'Paranormal Activity' Too Scary For Italians, Causes Panic Attacks And Paralysis

Hit horror film 'Paranormal Activity' has Italian parents and politicians up in arms after reports of viewers suffering panic attacks, irregular heart beats, trembling and vomiting.

The film, which was rated R in the US, has been given no rating in Italy, allowing children to see it. Allegedly, this has resulted in a number of cases of children seeing the film and suffering adverse side effects, including one 14-year-old who had to be rushed to hospital suffering from 'paralysis'.

Even the trailer has been causing problems. "For the past two weeks a trailer has been shown obsessively on TV and is terrifying thousands of children," Italian defense minister Ignazio La Russa said, speaking on Italian television. "It's a terrible thing. I took notice because my seven-year-old son told me: 'Daddy, I'm scared.'"

Consumer group Codacons has threatened to go to the courts on behalf of children who find the film too frightening. "It's an anxiety-generating film that is sparking panic attacks and psychological problems among young people," said Alessandra Mussolini, a right-wing politician who heads a parliamentary committee on the rights of children.

Culture Minister Sandro Bondi has said the committee that oversees film classification is now looking into the film.

The film, directed by Oren Peli, was a huge success in American cinemas last year. Made for just $15,000, it took in $22 million in its first weekend in the US.

Comments

[AMaitrejean]

06:27 AM on 02/15/2010

For children I can imagine it would be frightening....for adults it was just lame and incredibly boring.

[GalinMcMahon]

12:48 PM on 02/14/2010

Wait, is this Italy or Kansas? Suing because a scary movie is scary??

[Emucrat]

03:53 AM on 02/14/2010

You know what would be a scary movie? When I wake up at night and there is a freaking crocodile, trying to eat me.

[Emucrat]

03:44 AM on 02/14/2010

LOL Now I have to watch the movie.

[glockman]

08:49 AM on 02/14/2010

Don't waste your time, it was awful.

[Truye]

03:23 PM on 02/14/2010

I second that

[Oxonian2001]

06:14 PM on 02/14/2010

As I've said elsewhere, do watch it--if and ONLY if you're a budding horror movie director.

Sometimes it's important to know what not to do! (Kinda like that show, "What not to wear.")

[David Rozgonyi]

03:10 PM on 02/13/2010

Oops....below, I was 14 when I saw my first one (and my 35th one... lol)

[David Rozgonyi]

03:10 PM on 02/13/2010

My mother prohibited me from watching horror movies growing up...but one day, she went away for a week to an artist colony thing, and my father took me to the video store and told me to have at it.... I must have watched five horror movies per night for that week, and I've loved 'em ever since! :)

[ResoluteBob]

12:00 PM on 02/13/2010

By coincidence I viewed a movie called "Videocracy" last night. It's a documentary about Italy's current preoccupation with Television (as largely owned by Prime Minister Berlusconi) and celebrity. With the movie for context, this reaction to a film, or even the trailer for a film, is not surprising.
Is it possible that Italians are even more obsessed with media and celebrity than people in the U.S.?
Now THAT is frightening.

[Oxonian2001]

11:09 AM on 02/13/2010

OK--I can KIND of understand the 7-year-old being frightened, but not the 14-year-old.

Personally, I grew up watching horror from the age of 3: my mom loved it and I would watch Twilight Zone, Dark Shadows, and Creature Feature alongside of her. Decades later, I continue to watch horror. Heck, I even teach and write about it--and my courses are amongst the most popular in my university.

Ultimately, children's reactions to horror depend on how their parents treat the subject of fiction. Parents do need to make their children understand the difference between reality and "make-believe." But of course one of the problems we find today is not enough parents reading to their children and discussing it with them or otherwise spending enough time with them: you know--teach little Johnny and Suzy that trolls, fairies, ghosts, and monsters are make-believe (providing, of course, that the parents themeselves DON'T believe in any of these things...or that Obama is a Muslim and socialist, LOL) It's little wonder that we have so many messed up young adults who get drawn obsessively into the cyberworld and video-gaming.

