Tuesday our Google traffic was through the roof. What caused the big stir? The Captivity Poster. It turns out that Lionsgate and the MPAA received a lot of phone calls objecting to the gratuitous depiction of torture and murder.
The billboard, pictured above, shows four pictures with captions. “Abduction” features Elisha Cuthbert with a gloved hand over her face; “Confinement” features Cuthbert behind a chain link fence with a bloody finger; “Torture” shows Cuthbert, covered in white gauze, with tubes shoved up her nose; and “Termination” shows the actress with her head thrown back.
The producers claim the billboards went up by mistake, and are paying for the removal of the ads. After Dark CEO Courtney Solomon says the wrong files were sent to the printer, who then passed them on to the billboard company without approval from any executives.
The billboards, which were first posted March 13, appeared on 30 LA-area billboards and 1,400 New York taxi tops. The movie studios had no idea that advertisements went up until they returned from the ShoWest convention in Las Vegas.
I don’t think the images are that much scarier than some of the images used in The Hills Have Eyes billboards last year. But I’m probably in the minority. So what do you guys think? Are these ads going too far?
March 21st, 2007 at 11:01 am
The ads are going way to far, not just posters, but on TV. Imagine having 3 small children, and while watching a family show at 7pm, up comes a preview for ‘The Grudge’ or other movies with scary scenes, violence and such. Children don’t understand that all of this is fake. And you shouldn’t have to explain that to a 6 year-old child. It is not just this movie, lately, all movies have shown a little too much for my taste. By the way, I enjoy these kinds of movies, just not with my children.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:15 am
Would this movie be getting this kind of attention if not for the “wrong” ads going up? Remember the attention that Adult Swim got with their cartoon when they placed boxes with ticking clocks around the city. The cartoon, Teen Aqua Force premiered with record numbers.
I produce an indie TV series myslef and I know the mindset of producers. They do this stuff on purpose to get attention. Yes, it is worth the money if it causes a lot of people to come see the movie.
Of course, if it is an honest mistake, then it says a lot more that the executives didn’t think the movie was worthwhile to check out the ads before they went to press.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Actually Alex, that cartoon is called “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and has been on Cartoon Network since 2000. It’s 5th season will premiere sometime in 2007. As for the movie and that particular guerilla marketing technique - The movie has not yet opened; it is sceduled for an April 13th release - And as for the marketing technique that caused some people in Boston to freak out; the Cartoon Network’s head exec Jim Staples resigned over this incident, so do not believe it was meant to cause some sort of “bomb scare”. It was meant to remind people who DO watch the show that the movie is coming out.
As for the Captivity billboard, it does not seem that out of place in today’s society to me. Although the “torture” frame is a bit disturbing, we must be able to write about things that actually (sadly) happen in the world. that is why this is a horror movie.
And to Mandee, I do not have children yet, but I can easily see your point about certain ads during what is “family hour” on tv. However, I must applaud you for watching WITH your kids. Because you are there to explain that it’s not real. =) And you aren’t just shoving those kids in front of the tv so it can babysit. Also, they aim the ads at shows they believe to be the same market as those who would want to watch the movie, so it’s entirely possible a family watching the Scooby-Doo movie would see a Grudge ad because they assume that fans of Sarah Michelle Gellar want to see both.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:33 pm
I was unfortunate enough to see one of the billboards this weekend and I found it quite upsetting, far more than standard scary pictures, because it’s something that actually happens in real life. People, particularly women, get kidnapped, tortured, and murdered, in this country and others, all the time. In fact the billboard made me very angry because, although I recognize people’s rights to enjoy simulated torture/murder as entertainment, I find it very offensive that they forced me (not to mention children…let alone people whose loved ones have actually BEEN tortured and murdered) to look at such graphic and sadistic images without choosing to. I believe the advertisers know exactly the kinds of fears and disgust they are going to incite in people and they have no right to inflict that on people who don’t make the choice to attend their movies, watch their shows, etc.
