One of the most controversial scenes features the main character killing an immigrant family after their son allegedly participated in the rape of an underage girl. The scenes have been described by critics as inciting hatred and violence. After its release in Germany, the film was banned for those under 18, with German magazine Stern questioning whether it should be banned altogether. Meanwhile, entrepreneur Elon Musk released the film for free on the X platform, presenting it as a reaction to what he described as censorship.
Support for the film has also been given by AfD MP Ronald Gläser, who criticized the screening restriction for minors and called it “moral censorship by politically correct elites.” But the controversy deepened after a screening organized by the MP himself in his office in the suburbs of Berlin. According to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, several scenes where the protagonist kills immigrants were greeted with applause from the audience, while during one of the most violent scenes, a cry was heard: “Very nice!”
One of the attendees even joked that “he would like an automatic rifle too,” raising concerns about the glorification of violence and the idea of “justice taken into one’s own hands.” Uwe Boll himself has defended his film, saying he wants to “shock Germans” on the issue of immigration, while also announcing that he is preparing a sequel, “Citizen Vigilante 2.”