Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International’s Spanish arm has had to postpone its nationwide release in Spain of the horror film Saw VI due to the film being given an X rating for extreme violence by the Spanish government’s film institute, the ICAA.

This is the first time a non-pornographic Spanish film has been given this rating and it means the film can only be released in eight Spanish cinemas normally dedicated to pornography.

WDSMPI had planned to release Kevin Greutert’s horror on 300 copies in commercial Spanish cinemas nationwide today, but has instead been forced to appeal the decision made by the ICAA and postpone the film’s release.

All five of the previous Saw films had been given an 18 certificate in Spain and enjoyed success at the local box office (each taking more than $6m), but the ICAA ruled that the sixth installment was too violent and therefore warranted the X rating.

“A final decision will be signed on Monday,” Ignasi Guardans, director general of the ICAA told ScreenDaily. “[But] there has been no addition of new elements to be considered regarding the original decision.”

The only other film to have experienced a similar situation in Spain was the French thriller Baise Moi in 2001, which was also given an X rating due to explicit scenes of sex and violence. The film’s distributors, Alta Film, appealed the decision and two months later were successful as the film was given an 18 rating and so could be shown in regular cinemas.

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