Paranormal Activity Causing a Furor in Italy
February 8th, 2010
Aside from waiting for an update on the status of its sequel and rooting for it to win an Independent Spirit Award on March 5th, we honestly haven't been paying too much attention to Paranormal Activity's roll-out across the rest of the globe. But all that changed today with the report that despite being a box office hit in Italy, the film has "kicked up a storm among [Italian] politicians and associations on Monday because it is terrifying teenagers and children across the country." Bravo, Oren!
Here's the full story per AFP (translating a report by Italian news agency ANSA): Italy's emergency response service reported dozens of calls, especially from southern Naples, where "several panic attacks lasting more than half an hour took place on Saturday," an employee told ANSA. "The most serious case is that of a 14-year-old girl who was brought to the hospital in a state of paralysis," he said.
"For the past two weeks a trailer has been shown obsessively on TV and is terrifying thousands of children. The movie is called 'Paranormal Activity'," Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said last Thursday. "It's a terrible thing. I took notice because my seven-year-old son told me 'Daddy, I'm scared'," ANSA reported him saying during a visit to Istanbul.
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the Italian fascist dictator and head of a parliamentary committee on children, said "Paranormal Activity" had "highly distressing content" and was causing "panic attacks and psychological problems among youths." "I don't think we can ban 'Paranormal Activity' now, but surely we need to study how to warn parents of the risks their children are incurring," Mussolini said.
The movie opened in Italian cinemas at the weekend, grossing more than 3.65 million euros, more per cinema than Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar" -- the costliest movie of all time.
Codacons, a consumer advocacy group, said in a statement it was "considering legal action to protect underage viewers of 'Paranormal Activity'." The Italian parents' association noted that admission to the movie is restricted in the United States, Britain, Germany, and The Netherlands and asked for an age limit of 18 in Italy.
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I liked this movie but it was in no way scary enough to cause a panic attack. Some people are ridiculous. It was kind of creepy but other than that I just have to roll my eyes at some people's reaction to it.
Submitted by thedarkestshadow on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 5:48pm.
Hahahah, oh, those poor Italian children. Good, about time a horror film was effective.
Submitted by Avid Fan on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:21am.
More planted press for this movie. When will they stop?
Submitted by reggiebros on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 10:39am.
Proof that idiots with abysmal taste in movies can be found anywhere in the world.
Submitted by Deacon on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 9:23am.
The parents should be blamed for this, not the movie. They should know that the movie has a R rating for a reason. When I went to go see it an older teenage girl brought her TWELVE year old sister with her to see the movie. The girl was in tears after the movie was over.
The older sister, or better yet her parents, should have had the judgment not to take the kid to see the movie.
Submitted by Elf on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 8:06am.
If you read the end of the article it says it's unrated in Italy but they want to put an age restriction on it. I guess they don't really have ratings there. I've never seen a movie in Italy.
Submitted by Floydian Trip on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 8:26am.
I haven't either, but I'm sure they would have saw something on the web or something like that. Still, it's the parent's fault, not the movie's.
Submitted by Elf on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 3:21pm.
Sweet. It's stories like these that make me realize that our country isn't as far in the shitter as it seems to be most of the time.
Submitted by LifeMi on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 8:51pm.
FUCKING AWESOME. That is all I'm saying. It gave ME the creeps too.
Submitted by Blockbuster on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 8:50pm.
I love that we have a story with a Mussolini family member quoted in it on the site! lol And at least Adam Green finally has some company with another movie making audience members freak out so completely.
Submitted by The Woman In Black on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 6:59pm.
Alright Oren! Way to go man! PA fucking rocked and I'm glad he's making such an impact on audiences across the world.
Submitted by Terminal on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 6:50pm.
Go Oren!!!
Submitted by Sirand on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 6:50pm.