He’s a cineplex-terminator.
The idea of mice running amok at a movie theatre might make most viewers run for the doors. However, one Texas cinephile wouldn’t be deterred — bringing mouse traps to his cinema so he could enjoy his picture in peace amid an infestation.
“I said, ‘I’m going to put a bunch of mouse traps around me as a wall of protection just so we can enjoy our movie,’” Cole Pauley, 42, told The Post.
The amateur verminator had been going to the Cinemark in Waco several weeks ago to see a midnight showing of the magic heist sequel “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” as part of an ongoing tradition with his 15-year-old daughter.
The movie theater had unfortunately been overrun by a plague of rodents, prompting an investigation from health inspectors. The scourge had reportedly gotten so rampant last month that one cinema-goer screamed and left the theater while another had one rodent try and yoink her beverage.
“I took out my flashlight, and on top of my drink was a rat that had climbed down from my arm and was biting the lid and straw in like a very hungry way,” fellow moviegoer Abagail Salas told KWTX in Waco, TX.
Pauley, who works in construction, attributed the infestation to nearby construction driving the mice out of the field and into the popcorn-flush cinema.
As a precaution — and on a dare from his coworkers — the local decided to mouse-proof his movie night.
“They were talking about this infestation that was going on in the Cinemark,” the Texan told The Post. “One of the guys was like, ‘Yeah, you should bring some mouse traps with you.’”
Pauley put his money where his mouse was and loaded up a couple of spring-loaded Victor-brand traps with “string cheese.” Then, upon arriving at the movie theater, the die-hard film fan arrayed the traps around his and his daughter’s seats — like something out of a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon.
“She [daughter] was, of course, mortified about having mousetraps underneath her chair,” recalled Pauley, who himself feared he was going to get his hand caught while reaching for dropped popcorn.
His mousetrap minefield appeared to do the trick — one of the traps ended up snagging one of the video-loving varmints, as seen in photos shared by Pauley.
“It was like one o’clock in the morning. I just left for the cleaning crew,” the freelance mousecatcher recounted.
Pauley ultimately said that the preventative measure was worth it because his daughter “loved the movie series.”
However, he thinks a fourth in the installment is due based on his recent expeirnce: “Now We See The Mouse: Now We Don’t”
Cinemark has since addressed the infestation in a statement.
“Given nearby construction, we’ve strengthened our protocols and partnered with specialists to maintain high standards of cleanliness,” the company reps shared. “We’re pleased with the progress and remain committed to delivering an outstanding moviegoing experience for every guest.”
Despite nearly getting overrun with rodentia, Pauley said he was the first to try and save a cinema against a potential shutdown by health inspectors.
“We have one really nice movie theater, and that’s at Cinemark,” Pauley told The Post. “I don’t want to see us lose our nice theater.”
He said he ultimately had faith that the “huge company” was going to invest in getting the scourge “cleaned up.”
“I think that these guys understand the importance of making sure they have a clean and a good experience for movie theater goers,” Pauley declared.
The freelance exterminator also shared tips for New Yorkers suffering from the city-wide rat plague, which is so bad in areas that a coalition of em-rat-tled Brooklynites implored incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani to hire a new rat czar.
“I would say buy Victor, and maybe hire a few tabby cats to patrol the theaters,” Pauley told The Post. “If you’re at some boring arthouse film, it might actually spice things up.
The post Determined moviegoer tackles cinema’s mouse problem in a bold way — and floats solution for NYC rat plague appeared first on New York Post.
