A class of sixth graders at a school in Colombes, France received quite a nightmarish shock on Monday: a screening of the R-rated horror film “Saw.”
A middle-school math teacher has been suspended after he reportedly screened the 2004 film for his students, according to French radio network Europe 1.
“This will be your first horror film,” Jean-Baptiste Clément allegedly told the class.
An investigation is underway to determine whether more serious punishment is merited, but for now Clément’s suspension only lasted one day.
For at least one student in the class, “Saw” may mark his last horror film as well. The boy’s father said the 11-year-old was clearly shaken upon returning home after viewing the movie.
“He returned from school on Monday evening, visibly in some discomfort, not well. I asked him and he told me his maths teacher had shown them a horror film during class,” he reportedly told Europe 1. “At the moment, the teachers are having staff meetings and parent-teacher meetings, so their classes are cut short and interrupted a bit.”
Since its release, the “Saw” series has often been labeled “torture porn.” The first entry was originally classified as NC-17 but was re-edited to achieve an R rating. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, it earned its rating thanks to “grisly violence and language.”
by Matthew Jacobs
