Louisiana Horror Film Goes Ahead

VENOM's release was scheduled months ago, ahead of Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein's departure next month and the studio's break with Disney.

Jim Gillespie's movie, which depicts murder and mayhem in the Louisiana swamps, revolving around a serial killer stalking teenagers will be released in the US this week, despite the tragic events wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.

"VENOMis 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 movie starring Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D.J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer, Meagan Good, Bijou Phillips, Method Man, Pawel Szajda, Davetta Sherwood, Stacey Travis, Marcus Lyle Brown, James Pickens Jr., Deborah Duke - which tells nothing about a hurricane or floods - is only due to be released on 800 screens across the US.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, "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. 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."