SAO PAULO, Brazil — As the flap continues here over the B-grade horror film, Turistas, Agentes, an even more controversial movie, is about to be released into distribution sometime next month and is expected to set a new level of anxiety among the world’s travelers.

 

Turistas has plenty of blood and guts — and plenty of T and A too — but Agentes proves to be much more frightening as this true-to-life horror flick documents the escapades of those who the hospitality industry euphemistically refer to as "customer service agents."

 

The movie stars Madison Gratten as Jennifer, a mean-spirited hotel clerk and Sean Whitkeson as Brian, Jennifer's roommate and an even more devilish airline gate agent. At every turn, the film graphically illustrates how this couple of low-paid low-lives can ruin property, careers, families and even send otherwise composed travelers into psychotherapy.

 

For instance, in one rather disturbing scene, Brian assigns a seat to an elderly woman who he feels has "dissed" him by asking him to give her a seat assignment while he was chatting with other agents behind the counter. Brian obliges but then seats the woman between a mother carrying an infant on her lap and a loser with terminal body odor. Then he sends the woman's checked luggage to Istanbul.

 

In another scene Jennifer is seen putting a hotel guest in a room across the hall from an ice machine and next to a room booked by a fraternity in town for a college football game.

 

Samuel Riutell, executive producer of the film, told Err Travel that the movie cost just over $22 million to produce and that he expects to gross over $435 million worldwide. "That," said Riutell, "is a tremendous payback especially since no airline is likely to purchase it for on-board viewing nor is any hotel likely to offer it among their in-house movie selections."

 

Agentes runs 92 minutes and is rated NP.