Last week, I told you all about the on-screen lesbian kiss that was supposed to be in the Malaysian horror film Histeria. It was a big deal because it was to be the first ever, had to be approved by the National Censorship Board, the actresses were kinda grossed out even to do it, and the general consensus among most Malaysians was that it was completely wrong.
Well, it didn’t happen. Apparently, the “kiss” was in the film during press screenings, which is why the general Malaysian public was concerned to begin with. Of course, we’re talking about a very conservative, mostly Muslim country that bleeps out the word “girl” in Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl.” (Because that will totally work. It’s probably much better for young impressionable girls to use their own imaginations. “What’s that she’s kissing, a much older man? A teacher? A coach?”)
Anyway, by the time the film opened for public, the kiss was non-existent, and then, instead of complaining about the fact that an innocent school girl smooch was even going to be shown for a split second, everyone was upset that it wasn’t there.
The New Straits Times (anyone else find that funny?), which originally reported the same-sex kiss, said that “Groans filled one cinema hall in Malaysia when the highly anticipated smooch did not appear in the horror flick.” Groans? Really? What happened to everyone being so angry about this? Perhaps those were just all the lesbians in the audience, eager to finally get some representation on screen (even if it was in a gory slasher flick).
What’s really interesting is all the back and forth going on between the filmmakers and producers. They’re saying the kiss was there, but it was “accidentally” cut in post-production, while others are saying it wasn’t in there at all. Also, the press version is said to be showing in one theater, though it’s not known which one. So, what happened? Did the negative feedback scare the filmmakers from including the kiss they defended so much, was it really an accident or does this reek of an elaborate publicity stunt?
