Supermarkets censor Lesbian Vampire Killers DVD
A number of supermarkets are censoring the DVD cover of Lesbian Vampire Killers, the comedy by Gavin & Stacey’s Matthew Horne and James Corden.
‘Warning’ stickers have been placed over the word ‘lesbian’ and an image of a woman’s cleavage.
The sticker obscuring the word ‘lesbian’ reads: “Warning: may display sexually suggestive cover image”, while another which covers the image of a cleavage states: “Warning: contains explicitly fit bloodsucking hotties!”.
A spokeswoman for Momentum, which is distributing the DVD, said said stores requested the word and image were covered up. “We were asked by a number of retailers to cover up certain parts of the cover, and we complied with their requests,” she said.
Stores selling the censored DVD cover include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Borders. However, all say they did not ask for the word ‘lesbian’ to be covered up.
Assistant editor of lesbian magazine Diva, Louise Carolin, told Pink Paper the coverup was “bizarre”.
She said: “It’s bizarre that in this day and age, when lesbians are more accepted in mainstream society than we have ever been, some people still think the “L” word is obscene.
“This is more evidence of a worrying trend that positions lesbians as pornographic playthings for straight male consumers.
“It’s telling that the cover image of a scantily-clad woman’s body – no face in shot – is apparently considered completely ‘family friendly’. Are sexism and homophobia family values?”
Lesbian Vampires was almost universally panned by critics when it was released in cinemas.
The movie, which features the duo as a pair of friends trapped in a village and surrounded by lesbian vampires, was slated for its lads mag humour and “moronic” script.
James Christopher of The Times called it as “profoundly awful”, describing Corden and Horne as “two witless slobs who go for a hike in Norfolk with an industrial quantity of condoms and end up being savaged by a posse of groaning 18-year-olds with plastic teeth, few clothes, pneumatic breasts and three brain cells between the lot of them.”
The Daily Mail said: “It’s desperately unfunny, unless you find vomiting, farting, decapitation, women’s breasts and four-letter words the ultimate in hilarity.”
Other reviewers criticised the movie’s lack of wit, laziness and “slapdash” execution.
Only the Sun found something to laugh at, describing it as “brilliantly deadpan”.
