up rock, paper, scissors - in a hexagonal ring, for some reason) does resonate with our experience. I would also support what people have said about making sure that you find reduced price tickets in the £15 - £25 range, as having paid full price would have left me feeling extremely negative about the whole thing, particularly throwing in our 240-mile round trip.

I did enjoy the experience, but for me, the majority of that came from the company I was with rather than the event itself. Other people’s comments on the crowding is also valid; it was very difficult to move around at times and there were queues which seemed to never move. All in all, I’d estimate that we spent about a third of our time in the immersive experience engaging with some sort of activity, and two thirds confused as to what we were supposed to be doing. The finale was a good way to finish things off, though; this was something we watched rather than interacted with directly. Perhaps this sort of thing is more for people who do live-action role play regularly, but for the benefit of other people, I’d strongly suggest providing considerably more instruction & guidance to help people engage fully. As an aside, the comments regarding the seating in the cinema being uncomfortable are – in my experience – very valid. I am 6ft tall and I had to sit side-on for much of the film!

Great night out, the sets were amazing and really enjoyed the interactive events.. Friendly staff and a good crowd .

An amazing immersive experience where you can be involved in as much or as little as you choose. Be transported to Terra and help your clan to collect units to be the most victorious…. Lots of mini games and opportunities to win u it’s for your clan- again only if you want to,

My second visit to Contraxia & so different from last time - both have been absolutely outstanding. All the Secret Cinema performers are superb;
I went on my own but felt fully involved at every moment; loved it!

Honestly the biggest waste of time! I left feeling totally confused about what this experience even was. It was basically a bunch of bars and dance offs! The activities were beyond childish, there was no organisation and the whole thing was just chaotic. Just felt like a room full of people getting drunk and dancing which was not what I was expecting. Not immersive whatsoever. Don't waste you time or money on this!

Guardians of the Galaxy event.

The world building within this experience was fantastic! Once inside, we really became fully immersed in the world and the story, interacting with cast members and fellow attendees.
All of the cast members played their characters wonderfully.

I particularly enjoyed the freedom to explore the world created in whatever way we wanted (we were fully in control of what we did, where we went and how much/little we participated in the story), while the cast members still provided (in-character) guidance and support throughout the experience.

I was a little disappointed with the film viewing, as I had been told by friends who have attended previous events that there are actors performing either in front of the screen or to the sides during parts of the film, but this did not happen in this one....This meant that (apart from lighting effects on the ceiling) the film viewing didn't feel much different from a regular cinema experience.

However, I would highly recommend this experience, due to the amazing immersive experience portion of this event, and will definitely be interesting in attending more of these events in the future!

Amazing experience if you're a super fan, set was the best I've ever seen, just like the film. However, the room was far too crowded & not really any direction on what you're meant to be doing.
I would definitely go again, there was too much going on to be involved in the story, maybe a second time it would be better.
Saying that the actors were all fantastic & the ending is very good.
Definitely a good day, but don't pay full price.

Really Underwhelming

The only previous Secret Cinema experience I've done was the Stranger Things one which was brilliant. This just did not compare.

The venue was quite small and all the different sectors and meeting points were very loud (different music seemed to blast out from several sources at same time), creating a lot of noise and echo in the venue. The actor's microphones were not loud, so it was often very hard to hear them or learn what you had to do. It was very crowded so it was very hard to follow actors without getting stuck or bumping into people. It was all pretty chaotic rather than fun.

I was interested to see how they'd do the character of Rocket (the genetically modified racoon character) but they just didn't bother. No Rocket so only 3 of the 5 Guardians were really present (Groot briefly featured as a puppet on Quill's shoulder).

The actors that were used for the Guardians that were portrayed looked and sounded nothing like their characters. Whereas with the Stranger Things Secret Cinema the characters were spot on, with this it really pulled you out of it because of how different the actors looked to the ones from the films. The guy that played Drax had smaller arms than me and I'm of average build.

The sketches they acted out were Butlins style performances with laughable "action scenes" and stunt work that was about the standard you'd expect from a school play.

The guy who played the Collector (a menacing and creepy character from the films) really phoned it in with a half-hearted performance. The random characters you could interact with didn't offer much. At one point we were introduced to a creepy looking fortune teller who pulled us into a backroom where we... were given pens and asked to write "Unity" on a piece of paper.

The film itself was of course excellent and they gain a star for excellent service during the film (you had a screen to order with by your seat and they'd bring drinks and food right to your seat during the film). The light effects accompanying the film were also very good.

That's sadly where the positives end for me. The cocktails afterwards were OK but we were sternly told off by an overzealous bouncer for stepping up onto a raised platform to take a pic (a large raised area with flashing lights 12 inches off the ground that looked to be designed for dancing).

Later I tried to take a picture of my partner in front of a blue wall only for 3 security guards to run over and grumpily inform us that that was a special area where you had to pay to have a picture. It was literally just a blue wall with patterns on it and we had actually paid for expensive VIP tickets. They're reaction was very rude and ridiculously over the top.