March 21st, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Well…I know that I personally base my everyday decisions on scenes depicted on Billboards and Taxi tops…Psh i don’t know what you guys are talking about. Now please excuse me while i smoke a KooL cigarette buy a N.Y Lottery ticket, and drink some absolute vodka…while watching the simple life season 2
March 21st, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Zach,
This has nothing to do with what the consumer is doing after viewing the ad or if they feel ‘forced’ to watch or purchase something. It is the basic fact that graphic, violent, and disgusting images such as these are being forced upon us and children. I’m a very liberal very ‘free speech’ kind of gal but I have to agree that the odd obsession with torture and violence in films is getting to be a bit too much. TV ads and Bilboard ads such as these for films like The Hills Have Eyes, The Grudge, Saw, and Captive are far too real, scary, and gross to be splashed around. I myself was freaked out by The Hills Have Eyes 2 TV ads and I’m an avid lover of horror films, I can’t believe they’d show something like that on tevelvision during prime viewing time but are freaked out by Janet Jackson’s boob .. at least boobs are pretty! I also agree with the point that the glorfication of something like torture on that scale is disgusting and in complete distaste.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:16 am
Wow…I just read what i wrote in my last comment. Yea…um is there any way i can take that one back. Sorta look like a pompous jerk right about now…AND sorta didn’t really look at the billboard before I wrote it. Ok…I’m gonna try and redeem myself. First off, can I just say that i despise the majority of all horror movies that have come out in recent years, and for the most part I really don’t enjoy horror as a genre. Mainly because…at least recently, all horror flicks have either tried to go for the “gross out” effect, or the subtle scary effect, which they always fail at terribly.
Movies that you named (The Hills Have Eyes, The Grudge, Saw, and Captive etc.) are the ones which i loath the most. This is because all they do is try to shock and gross out audiences. Personally I feel that my intelligence is being insulted by the fact that studios think that anyone over the age of 17( i.e. the people permitted to see these movies) is going to be “scared” because theres something gross on screen…they need to really rethink their base of thought. These movies don’t scare people…they make them go “oh, ew” “gross” “thats disgusting”…or if they have the sense of humor of me and my friends…they laugh at how extravagant and unrealistic these acts of pointless violence being depicted on screen look.
Now don’t get me wrong…I don’t for a second find someone being kidnapped, held captive, being tortured, and killed to be in any way funny. I find it comical…and a little sad that in order to get peoples attention/money studios are willing to go to such great lengths. Why not instead of spending all that extra money on special effects to make horror movies as shockingly disturbing as possible, studios instead take the time to dig through the shit of scripts that they have until they find one that doesn’t suck, and put in the effort to make a halfway decent horror movie that doesn’t rely solely on shock value.
Anyway…I hope that this post in some way makes up for the idiot fest that my last one was…and to anyone who actually took the time to read this…I apologize for the poor grammar/language use…but it’s 4:14 a.m and im putting off writing the end of this story that i have due in about 5 hours.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:01 am
I’m a woman and i don’t find these images offensive whatsoever. As for children, i certainly know that when i was that age i barely took notice of billboards and wouldn’t have really got the message of what this poster means. If a child understands it, its already too late and they obviously already knew about these kinds of things happening. As for being graphic,..i dont see anything graphic in these images, but your welcome to tell me what you feel is?
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:31 am
It shows blood, graphic terror, some kind of medical-themed torture, and a murdered body. Additionally these images are clearly intended to have sexual overtones. I think you’re selling children pretty short to think that they can’t grasp the threatening tone of the gloved hand, or the bars, or the weird bloody tubes, or the motionless body, or the distressed look on her face, without knowing in detail what is going on. I think it’s safe to say that you are probably in a small minority if you truly don’t understand why a reasonable person might find the images disturbing.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:45 am
By the way, re-reading my last post it might be misconstrued…that was not to suggest that you are NOT reasonable. I was referring to the “reasonable person standard” for evaluating community standards of decency or whatever you want to call it. What I meant was if most reasonable people find something significantly upsetting and objectionable, in my opinion that should outweigh the potential monetary benefit to the company producing the ad. Seeing as how it’s not a matter of somebody choosing to view the material, but being basically forced to.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
From a childs perspective, it could be her own hand with her gasping in shock, they would not understand the undertones of the posters which do not show graphic gore in any way, only innuendo, which only an adult would truly understand. There is no medical themed torture, she simple has IV tubes up her nose, where is the torture? And no offence, but all the pictures are motionless, they’re PICTURES. There are no bars either, only wire fencing, with a face behind it, not exactly terrifying. I also feel a “look of terror” on some ones face is hardly worth getting steamed up about. And as for the sexual bit, i dont see why or how anyone could find any of these pictures remotely sexual, let alone a child!
