With the recent drama between the sequel to Paranormal Activity and the Saw franchise our attention has been focused elsewhere. That changed tonight with reports coming out of Europe, most notably Italy for the Worldwide premier of the state side box office smash Paranormal Activity. From 911 calls to a 14 year old girl in a state of paralysis the film is having a major impact on the culture...

Follow up:

Here's the full story per AFP (translating a report by Italian news agency ansa.it):

"Italy's emergency response service reported dozens of calls, especially from southern Naples, where "several panic attacks lasting more than half an hour took place on Saturday," an employee told ANSA. "The most serious case is that of a 14-year-old girl who was brought to the hospital in a state of paralysis," he said.

"For the past two weeks a trailer has been shown obsessively on TV and is terrifying thousands of children. The movie is called 'Paranormal Activity'," Italian Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa said last Thursday. "It's a terrible thing. I took notice because my seven-year-old son told me 'Daddy, I'm scared'," ANSA reported him saying during a visit to Istanbul."

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," Mussolini said.

The movie opened in Italian cinemas at the weekend, grossing more than 3.65 million euros, more per cinema than Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar" -- the costliest movie of all time.

Codacons, a consumer advocacy group, said in a statement it was "considering legal action to protect underage viewers of 'Paranormal Activity'." The Italian parents' association noted that admission to the movie is restricted in the United States, Britain, Germany, and The Netherlands and asked for an age limit of 18 in Italy.

Hold the phone, as interesting as this news is we are more attracted by the fact that a Mussolini is head of a committee on children?!?! I hear in Germany that parents send their children to Hitler daycare services too!!!! Yikes! I can see the headlines now, "Mussolini Says Paranormal Activity Bad for Kids". Seriously, I think the sky is falling and hell froze over.