Regal Modesto — Local services in Modesto

Humiliating experience, discriminatory treatment, and the worst projection quality in Modesto.

On August 6, 2025, I brought my 7-year-old daughter — a Regal Unlimited passholder — to see The Conjuring at Regal Modesto McHenry. She’s previously been approved to watch similar films here with me as her guardian, but this time an employee, Ali Ludolph, denied us entry, saying, “we don’t allow six and under.” My daughter is seven.

When I calmly pointed out the inconsistency and offered to bring her birth certificate, Ludolph became defensive and falsely accused me of saying something I never said — then couldn’t repeat what it was. Another employee laughed at us during the exchange.

When I ended the conversation and we were finally allowed in, we were monitored from behind by staff throughout the film to the point that I had to walk out. One employee literally followed me out of the theater, and while I was writing this review outside, I overheard others gossiping about the incident, including a comment about “getting yelled at” — which never happened.

I am neurodivergent and disabled, and I had stepped outside earlier to self-regulate specifically to prevent escalation. This was humiliating and deeply disrespectful.

This experience completely shattered what Regal McHenry once was for us — a safe place to bond over horror films and storytelling. We are both canceling our Unlimited passes and won’t be back.

🎥 Projection quality is also unacceptable:

No HDR on any screen — every film looks dull, flat, and muddy.

Extremely low brightness (nits) — Fantastic Four was so dark we could barely see the characters.

Stained screens — several have visible blotches that ruin bright scenes.

Blown speaker in Theater 4 — it crackles loudly during quiet moments, and Regal refuses to fix it. (Do not pay for a ticket there — ask for a refund.)

3D surcharge on top of subscription — for dim, blurry, unwatchable 3D.

They charge full price for presentation standards that are far below industry expectations. It’s embarrassing.

💡 From a parent and a filmmaker:

I’m currently directing a horror film and my daughter may star in it. For us, movies are not just entertainment — they’re a shared passion and a learning experience.

We no longer live in a world where horror is “adults only.” Children are already engaging with horror storytelling daily — through games like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Poppy Playtime, and even darker internet parodies of Peppa Pig. The difference is that at the theater, my daughter isn’t alone with that content — she’s experiencing it with me, discussing, questioning, and learning from it.

Regal’s current approach dismisses this reality and, in my case, actively undermined my role as a responsible parent. This wasn’t neglect — it was intentional, thoughtful parenting, guiding my child through a creative genre that is now part of her generation’s cultural language.

📉 Final verdict:

Humiliating and unprofessional treatment by staff.

Disrespect toward disabled and neurodivergent customers.

Outdated, subpar projection and audio quality.

Subscription service (Regal Unlimited) that simply isn’t worth it.

Pro tip: Go to Brenden or Galaxy instead. Their service is respectful, their equipment is modern, and their subscriptions are cheaper and include premium screens.

Skip Regal McHenry — unless you enjoy being treated poorly while watching movies that look like they’re playing...

Had a really bad experience my boyfriend and i went out for a date night. We had bought our tickets online to make entering just a little easier and to ensure we had seats we wanted. We paid for a Uber to bring us there wasted our money . We got up to the ticket girl she scaned our phones and then asked for ID im 18 but since my boyfriend didn't have an ID that said his birthdate we couldn't get in. They would not accept a school ID and I'm of age but I have to be 21 to bring some younger then the legal age in to a scary movie. I wouldn't have wasted money on buying the tickets for the fact my boyfriend's CA ID is coming in the mail if I had known we needed the IDs. The movie theater should of stated the fact that you'll need IDs to enter the movie this is the first time I have ever been asked for my ID it would have been appreciated if I knew ahead of time. After that we were standing out side waiting for another Uber to take us home another waste of money and the theater had the security harassing us. My boyfriend had said something to me and the security had come up getting in his face asking what he had said, he obviously wasn't talking to the security. It was the worst experience I've ever had at a movie theater the ticket lady was very rude along with the girls in the ticket booth selling tickets and the manager who refunded our money. For the theater to think we were gonna try to sneak in was uncalled for I told the manager that this was my worst experience ever and I'll never spend my money at that movie theater again and that I've spent lots of money there, she was rude and had nothing to say. I will not...

This place is okay. There's nothing too special about it. Like someone said they were waiting in line outside in 40 degree weather. My sister works at the theater and I can get free tickets so my sister and I went to go see a movie. We get there and they're telling us they don't have the tickets ready. We wait 15 minutes until we finally are able to get our tickets. We went to go see X Men: Days of Future Past and my sister brings her purse. She was in a hurry to get out and when we get home we notice she forgot to grab her purse. It's about 1am and the manager doesn't answer. We come back the next day and the purse is missing. No one reported it. So my sister goes and checks the security camera. Couldn't find anything. The people that watch movies here are sly people. In the exact same movie that we saw a girl ended up losing her cellphone. That was never found either. Beware of what you bring to this theater because more than likely you won't get it back. The theater is also really cold. Even in the summer time the movie theater feels like hospital, cold. So if you go to the movies late at night in the summer you might want to bring a jacket. If it's in the morning you might want to bring one too. Around afternoon time you should be fine as around 3pm is when the heat is the hottest. If you do bring anything valuable with you like a new cellphone or your purse make sure your friend or family keeps an eye on it because like I said this theater is known to have things...