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:27 pm
However i am not complaining about these having been taken down, i am simply taken aback that in this day and age, people could get so worked up about pictures that show very little and infact take a knowledgable imagination to fill in the gaps (cartainly not the imagination of a child, i would hope!). But thankyou for sharing your thoughts and views.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:32 pm
People cry about how offensive this billboard is, then go home, sit down with their families, and watch stuff like CSI featuring a woman who was brutally raped and beaten to death with a candelabrum. This ad containing more suggestion than actual gore and violence is deemed unacceptable, but the show with explicit violence and sex (often times tied closely together) is “okay” because its all in the name of some sort of entertainment science. These ads are not the problem with society; it’s the moronic hypocrites with a self-righteous sense of power and the need to impose fear on others that should be the real concern.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
basically yehhh manz out on road dnt undatsnad air like dis yeh its all swag to da yutez out der like INNTI!! big up REP12K WR BIGGGG out on da endzoo yeh ann an big up DAT CREW LIKE S DOT KIDZ WIDA CUREE!! YEHH MAN CREWS CUMMIN UP ON LOCK!
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
So Albert, what about people who don’t enjoy watching violent shows? You don’t think they have a right to not look at violent imagery as a part of daily life? People choose to watch a TV show or not, but they don’t choose whether to look at a billboard when they’re driving down the street.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Amanda, I think the word “Torture” above the picture, if nothing else, would clue in children of reading age that something pretty horrible was happening to her.
But I see what you are saying about the imagination part, which was partly why it bothered me so much. It led my thoughts, quite intentionally I believe, to imagine what was going on, and from there I started thinking about real women that has happened to, and from there I starting thinking about all the people being held and tortured for political reasons in countries around the world. Far afield you might think, from a simple billboard. But they put up pictures of a person being imprisoned and brutalized for a reason, and that’s to make people think about torture and murder. They apparently hope it will make people shell out for their movie. To me it just cast a shadow on the entire day because it made me reflect on the REAL people being tortured right now. Obviously some people don’t make those associations, or don’t follow them through in their mind. But a lot of people do and I don’t think a company has the right to shove that down people’s throats. Anyway thanks for the civil discussion!
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:50 am
I can understand the outrage for children’s sake. But if you’re an adult and you’re saying it’s extreme. It really isn’t so bad, and I would still see the film being a women and a film lover. The director re-shot the ending to put the character in the most positive situation, to turn things around and show more female empowerment. There are worse things then a not so hard core movie poster in the world to worry about. This is just another distraction away from more important things. Lastly the only thing about the poster that’s graphic is the tubes. Without it..it’s a soft-core presentation of a not yet determined medicore film.
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:22 am
This poster is nothing to get one’s self riled up about. It is almost common place in this world. So what? Just because there is blood depicted or a “dead body” that makes it wrong? Please.
Sheltering children is no way to “make things right”. I was exposed to things like this when I was younger, and the only thing it did for me is make it so things like this don’t bother me. Which is the way it should be.
Look at the saw posters……People didn’t make a big stink about there being severed fingers or teeth hanging from strings. People need to get off their moral high horses and calm down.
March 27th, 2007 at 11:10 am
For those of you who don’t have children, you can’t try to imagine how intelligent they are. If you think they are stupid, you are wrong. I’m not just complaining about this ad, I’m commenting on any ad like this, and previews and commercials for these kinds of movies and tv shows. By the way, my husband and I love a good horror movie and faithfully watch CSI and many other shows of graphic nature. However, we don’t make it a family event. If you don’t have children then you cannot make comment on my feelings for that. Sorry, I’m an old fashioned girl, call it sheltering or whatever you want. Something is going on with children today whether it be watching movies they shouldn’t, having parents who don’t give a crap about where they are or what they are doing or any other number of things. You cannot fault me for not wanting my kids to learn violence from television or movies, and if you can, something is wrong with you, not me.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
It’s funny how the Saw poster showed dismembered limbs, dead fingers standing up to make a two, and three lonely teeth sitting in the mouth of what obviously was the body of a man who tortured before getting killed off…yet no one complained about those…and I don’t necessairly see how this can forever damage our young when my litlle brother, only 11, can distinguish from what is fake and what is reality…and he is not mentally disturbed. Really, there are far worse things to be crying about.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:23 pm
The billboard, while potentially disturbing, isn’t that far out there, frankly. I don’t see why it gets more attention than The Hills Have Eyes, for one thing, and it’s not as if the fact that films are often disturbingly violent is news to anyone. There are far worse things in real life — not in the entertainment world — for the public to whine about.
