Santa Barbara Horror Film Featuring College Killer Sparks Backlash
Thousands have signed a petition against indie horror film “Del Playa,” asserting that the movie, featuring a college killer, too closely resembles the 2014 Isla Vista killings.
“Del Playa,” directed by Shaun Hart and produced by Berger Bros. Entertainment, follows a troubled college student who, after being turned down by girls and bullied by his peers, turns to violence. Just hours after the trailer for the film hit YouTube, protesters started a charge.org petition, demanding that “Del Playa” halt its release. It also proposed that filmmakers could change the name of the film and contribute to a memorial fund for the victims.
On May 24, 2013, Elliot Rodger, son of “Hunger Games” second unit assistant director Peter Rodger, killed six people and wounded 14 others in Isla Vista, near the U.C. Santa Barbara campus. Rodger then killed himself. All six murdered individuals were UCSB students.
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