In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew land on a shore seeking supplies only to encounter hostile giants who slay many of the men.

Much like that deadly surprise, several unlucky film fans are heading into rough seas without warning. A few people ended up at a 4DX showing of The Odyssey without knowing the seats would shake and mist would spray them during the nearly three-hour movie.

I learned about these mistaken viewings when a friend described his own experience. He asked to stay anonymous because he wanted to keep his recreational drug use private as a working adult with a family. He took a small amount of cannabis gummies and some magic mushrooms, then went alone to the film and soon found himself pleading for relief.

He purchased an IMAX ticket via the Fandango app but arrived at the wrong theater across town. The ticket taker felt sorry for him and allowed entry to a screening that was about to begin, which turned out to be the 4DX presentation.

There is constant action that causes the seats to shake and tilt in every direction, my friend explained. Although the motion lasts only seconds at a time, it adds up to roughly seven minutes of movement. That may not seem like much, yet it wears on the body.

Like the hero's troubles after the giants, matters grew worse. The moving seats caused him to spill his concession wine, which might have displeased the gods of revelry.

4DX theaters have grown more common over the past decade and use special equipment and seats. This month viewers can catch Minions and Monsters or Moana with shaking chairs and water sprays. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will also play in 4DX later this month.

Variety sent several writers to experience the film in 4D, and reactions were mixed. One reviewer who enjoyed it wrote that you are not merely watching the story but living inside it. A colleague, however, felt ill and left early.

My friend's altered-state adventure stood out, yet he is not alone. Social media showed other accounts of people who made the same error, either because they did not understand what 4DX meant or overlooked the label when buying tickets through an app.

Tim Matishek believed he had purchased a standard non-IMAX ticket for a showing near New York's Union Square this week. He attended alone.

I noticed the chairs felt strange and was surprised they did not recline, Matishek said. I have no objection to ordinary seats, but I assumed most Regal auditoriums offered them.

Only when his seat began to move during the trailer for the new Spider-Man film did he grasp the situation. He was not pleased.

Most of the crowd seemed eager or at least prepared, though he saw one man exit fifteen minutes before the end during a long fight scene with nonstop seat motion.

When asked if he had visited a 4DX theater before, he replied never and never again.