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Dashcam: Vue denies cancelling every screening of new horror film due to its ‘offensive’ contents

It was previously claimed the new film was too controversial to be shown by cinema chain

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 02 June 2022 07:38 BST
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Dashcam trailer
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Vue has denied cancelling screenings of a brand new horror film due to it’s “offensive” content.

On Wednesday (1 June), a screenshot of what appeared to be an email from a Vue employee was shared online by Rob Savage, the director of Dashcam.

The alleged email, seemingly sent to a customer who had purchased a ticket to see Dashcam, claimed that all screenings were cancelled “due to the contents of the movie, which may offend our audience”.

However, in a statement to The Independent, a Vue spokesperson said: “Our decision not to screen DASHCAM was informed purely by the commercial conditions not being viable.”

The statement continued: “We are currently investigating the cause of the incorrect information about our rationale for not screening this film, and we are sorry for any confusion that this has caused.”

In the screenshot of the alleged email that Savage had shared online, the email read: “Thank you for your question regarding Dashcam. I have received feedack from our staffing screen and they have decided we won’t be showing Dashcam at any of our venues due to the contents of the movie, which may offend our audiences.

“We at Vue believe in diversity and any movie which may offend audiences, we may decide to no longer show at the last second without notice. I’m sorry this is not the outcome you were looking for.”

Savage posted the screenshot with his own tweet, which read: “Apparently @vuecinemas have canceled our screenings of DASHCAM because the movie is too offensive! If that doesn’t make you want to watch this film, what will?”

After Dashcam’s UK premiere at the London Film Festival in October 2021, the found footage film was branded “one of horror’s most polarising features in years”.

The film, shot on an iPhone, follows a musician (Annie Hardy) who – depressed by her pandemic lifestyle in Los Angeles – breaks quarantine to go to London to see her bandmate (Amar Chadha-Patel).

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Rob Savage’s divisive new horror film ‘Dashcam’
Rob Savage’s divisive new horror film ‘Dashcam’ (Blumhouse Productions)

Things soon take a turn for the deranged, though, when Annie decides to livestream her actions for online viewers.

Many people attending the premiere at London’s Prince Charles Cinema in October couldn’t get enough of the film’s wild thrills, with many agreeing that it needs to be seen with an audience. However, many argued that it wasn’t for the faint-hearted, with some of the film’s shocks needing to be seen to be believed (no spoilers here).

Produced by Jason Blum and co-written by Savage alongside Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd, Dashcam will be released in selected cinemas (and definitely not Vue) on 3 June. A digital release will follow on 6 June.

Annie Hardy in new film ‘Dashcam’
Annie Hardy in new film ‘Dashcam’ (Momentum Pictures)

Savage’s previous film, Host, can be streamed on Shudder.

Find all the places to see Dashcam in cinemas in the UK here, and in the US here.

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