🎬hosting a horror movie night that doesn't fall apart by movie two

rules I learned by breaking them first

turn off every light except one lamp

put phones in a drawer, not just on silent

silent still means someone checks it during the scary part. a drawer means they cant

keep total runtime under 200 minutes for the night

order the food before you press play, not during

learned this after a 20 minute pizza pause killed all the tension we'd built

have blankets out before people arrive

don't open with the scariest movie of the night

you want to build, not peak in the first 90 minutes

have something dumb queued up for after

a comedy or a sitcom, anything to decompress before anyone drives home

mute the group chat too, not just the phone

a phone buzzing on the table mid-movie is basically a jump scare of its own

warn the nervous friend roughly what's coming

no plot spoilers, just "this one's got a jump scare early" so nobody's blindsided

test the subtitles before everyone sits down

keep the volume louder than feels necessary

whispered horror dialogue with six people in a living room is a losing battle

don't seat anyone facing the front door for a home invasion movie

did this by accident once. she did not enjoy the movie

no true crime tangents during the movie

save it for the car ride home, it always comes up anyway

have a backup movie ready

someone taps out at least once a night, plan for it instead of scrambling

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