[maxben]

07:17 AM on 02/14/2010

There is nothing messed up about getting caught up in a fantasy. That's what a good book does, or a good movie, or a good video game. You sound old by unfairly connecting cyberspace and video-gaming to messed up people, please do some research into the matter as gamers have really had to deal with enough of that crap.

[Oxonian2001]

02:00 PM on 02/14/2010

I'm proud of being "old" as you say, or mature. Experience counts, you know.

I'm not blaming gamers for getting caught up in fantasy. Sometimes that's good. However, if you read my post carefully, you would have noticed that I was referring specifically to those who become OBSESSED by it. Very different. Trust me, i've seen it back in college when some of my SF friends failed and dropped out after forgetting their academic work because they were spending 90% of their time in their fantasy world. (Just for the record, I attended their SF conventions and indulged in costuming--lotsa fun!) And certainly as a gamer, you've probably heard or read of people who committed suicide when their characters fell or die.

That's why it's important to be able to distinguish between truth and fiction. Hey, I read, watch and study horror: can't enough of it. But I know better than to attribute every unfamiliar sound or drop in temperature to a dissatisfied spirit or demon lurking in my closet.

[SneathLane]

06:20 AM on 02/13/2010

Kid's brains are not the same as adult brains - among other things, they can't distinguish fantasy from reality very well in the early years. Watching a horror movie is like living it, for lots of kids, and that's damaging. It goes into their minds as real-life experience that happened to them personally, and creates the kinds of damage that real torture and horror cause.

When you think of kids as little adults, you are just wrong. They're not. They DO need to be protected in ways that are unnecessary for people with mature brains.

[duxguts]

05:53 AM on 02/13/2010

Isn't that the whole idea of a scary movie?

[Oxonian2001]

11:12 AM on 02/13/2010

Horror should definitely not be sleep-or laughter-inducing. Especially the latter.

[LMPE]

01:19 AM on 02/13/2010

What self-respecting Italian gets scared while watching a movie? Italy gave us Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and a whole slew of other famous horror directors.

[Oxonian2001]

11:11 AM on 02/13/2010

Mario Bava--now he was a true great! He would definitely be rolling in his grave if he were to see any of our watered-down pap that passes for horror in the form of pitch darkness and sudden sounds.

[Oxonian2001]

10:34 PM on 02/12/2010

When you're rooting for the demon to swallow them up or zap them or whatever
so you can go home, you know it's bad.

This ranks below any made-for-TV or DVD horror flick that I've ever watched.

[yourmotherwasahamster]

10:27 PM on 02/12/2010

There was a similar report of an "outbreak" of "Paranormal Activity"-induced terror in the news in the US a while back just after the movie's release. I can't help but think these stories are being planted in the news by the film's promoters to drum up interest in the film.

[Truye]

03:31 PM on 02/14/2010

I agree. I saw the movie (EVERYTHING scares me, even if I know the movie is bad I can't help but be scared). This movie was not scary. It was irritatingly stupid. The characters were complete d-bags who acted completely irrationally. The "acting" was one of the most horrifying parts of this snoozer. I kept thinking that something really scary was about to happen, but usually it was just the least scary thing ever (rocking in a rocking chair while your idiot boyfriend films you is NOT scary.)

Lamest demon ever. My cats make scarier noises in the night, and do just about as much damage.

[JStading]

10:06 PM on 02/12/2010

So it's a horror movie that is frightening? I believe that when something excels at its principal purpose it is generally called "good."

[Truye]

03:32 PM on 02/14/2010

Lik I have replied to a couple of people DO NOT BE FOOLED! I was, I thought I would be terrified. I wasn't. I was just annoyed.

[OMG1]

07:43 PM on 02/12/2010

This movie is boring and stupid. The first 20 hours of the movie is the two people laying in bed with the door wiggling. Ok it just felt like 20 hours of tossing and turning in bed and walking around talking about scary stuff that isn't happening. My keys are the floor..... booooo! . There is absolutely nothing frightening about this movie and it was a bore.

[Ameriki]

03:24 PM on 02/13/2010

I kept thinking "Why don't you turn on the lights?"