Ambulances called out to treat terrified filmgoers

An ambulance trust is warning nervous people to be ready to walk out of this year's Halloween horror blockbuster, after crews were called to three different cinemas to treat terrified customers.

One woman had to be taken to hospital and five other people were helped to recover by paramedics after leaving the debut screenings of Saw III in distress.

Cinema staff in Cambridge, Peterborough and Stevenage also reported customers walking - or in some cases running - out of the film.

The East Anglian ambulance NHS trust said there had been a spate of emergency calls in spite of graphic advance publicity for the film.

"We wouldn't want to discourage anyone from going to see this film. But if they want to see it they should be prepared and if they start to feel sick then they should leave," said Martin Ware, spokesman for the ambulance trust. "We had to send three ambulances to Stevenage because we had three patients needing treatment at one cinema. To take three ambulances out of the system on a Friday night could potentially cause problems."

The film runs for two hours and 10 minutes of more or less permanent gore, orchestrated by a madman who wants his victims - all with dark secrets - "to appreciate life".

Its contents have been highlighted at every opportunity by the makers, who produced "collector's item" posters printed in ink mixed with a small amount of the lead actor Tobin Bell's blood.

A prize presentation at the annual Scream! awards also saw members of the cast carry out a fake lobotomy, and reviewers have underscored the violence.

Other ambulance services are on standby for calls related to the film, which topped US box office figures on its release last week. Mr Ware said: "Every now and then a film comes along that some people find hard to stomach. Saw III appears to have sent filmgoers over the edge.

"People need to be aware this film is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted. As well as collapses, we have also had reports of people running screaming from cinemas."

Previous movies which proved too much even for some horror fans include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist. But directors and actors have always had to ratchet up the gruesome side to keep the public shocked.

A run of the play Dracula at the Little Theatre in London in 1927 saw 29 people faint and a uniformed nurse was stationed on permanent duty in the foyer.

Guardian.co.uk

Oh my god. I loved the first one, and will proably have to wait to see it until it comes out, but i didn't think it was that bad. Thats pretty creepy.

Your finger nails may end up pretty chewed up by the end of the film.

I wouldn't doubt it