April 16th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
It’s stuff like this that has turned the horror genre into a laughable shell of it’s former glory with well-written works like Hitchcock. Serial killers are real, and there’s tons more of them out there that we never hear about because police don’t make the connections. Movies like this glorify violence toward women, pure and simple. There’s even serial killer websites out there that glorify violence toward women, turning their battered and smashed faces into ashtrays like on that Mangled Angels website. What kind of sicko puts out cigarette butts INTO a woman’s face and then photographs it???
Hollywood is contributing to the decay of western civilization faster than Rachael Rae can cook pork chops.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Eh, I thought they were kinda hot. Bummer.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:22 pm
I’m not sure why The Grudge has been lumped in with the new wave of “torture horror” that some people are talking about The Grudge is far from a spectacle of blood and gore…it’s pretty tame compared to most of the other movies mentioned..
May 10th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I have a response to those comments posted on here. Especially to Mandee in specific. I’m in no way aiming for a form of disrespect when I say this. But I personally don’t agree that the movie posters and commercials are going too far. When there is a scary image on screen and a child questions it, or is afraid, I feel that its obligatory of a parent or guardian to explain to a child that such things on TV are fake, that Hollywood makes movies as a form of entertainment the same way that a child plays pretend with a friend. Sometimes images do scare children and effect them in a profound way, but having the ability to explain it to them before their mind grasps onto it as a “reality” is up to the parent. In the same respect - certain images that are scary should be seen and noted. Considering this isn’t the 1950’s where its safe to leave your door unlocked and let your kids wander the streets aimlessly, (and I am not implying that Mandee or anyone else on here does that, its just a point to be proven.) I think its good to educate kids on bad things that happen in the world - Commercials and Billboards obviously aren’t going to do that and it is up to the parent. But these images presented, in a sense pose the question in the mind of the child of what is real and what isn’t - therefore bringing to light that topic with a parent. - - - It should be explained that movies aren’t real, and it should also be explained that certain things are real and stories are just based on them - personally as a child I was informed very early on of things little ones shouldn’t know - I am grateful for that.
I had been told of a girl who wasn’t much older than me walking home from her middle school taking the shortcut path through the woods that led to the main road, (mind you this path only took approx. 2 minutes to walk through - it was short and everyone took it - I even did when I got to that school - with other children of course, it cut 5 minutes out of the walk to the main road) …she only lived a five minute walk from where the path let out… on her way through this path, for some reason she was alone on this certain day - she never made it to the street. A search party was formed that night, only to find her body against a tree - She had been raped and strangled, she was found with no clothing but a ripped shirt… My mother explained to me thats why its good not to wander off from a parent and always be aware of surroundings because bad things happen in this world whether or not we want to believe in them. So the point is - those commercials might pose questions of that nature, of what’s real and what’s fake, but those commercials and billboards are all for the sake of art. I just feel that as time goes on this world becomes more and more violent, and I don’t feel the media is completely to blame. - But the thought I pose is - What’s the harm in letting a child know that films are fake, that they are made by a crew of people and have many different aspects about them - for them to even go into production. - Taking the magic out of a movie isn’t quite the same as diminishing the image of Santa or the Easter Bunny, or whichever figure one’s child might believe in. Isn’t it better to be alert than kept in the dark on things?
July 7th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Torture is hot - period!
July 10th, 2007 at 7:46 am
Nice
July 14th, 2007 at 11:00 am
I don’t get it. The posters for the Saw movies and Hostel movies are much worse than this. What is all the fuss about people? It’s just a picture.
July 14th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I find all this hoopla about a movie billboard very interesting! How
extremely smart of the studio execs to make an ‘oops’. Like one
the previous posters said sure got our attention didnt it. What I dont
understand is why the big deal? Sure its scarey, gross, and a bit morbid
but for God’s sake so is Paris Hilton.