To sum up this really wasn't worth the money. 2/5

This was my first secret cinema experience and it’s not for me. Went to Guardians of the Galaxy. It was really
chaotic and over crowded in a small space and I’ve still no idea what we were supposed to be doing. The mini challenges for credits felt very childish.

Saying that the friends I went with said they loved it. The end where the actors play out a scene was good and there’s recognisable characters - I kinda thought the whole thing was going to be like that.

This was a pathetic excuse of an immersive show. The best thing about it was the set which was beautiful. But, everything else was so poorly done. We got told we would be going on a ride, all it was is a room with lots of flashing lights - if you have epilepsy then don’t go. They said to go look for our clan leader and we walked around for 10 minutes before we found our clan leader. The whole thing was so loud we couldn’t hear our leader most of the time unless you were right next to her. The games they make you play are boring and so lame, they aren’t games but more being subservient to their actors. One of the actors (the guy singing terribly in the bar) walked past me several times to engage with others. I then decided to walk away. If you go, you’ll be lucky to be able to play anything. Most of the time they’ll ask you to chant your clan name and that’s about all you’ll do. You’ll be asked to walk back and forth between the two rooms and there is very little time to get food and drinks if you want to take part. I wouldn’t pay more than the discounted ticket price for this show.

I understand the secrecy adds to the fun, and appreciate the encouragement to get public transport but when the trains are on strike and you live 85 miles away you have to drive and park and with zero information on location you have to guess where to park!! We guessed wrong so were quite late. We were encouraged into some activities by actors right at the time we should have met our "captain" so from then on had no idea what our mission was (or that there even was a mission). The dancers/actors were great, the last section "show" part was really good but the first hour or so we were wandering pretty aimlessly. Very glad we had an 85%discounted ticket for £15. Would not have wanted to spend more than £20.

Bad staff to ensure one's experience is ruined right when you enter. I had a couple of snacks with me and the staff was like you have to eat it right away if you want to enter. When I asked them if they can keep it and I would collect it after the show, they kept on prompting me to eat it as if I am in a reality show to eat x food in x time. When I said no, the guy was like we will refund you, you can step out! Only since I stood my ground, they then made arrangements. This despite the fact that they have lockers which I found after this pleasant encounter.
Now about the show, it could be much better. So I am not a marvel fanboy but the actors play out the important movie scenes only like 10-15 minutes at the end. The actors do come in between in small segments but it's too loud overall for anyone to make sense! Until then it's all about collecting units for which the audience gotta do stuff like dancing etc. Guess cosplayers had a good time! You guys should learn from Phantom peak to understand how interactive and immersive experiences should be! Overpriced and bland food doesn't help either!

What a great interactive experience, nothing we would ever imagine it to be and it was more than that! Very pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend!

It took me numerous attempts to contact Secret Cinema to enquire and ascertain that my access requirements would be met. It was extremely stressful before the event to not receive a reply knowing that there wasn't a number to call. When paying £90 for a ticket I think this unacceptable. SC need to do much more to facilitate communication with disabled people. At one point SC agreed to talk to me on the phone about my access needs but it never happened. Freddie is definitely more helpful and empathetic than Cristina though. I was allocated seating at the event with others who have mobility problems but there was limited monitoring of the area so others without access needs joined the area so my friend and I didn't have much room. It didn't help that those who joined us in the access area were very drunk and loud. The premise of SC is brilliant and the night overall was good but the stress in trying to sort access needs means I can only give the experience 2 stars.

Great fun. We didn't know what to expect. Light-hearted and warming to see everyone all come together who love marvel.

This is my 3rd time at Secret cinema and it is amazing every time. You never get everything done either ! A night to relax and completely be immersed in your favourite film/ Tv show. Loved the competition in this one would really recommend. The performers are really great and draw you into the world.

The assigned meeting place for our event was right where hundreds of people were leaving a massive American football game trying to get to the train. My group and I were trapped in a crowd of hundreds of drunk sports fans trying to find where the event was, as we were not given an alternate meeting place or contact number in case of such an emergency. In the end we gave up, and waited an hour for a packed train home. We were given no way of contacting Secret Cinema, nor did we receive any kind of communication as to an alternate meeting place. We were just thoroughly hung out to dry, as if our experience didn't matter. It was a thoroughly disappointing experience and has put me off Secret Cinema entirely, not just because of the lack of planning on their part, but the numerous ways this crisis could have been averted had there been any attempt to adapt to the situation.

Excellent fun! A fantastic character led experience with amazing sets, costumes and stories. Ideal for anyone new to the film or those that are fans. You get the best out of the event if you throw yourself into it and follow the guidelines and information on the website.

Effort clearly went in to making this but no where near as much effort as previous Secret Cinema experiences. It was easy to get lost in terms of following the story line and there were not enough interactive elements/escape room type activities to engage people who didn't want to interact much with the cast (especially when you've lost the storyline and therefore can't keep up). Mostly overpriced food and drink considering each ticket was over £100 and the cinema screen seats were cramped and uncomfortable (no excuse for this considering a Saturday night performance was undersold). Cannot fault the actors who did a fantastic effort.