Down with this sort of thing!

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has been stirring controversy for his films since rising to fame in the 1970s, and the auteur is showing no signs of slowing down.

His latest film,' Benedetta' will finally be released in Ireland and the UK on Friday, and the religious-themed drama being released on Easter Weekend has not been lost on people.

Film distributor MUBI are handling the distribution in Ireland and the UK, with the film opening on Friday, and a petition has already gathered over 10,000 signatures calling for the film to be banned.

Organised by Irish Society for Christian Civilization, the petition calls on MUBI to "promote virtue, not vice!" and says the distribution and promotion of the film "offends God and countless Catholics all over the world."

The film was greeted with protesters when it debuted at the New York Film Festival last October and was banned from being released in Singapore.

Our 4-star review of the film noted "For those of a certain vintage, you have to step back and wonder about how surreal it is that a movie like 'Benedetta' is getting screened in Ireland without a single peep from either IFCO or the religious establishment."

The petition dubbed the release of the film on Good Friday as "a shocking attack," and "a film which horribly insults Our Lady and her Son."

The controversy hasn't necessarily translated into box office success, with the film merely a modest hit when it debuted across Europe and America last year.

'Benedetta' tells the story of Benedetta Carlini, a nun who joins a convent in 17th-century Italy and begins an affair with another nun.

An adaptation of Judith C Brown's biography "Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy," the film sees Verhoeven explore one of his favourite topics: religion.

Aside from directing iconic action films such as 'Robocop', 'Starship Troopers', and 'Total Recall', the director is also a scholar of Jesus Christ, and has written books about him.

'Benedetta' is Verhoeven's first film since 2016's Oscar-nominated 'Elle', and opens in Irish cinemas this Friday.