A Film Without a Rating?

I still have three contest entries to read and judge so this is going to be quick.

The Los Angeles Times (LAT) had a brief story on Friday about the upcoming horror film, Captivity. According to http://www.imdb.com, a man and a woman wake up captives of a kidnapper, intent upon driving them insane.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) decided to slap sanctions on the film following an ad campaign launched by the film's makers, After Dark Films. "The sanctions come after ads depicting kidnapping and murder that the MPAA said were inappropriate were placed on billboards in Los Angeles and on cabs in New York." (LAT)

The film is scheduled to be released on May 18. However, the MPAA has said it will not rate the film for thirty days AND it will require approval of every advertisement and every poster location. The LAT says this move was unprecedented.

The film makers could choose to release the movie without a rating, but this may have an impact on the number of theatres willing to show the movie.

To decide for yourself, here's a link to the billboards that the MPAA found so offensive.