Parent claims teenagers ‘fainted at the sheer violence’ in Denzel Washington thriller

The parent wrote about how after an hour of the film, they had been called to the sitting room by their son, only to find three of his friends had passed out.

In feedback, they wrote: “I was aghast at the fact that a total of 3 out of 5 of his friends had FAINTED at the sheer violence. One out of sheer terror, and the other two out of sympathy terror.” 

They explained the boy’s mother had been furious her son had been allowed to watch the film even though he was a year older than the 15 rating.

The email said: “I sincerely believe you should review your guidelines of this film, and hopefully together we can avoid others experiencing similar such instances.” 

There were multiple pieces of feedback about the film Civil War, a dystopian vision of a future United States after law and order has broken down.

A person said they could not understand how it had been given a 15A rating and said they had left the film because of its graphic content.

An email said: “This movie was extremely violent, and I can’t understand how it got this rating.

“Minors under the age of 15 can go to see it with an adult. There were scenes involving people being tortured and lit on fire.”

Another person wrote about the same movie saying: “I would just like to say I would disagree with the rating on this film.

“Rated at 15 I think is too low; I feel it should be 18. Some of the scenes in it are too much for people of that age.” 

The new Garfield movie also provoked the ire of one parent who felt it was a bit too frightening for young children.

A feedback email said: “The film includes kidnapping from the home, the victims being strung upside down in a warehouse, child abandonment, violence, threats, I could go on.

“There’s no way this film should be G [general audience]. We left midway through, and my child has been having nightmares since.” 

The assistant film classifier David Power responded personally, saying the parent had made some “fair points” about the Garfield film.

He wrote: “The violence and threat was noted by our team but it was felt that, because these sequences were often punctuated with humour and ended reassuringly, they fit with our guidelines.”

There was also feedback about a Bollywood film Fighter, which one person felt stoked tensions between Pakistan and India.

Their email said: “This movie is made against Pakistan and is defamatory against Pakistan. This movie is against facts, is controversial and is based on pure propaganda and hate speech against a particular nation.” 

In response, IFCO said the issues raised did not relate to classification and films, meaning it was therefore outside the remit of what it could do.

Saltburn, which stars Barry Keoghan, and features several scenes that have already become notorious, was the only film about which a formal complaint was received.

There was also negative feedback about the film’s rating, with one viewer writing: “What the hell have I just watched?

“Anyone with two eyes and a brain in their head could see that this was completely inappropriate viewing for sixteen-year-olds,” they said.

“I refer, of course, to the stomach-churning bathtub scene and the abomination in the graveyard.” 

In response, IFCO said “a great deal of consideration” goes into every classification decision they make based on factors including theme, content, violence, language, sex, and drug use.

Asked about the records, the Irish Film Classification Office said it did not have anything additional to add.