"Deliver Us" To Be Released Unrated

The upcoming documentary "Deliver Us From Evil" will be released without a rating, after its trailer -- which makes reference to specific acts of child molestation by a priest and shows that priest watching children on a playground -- was given a "redband," or restricted, rating by the Motion Picture Association of America.

"Deliver Us" examines the child-molestation scandal that scarred the Catholic Church, and hones in particularly on the story of Father Oliver O'Grady, the northern California priest who has admitted (and does so on camera in the film) that he sexually abused numerous children over the course of 30 years. In the trailer, O'Grady talks about feeling "aroused" by the sight of children naked and in their underwear, and specifically mentions one incident with a victim.

The MPAA told Lionsgate, the film's distributor, that "the content is adult in nature, with overt comments about child molestation throughout," according to the Hollywood Reporter. And with its red-band rating, the organization, in effect if not by edict, excluded the trailer from playing in most theaters, which usually won't screen trailers with the tag.

Thus, Lionsgate has decided to release the film on October 13 without a rating. Says Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, "We're not looking to pick a fight with anybody...We owe it to our filmmaker, Amy Berg, and to the film to do whatever we can to get this movie seen."