Nothing beats the feeling of sitting down with a bag of popcorn at the cinema – but what happens when you have no clue what you are watching until the opening title starts?
There’s a hidden gem in Kent where hand-picked films, themed cocktails and sweets, and a little bit of mystery come together. Senior reporter Cara Simmonds went to find out…
Tucked next to a church in a tiny room on a summer’s evening, lies a make-shift cinema. It may be small, but it is certainly mighty.
Run by a group of film-loving residents in the local community, the Cranbrook Secret Cinema Club is held on the last Sunday of every month.
Whilst you could spend hours scrolling on Netflix – or countless other subscription services – a film buff has done the hard work for you and specially selected a movie to watch.
But the title isn’t revealed to the audience until the opening credits roll.
It is run by movie connoisseur Toby Davies, an award-winning screenwriter who has previously worked on TV shows such as Horrible Histories, That Mitchell and Webb Look and most recently The Adventures of Paddington.
The 49-year-old came up with the idea a year and a half ago, after he visited The Wendy House cafe and asked if they’d like to run a one-off movie night.
It led to several successful events but then the owner decided to sell up.
For the last six months, the secret cinema has been held at the Grade II-listed Church House in Stone Street instead.
Toby believes there is a big problem nowadays with the use of online subscription services and the “death of the cinema”.
“You get to see a film the way it was intended and I think streaming isn’t that,” he explained. “I don’t think it serves cinema well.”
He added: “It’s the feeling of when you stumble across a film that is playing on TV and wasn’t necessarily something that you were looking for.
“Funnily enough, lots of the films that I have shown have been precisely that. We don’t stick to one genre or era.
“The idea of doing it actually came from watching films and TV shows where they have these types of cinemas.
“Like the ones in Gilmore Girls – those lovely little community cinemas with fairy lights and pulled together with chairs in a space where people can just turn up.
“That’s really what I wanted to do.”
Previous movies that have been picked for the cinema club include The Princess Bride (1988), The Birdcage (1996) and Clue (1986).
Toby likes to go for films that were either overshadowed by a big blockbuster at the time or just didn’t have the budget to spend lots on advertising.
He says it is more of a community event, where you can react together and get back to experiencing films how they were supposed to be – on the big screen in a room with a group of people.
He added: “People always come out and say ‘I would never have watched that, but I loved it’.
“Sometimes it’s a film people have seen but they haven’t watched it for years and certainly wouldn’t have seen it in a room full of people laughing or screaming.
“Cranbrook has got lots of lovely independent shops, cafes and bars, but it doesn’t have things to do during the evening other than having a meal out.
“There’s a beautiful cinema in Hawkhurst which I love and there are also multiplexes you can drive to.
“Quite often when you go to those, you can still feel very alone.”
Before heading into the cinema area, I treated myself to a traditional hot dog and a cocktail, which was called “Mission: Pimm-possible”.
Others available were named “Gran & Tonic” and “Passionfruit Scam-tini”…hinting at what was to come.
Included in the ticket was a bag of popcorn and a packet of sweets, which had been specially selected to go along with the theme of the film.
As I opened the mystery bag, I spotted a Werther’s Originals, Maynards Bassetts Murray Mints, humbugs and chewy Barratts Milk Teeth.
Stefanie Potts, owner of Mrs T Potts sweet shop in Stone Street, provides all of the confectionery for the event.
The 53-year-old said: “Obviously, the film is down to Toby – he is the king of films.
“Some of them I’ve not seen myself, so he’ll say, ‘it’s got this particular thing about it’ or ‘it’s got this’ and then I’ll have a look at what I’ve got.
“For example, we had My Cousin Vinny (1992). I got some actual bank money bags and filled them with chocolate coins and mints.
Speaking about how the club has been a hit, she added: “We find that after the evening, we all come out saying that was the best one.
“It’s such a nice thing and in summer it’s just gorgeous. I think people have made friends here as well.”
Heading further inside as I arrived, the room was full of seats in little rows of twos and threes, with a projector sitting in the middle.
By the opening credits, it was fully packed and additional chairs had to be brought in. I’d say around 30 people were there.
Toby then stood up and introduced the film, Thelma (2024), which is loosely based on a true story, by director and writer Josh Margolin.
The movie follows Thelma Post, a 93-year-old grandmother who loses $10,000 to a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson.
With help from a friend and his motorised scooter, she soon embarks on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles to reclaim what was taken from her.
The film includes well-known names like Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Parker Posey (The White Lotus) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange).
But the main star of the show was June Squibb, an actress who is now 95.
“The elderly actress did all her own stunts,” Toby commented. “This is also her first role as a leading lady.”
I thought the film was brilliantly scripted and had an equally talented cast.
It was a simple concept but had been executed well, with several nods to the Mission Impossible-style genre (a clip of Tom Cruise is even shown within the film!)
Throughout, there were great laughs to be had and experiencing this with other cinema-goers made it even better.
As the credits rolled, everyone gradually got up and they were chatting about the film among themselves.
Toby added: “I just hope that people continue to come and enjoy it. I think every town and village should have a cinema.
“It doesn’t have to be a multiplex for it to be cinema, it can be a church hall with a screen and someone scrambling to put it all together at 5pm.”
Tickets for the Cranbrook Secret Cinema Club cost £7 and can be bought on the website on a first-come, first-served basis.
You can also sign up to receive clues via email during the lead-up to the event.
Films that are screened will always be PG or Cert 12 unless advised.
