‘Antichrist’, the controversial 2009 movie by Lars Von Trier, has been banned in France.

A French court has passed down the ruling that the movie, which was previously given a '16’ rating, should be reclassified following pressure on the classification board from Promouvoir, a Catholic traditionalist group.

It said that the previous classification was 'a mistake’, and that it should only be seen by over-18s.

Until a new classification is made, it will be banned from cinemas, TV and DVD.

It’s not the first time that the film has angered religious groups.

Soon after its star Charlotte Gainsbourg won the best actress award for her performance at the Cannes Film Festival, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, an award presented by Christian filmmakers and critics at the esteemed event, gave it an 'anti-award’.

It was declared by the jury to be 'the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world’.

The festival director at the time Thierry Frémaux called the decision 'ridiculous’ and 'bordering on a call for censorship’.

The movie, which is packed with religious references and imagery, follows an unnamed couple, Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe, who flee to their secluded cabin following the death of their toddler Nick, who falls from a bedroom window to his death while the couple are making love.

On its release, which scandalised Cannes with its images of explicit sex and female genital mutilation, The Guardian pondered whether it was ‘a work of genius or the sickest film in the history of cinema?’

Promouvoir has previously also set its sights on films including Von Trier’s 'Nymphomaniac’ and 'Fifty Shades of Grey’, and succeeded in having 'Blue Is The Warmest’s Colour’s 12 rating revoked last year.

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Image credits: Artificial Eye