Smelly screens: 4DX cinema hits UK

Smelly screens: 4DX cinema hits UK

The 4DX experience has arrived in the UK, literally bringing an extra dimension to cinema.

As well as traditional sound and vision, films shown in these special screens will now be able to stimulate your sense of touch and smell. (The owners of the technology claim 4DX targets all five senses, although I'm not sure how taste comes into it. Popcorn?)

The experience is like a cross between watching a movie and going on a theme park ride.

Your seat moves around, simulating a car chase for example; and if the character on screen is in a fight scene, you will feel the blows in your back.

If the protagonist gets wet, so do you. Some audience members will be pleased to hear that you can switch off this feature at your seat.

The 'plant room' is the backstage for these effects - including the valves that control the various scents.

Coffee, flowers and raspberry can be used for more pedestrian movies while burning rubber and gun smoke are available for action films.

Developed by South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV, 4DX made its debut in 2009. One of the first films to make use of the technology was Avatar.

The idea has spread to more than 20 countries and now audiences in the UK can try it out in Milton Keynes.

So, what about prices?

If you want to watch a film complete with splashes, fog, lightning effects and a moving chair - tickets start at 13.30 ($A25.75) for a 2D film and 14.80 ($A28.66) for 3D.

Film critic Rebecca Perfect thinks 4DX has its place.

'I think it lends itself to certain types of films,' she said.

'Those big blockbusters with lots of action will really do well out of something like this.

'It's really exciting, but whether or not it's something you'll do every time you go to the cinema - and with a higher price point - I'm not so sure.'

At the moment, films are not being made with 4DX in mind: the water, air, fog and chair movements are added to existing movies.

Just like 3D and IMAX, that could change - directors could one day make movies with a plan in mind of how to target all five of their audiences' senses.

Jasper Sharp is an expert on Asian cinema who first tried out 4DX in Seoul in 2012.

He said: 'There's a lot of pessimism: people saying 'this isn't the future of cinema, this is a gimmick', but I think it is a possible future of cinema.

'It definitely adds a lot to the cinema experience.'