4. The Bunny Game (2010)
"It is the Board's carefully considered view that to issue a certificate to this work, even if confined to adults, would be inconsistent with the Board's Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and would accordingly be unacceptable to the public". Also sprach the BBFC. The Bunny Game is a very dark movie. A prostitute hitches a lift with a trucker only to end up as the target of sustained abuse, torture and rape. And that's about it. The BBFC has taken great exception to this movie - viewing it as a Grotesque type torture porn film. It was rejected outright by the BBFC on the grounds that the film sexualised violence through the unremitting sadistic treatment of the prostitute and her captor's obvious gratification by this. The high degree of nudity in the film amplified the BBFC's worry about the sexualisation of violence, and there were fears that the captor's callousness towards the victim may spread to the viewer. The film was judged unfit to be cut due to the pervasive nature of its atrocities. The BBFC stated that they would be open to viewing the film again in a cut version but offered no guarantees that it would pass. I don't think the UK has been denied a towering work of artistic merit in the banning of The Bunny Game but it is still interesting to see what passes for a banned film these days. Available uncut on Region 1 DVD for the perverts amongst us.
