Lianna Makuch turned on her laptop Monday morning and started skimming through her Facebook news feed. But the scrolling abruptly came to an end after she saw an image posted for an international film festival coming to Edmonton in the fall.

"It was of this image of two women in bras, chained up, looking terrified," Makuch said.

It was an advertisement for the upcoming Festival of Fear horror movie showcase.

"For me, it was problematic because it fetishizes violence against women and fantasizes sexual violence and perpetuates rape culture," Makuch said. "So I sent a message to the organizers of the festival over Facebook."

She wasn't alone.

Many others left messages, offended with the choice of picture used to market the festival, which is scheduled to run Oct.13 and 14.

On the festival's Facebook page, festival founder Barry Gillis responded to several people who were offended by the picture, saying the image would not be taken down.

Gillis told CBC News via Facebook message: "Our culture is becoming so sick that everything is offensive. The thought police are everywhere, and it is becoming ridiculous."

The Festival of Fear picture used on their Facebook page.

'Go get yourself a crying towel'

Makuch said the reply she got from Gillis said: "Go get yourself a crying towel ... there is nothing wrong with how we are promoting the film festival. The photo is from a horror movie."

Those comments solicited even more outrage, with some people saying Gillis's reaction to the criticism was unprofessional.

"There's a part of me that is surprised and then there's a huge part of me that's not surprised that someone could be so deliberately dismissive," said Makuch, who shared the film festival's image with her friends on Facebook and found many others who she said they were offended.

'It's just a movie'

Makuch and others complained to Landmark Cinemas, the venue operator for the festival. And it appears that pressure worked.

"We have contacted the organizers of the event and demanded they remove this marketing material as it was not approved nor is it reflective of our company values," said Drew Campbell, Landmark's manager of guest services Tuesday. "Should this not happen we will be forced to cancel their rental agreement."

Gillis and his fellow organizers eventually submitted.

"Due to a request from Landmark Cinemas, we have pulled the photo from the Facebook page, and will not continue to use the photo in any of our campaigns," Gillis said Tuesday afternoon.