Emmaus Theatre
At some point in my young childhood, I developed a fear of movie theaters. Something about the darkness and volume made me incredibly uncomfortable, and I actively avoided them for years. It wasn’t until I discovered small, independent theaters that movie-going became something I enjoyed. My favorite of such theaters became the Emmaus Theatre a couple years ago.
Located on South 4th street in Emmaus, the theater itself has been around for a century. Starting as a traditional theater, it eventually evolved into a cinema house. Since its new owners bought it, the theater found a new life with various improvements, not the least of which is my favorite: classic features.
I never thought I’d be able to see a Hayao Miyazaki movie on the big screen unless it was newly released (and even then, I wasn’t so sure). In the past year, the Emmaus Theatre showed several of his films, and I enjoyed seeing some of my favorites, like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, like never before on the big screen.
The Emmaus Theatre has a wonderful, vintage atmosphere. Its interior walls are vibrant red and nobody can deny the grooviness of its funky front doors. I love being inside. It’s unique and a delightful throwback.
A perk to all of the Emmaus Theatre’s vintage spark and pizzazz is its economy. Emmaus Theatre brings in new releases, but during their second run. As a result, the movies are cheaper. It’s just as enjoyable to attend a place like the Emmaus Theatre (or one like it) as it is a regular, straight-forward theater, and is half the cost. Unless you’re dying to see the midnight release of whatever new young adult dystopian adventure movie, there isn’t much reason to not wait a couple months to see new films at half the expense.
It isn’t just the movies that are a bargain. Snack and drink prices are far more acceptable. Perhaps lesser variety, but the large selections of seasonings for the popcorn compensate for this. It’s a fair trade, in my mind.
Now, I still rarely find myself interested in new releases. That’s just a quirk of mine with which most people won’t align. I prefer going to see almost any throwback the theatre offers. It’s affordable, it’s charming, it’s comfortable, and it’s completely delightful. These are all things a movie-going experience would be, and as for me, I don’t think I should be afraid of going to the movies. So, in addition to all these lovely things the Emmaus Theatre has to offer, I would like to thank it in helping me get over my fear in the first place so that I can enjoy cinemas once again.
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