Out of the Blue classified R15

Out of the Blue classified R15

3 October 2006

The Office of Film and Literature Classification has classified the film Out of the Blue as R15 with the descriptive note ‘violence and content that may disturb’.

Out of the Blue is a film about the massacre of 13 people in Aramoana by David Gray in 1990.

The film was restricted because the murders it depicts are likely to cause younger viewers distress and threaten their sense of personal safety.

Chief Censor Bill Hastings said “children’s sense of security relies on the belief that their parents or the police can protect them. The film shows children being killed by a person they know in circumstances where their parents and the police are helpless to defend them.”

“Out of the Blue deals with recent events involving real people. For that reason we consulted with the families of victims and the Aramoana community. We were impressed by the articulate and heartfelt comments they made at our meetings” Mr Hastings said.

The people consulted held a wide range of views about the most appropriate classification. Some recommended that it be banned, while most of those consulted who had seen the film suggested age restrictions. There was general agreement that Out of the Blue was not suitable for children and that it was likely to make them fearful.

The film deals with violence in a realistic but restrained way. The effect the film has on its audience is likely to depend on the circumstances of the viewer. Mr Hastings said “for some of those closely involved in the events it portrays the film may be upsetting and traumatic. Other people may view it as a sensitive portrayal of the responses of ordinary people to horrific events.”

Copies of the classification decision are available from the Office’s website www.censorship.govt.nz.

ENDS

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