Someone up further said talk to your kids and tell them some stuff on
the screen is fake and yet some is real but that is what us parents are for
to help them understand the freaky stuff of this world. GREAT point.
To those that keep complaining about the billboard and kids seeing it….
ummmm they get to watch Paris H, Brittney S., and BRATTS (what is that
crap) now theres a good life lesson…sheesh come on folks its a MOVIE
billboard thats it.
A lady posted that she got to thinking about all the real ladies
this has happened to. I appreciate that I honestly do but you can’t
do that with every billboard or every movie you’ll make yourself nuts
worrying. What about all the men she killed in “Monster” innocent men!
just a thought
And one more thing, I am very sorry to say this but I find it MUCH MORE
DISTURBING to turn on my tv for a night of laughs and
learn yet another young person has been killed in IRAQ!!!!!!
Peace and Love :)
Now lets all go watch ‘GREASE” it’ll cheer us up! ;)
July 19th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
“Look at the saw posters……People didn’t make a big stink about there being severed fingers or teeth hanging from strings. People need to get off their moral high horses and calm down.”
- Erik
Actully they did make a big deal about the saw 2 posters with the fingers because it showed them severed and bloody and had to switch to just seeing the top of the fingers and not see the blood. And as for this billboard what the hell is happening in the torture scene its looks messed up. but other than that frame the billboard isnt that graphic. But kids seeing the torture scene would be pretty upset because thats just sadistic.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I simply think movies like this should not be allowed. by movies like this, I mean the Saw movies, I mean House of a Thousand Corpses, House of Wax, Hostel, etc. I’m not talking about scary movies - I love scary movies, movies that make me jump, inch closer to the friend I’m watching it with, hug my pillow - I’m talking about gorefest movies; movies that are created to feed an appetite for sadistic violence. When I want to see a scary movie, I want to be scared, not grossed out. If I’m overly grossed out, then I’m not scared anymore and the movie has failed for me. I don’t even mind gore as long as it’s not the main theme of the movie, like 300 (despite all the complaints, I thought it was a beautiful film). But what is happening with our culture when psychopaths are glorified? What is happening when the victim in question is given no dignity, no strength, and is simply a toy for the sadist (and for the viewer) to play with? Don’t get me wrong here, there’s nothing wrong with torture scenes as long as we’re empathizing and sympathizing with the victim and hating the perpetrator. If we’re rooting for the victim’s escape, that’s a good thing! But in the case of many of these movies that come out, the attitude is more like “I wonder how this person is going to die?” and a want to see what’s going to happen next. I could handle the Texas Chainsaw Massacre because the girl was smart (covered her hand with her mouth so that her breathing would not be heard), courageous (tried to save her friends and a baby), caring (she was very upset when she put her friend out of his misery at his request), and she escaped. I could handle Silent Hill because I could really care about the protagonists and, again, they had strength an dignity. The point is that the victim should be seen as human, not an object. Advertisements that depict people being ‘abducted, confined, tortured, terminated’, raped, assaulted, etc. do nothing but to glorify those we should abhor and want to separate from society and to dehumanize those we should support and care about.
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Oh, and for the person who said that having tubes shoved up your nose isn’t really a torture, I had a doctor’s appointment recently and he shoved a tube up my nose. Even with the numbing fluid he used, it was extremely painful, and that was just one tube. I don’t even want to think of where the blood is coming from.
August 6th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
And this movie passes for entertainment?!! Gawd this country’s in trouble.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:12 am
comment_fashion
January 4th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
im too involved with cloverfield, but i happened across this discussion, and id like to say something. i have a 1 year old son, and i understand that in this day and age, you cannot shelter your children. if you are watching tv or driving around and you see that, you need to suck it up and take responsibility as a parent to teach your child. all this B.S. about it being “forced” on you is unconstitutional in my opinion. if you dont like it go to china where they censor everything. here in america, we enjoy the right to advertise, and you should be happy that you “have” to see this, as opposed to you arent allowed to. you parents are forgetting that its your job to raise your kid, not the worlds job, if you shelter them, you’ll end up with a pregnant minor whos dropped out and doesnt know who the daddy is, all because they never knew about sex or drugs and they had to learn on their own because you were to busy bitching about a scary billboard. its not even that bad, seriously, the saw ads were worse.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:15 am
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