Paranormal Activity terrifies Italians
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Low-budget US horror movie Paranormal Activity is terrifying teenagers and children across Italy, where the film is a box office hit.
The nation's emergency response service says it recieved dozens of calls, especially from southern Naples.
"Several panic attacks lasting more than half an hour took place on Saturday," a spokesperson told Italian media.
"The most serious case is that of a 14-year-old girl who was brought to the hospital in a state of paralysis."
Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa expressed his concern about the film last week.
"For the past two weeks a trailer has been shown obsessively on TV and is terrifying thousands of children," he said.
"It's a terrible thing. I took notice because my seven-year-old son told me 'Daddy, I'm scared'."
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the Italian fascist dictator and head of a parliamentary committee on children, said Paranormal Activity had "highly distressing content" and was causing "panic attacks and psychological problems among youths."
"I don't think we can ban Paranormal Activity now, but surely we need to study how to warn parents of the risks their children are incurring," Ms Mussolini said.
The movie opened in Italian cinemas at the weekend and made more per cinema than Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, the costliest movie of all time.
In the flick Katie and Micah are haunted by paranormal phenomena and decide to tape their ordeal in the style of 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project.
The Italian parents' association says admission to the movie is restricted in the United States, Britain, Germany and The Netherlands.
The group is asking for an age limit of 18 in Italy.
- AFP
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