Daniel Radcliffe Terrorizes Children
Danielle Radcliffe, who made his fortune teaching children that they can accomplish great things if only they have the good fortune to be accepted into a prestigious school of witchcraft and wizardy, has now resorted to terrorizing them.
His film The Woman in Black is the most complained-about film of 2012 so far, according to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). The Telegraph reports that the Board has received 120 complaints about the thriller to date—three times the number it received for last year's most complained-about film, Black Swan. (Chief gripe about that one: "not enough ballet," apparently.)
The BBFC, not exactly comprehending the fine distinction between "a sexy secret people are dying to know" and "a fact people will think about for .5 seconds" refuses to release the full details of the complaints until next year, when the board's annual report is published. So now we're going to have that hanging over our heads all year.
It's generally understood, though, that most of the complaints were that the film is too scary for children. The trailer certainly backs up the claim. The film received a British rating of 12A, meaning children under 12 could not see it in theaters unless accompanied by an adult; the US rating was PG-13.
A spokesperson for the BBFC blamed Daniel Radcliffe for making a movie that wasn't about an 11-year-old wizard:
People have a certain expectations about films with Daniel Radcliffe in them.
Interestingly, the British version of the film was actually intended to be less scary than the one released in the U.S.
Six seconds of "strong violence/horror" were cut and some scenes were darkened or had their sound levels reduced in order to prevent the film from being bumped up to a "15" rating. (No one under 15 can see a 15-rated film, even if accompanied by an adult.)
The Hollywood Reporter announced Friday that Radcliffe has signed on to star in a film adaptation of the New York Times bestseller Horns by Joe Hill. Radcliffe will play a suspected rapist and murderer who begins growing horns through his head.
So maybe people will like that one?
