‘I’m literally shaking.’ YouTube bans horror movie ad for being way too scary
YouTube has yanked a six-second ad for the upcoming horror movie, “The Nun,” because people complained that it was too scary, Variety and other entertainment outlets report.
The move appears to have been instigated by one person’s warning posted Sunday on Twitter, a post that has been retweeted more than 135,000 times since then.
“WARNING!” wrote Twitter user @bbydvas. “If you see an ad on youtube with the volume sign being turned down and nothing else, ITS A JUMPSCARE for the new NUN movie coming out.
“I advise you look away and/or turn down the volume if you have anxiety or just straight up hate jumpscares, pls rt to save a life.”
A jump scare is a popular technique used in the horror genre to scare the pants off the viewer.
The video clip displays only a volume icon on the screen at first. The volume gets turned up and down until it hits mute, then BAM!
The face of “the nun,” her demonic green eyes bulging, jumps onto the screen with a crash of scary music that has been likened to a scream.
You can watch it here with a forewarning, caution, etc.
“Ah, it was all in good fun, and well played by Warner Bros. and New Line. Some people just can’t take a joke anymore.,” writes the MovieWeb entertainment website. “The teaser is quite effective, and now that it’s been pulled, it should put a little extra attention on the upcoming horror movie.
“While most Youtubers complained about the content of the ad itself, most were also concerned with the fact that it was playing before comedy and music videos, and had (nothing) to do with horror. It took them by surprise, and most people under 40 hate surprises.”
Men’s magazine Maxim called the ad “a cheap shot from the Warner Bros. marketing team, but damn is the jump scare effective.”
“If you’re even a casual fan of horror movies, you know what a jump scare is,” writes Slate. “That’s when everything seems quiet —almost too quiet — and then the maniac jumps down from the tree! Or the zombie is reflected in the bathroom mirror!”
Twitter user Roshan was one of those who complained that the ad did its job.
“IM LITERALLY SHAKING AND TEARING UP RIGHT NOW I JUST WANTED TO PLAY EPIPHANY BUT WHY DID YOUTUBE GAVE ME A (BLEEPING) THE NUN JUSMPSCARE AS AN AD AT 5 (BLEEPING) AM,” they tweeted.
On Monday, YouTube tweeted to @bbydvas: “Appreciate you bringing this to our attention! This ad violates our shocking content policy and it’s no longer running as an ad.”
YouTube included a link to its policy concerning violent and shocking content in ads.
“We value diversity and respect for others, and we strive to avoid offending or shocking users with ads, websites, or apps that are inappropriate for our ad network,” the policy states.
Among the website’s no-nos: profane and violent language, gruesome imagery and “promotions that are likely to shock or scare.”
YouTube did not specify what part of that policy “The Nun” ad violated.
“While the full trailer is longer and arguably more disturbing, it’s not served up to viewers who might just be browsing innocuous videos online only to be interrupted by a screaming nun,” writes Gizmodo.
“The Nun,” an offspring of “The Conjuring” series, focuses on the suicide of a nun in 1950s Romania and, according to MovieWeb, was filmed in a spooky castle in Romania.
Entertainment Weekly writes that the movie takes the “subgenre known as ‘nunsploitation’ (yes, that’s actually a thing) ... mainstream.”
It follows Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and a novitiate, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), as they carry out an order from the Vatican to investigate a mysterious death at a Romanian abbey where “there’s some sort of presence that shouldn’t be there,” Farmiga told EW.
Bonnie Aarons reprises her role as the demon nun from “The Conjuring 2.”
The movie hits theaters on September 7.