Letters to the Editor
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Research
A little research on this turns up some interesting things...
From a Hollywood Reporter article (emphasis mine)
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003560144
The billboards, first posted March 13, feature four frames with captions above each one. "Abduction" shows Cuthbert with a gloved hand over her face; "Confinement" features the actress behind a chain-link fence with a bloody finger poking through; "Torture" depicts Cuthbert's face, covered in white gauze, with tubes shoved up her nose; and "Termination" shows her with her head thrown back, seemingly dead.
[snip]
He also said that the campaign for bus shelters -- a variation of the second frame in the billboard poster, minus the bloody finger -- had been approved by the MPAA.
The bloody finger. Is that what so many complained about? I doubt it, and yet the MPAA approved the other images. And indeed, if you look at the billboard objectively, are the images really that disturbing? You can see worse than the 'Torture' and 'Termination' images on any TV medical show. Is this really worth penalizing the filmmakers, or is the MPAA just flexing its political muscle?
A synopsis of the plot from http://www.movieweb.com/news/69/18569.php
(This link also shows the original billboard)
In Captivity, a fashion model and a chauffeur are kidnapped and held hostage in a small room by a serial killer. While the madman methodically terrorizes them, the victims draw strength from each other and fall in love.
So there is a man being tortured here as well, though I admit without seeing the film I have no way of knowing if it's to the same extent Cuthbert is. He does appear in the trailer. But in that trailer (at least the one I saw) "I'm sorry!" is not the first thing Cuthbert screams.
None of this is meant to argue that the movie won't be disturbing; it's meant to be. But to imply a fictional horror film will inspire the same violence against women as religious zealotry, or that those who enjoy watching a fictional film about a serial killer are no different than those who enjoy watching an actual video of of a real woman being stoned to death, is absolutely ridiculous.