Louisiana horror film to go ahead

The film sees a serial killer stalking teenagers

A film depicting murder and mayhem in the Louisiana swamps will be released in the US this week, despite the tragic events wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.

"Venom is a fictional horror film," said a spokeswoman for Dimension Films - a division of Miramax.

"The film's plot is completely unrelated to the disaster in New Orleans," she added.

The film's release was scheduled months ago, ahead of Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein's departure next month.

Under the terms of their contract, films produced by the Weinstein brothers must be released by 30 September, ahead of their break with Disney.

'Sensitivity issue'

Venom focuses on a group of teenager stalked by a serial killer.

A number of films depicting terrorist attacks, or images of the World Trade Center, were pulled or altered after the attacks of 11 September 2001.

Director Ben Stiller was criticised after he digitally erased shots of the twin towers in fashion comedy Zoolander, while Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage was held over until February 2002.

However, Venom - which depicts neither a hurricane or floods - is only due to be released on 800 screens across the US and is unlikely to reach blockbuster status.

"It's a sensitivity issue - it's sort of in the eye of the beholder in terms of how closely someone might associate this movie with the real-life events in the wake of Hurricane Katrina," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"They'll put it out there, people will be able to decide whether it's something they want to see, it'll have its run and that'll be that."