THE BUNNY GAME: Sadly Not Out Soon

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Directed by:
Written by: ,
Starring: ,

Film: The Bunny Game

Director: Adam Rehmeier

Writer:Adam Rehmeier, Rodleen Getsic

 
Starring: Rodleeen Getsic, Jeff Renfo
 
Runtime: 76 min
 
Rating: 18 The Hughes Verdict on the film that is banned outright in the UK!

 

Torture-Porn” is the phase of horror that many viewers now sigh at with despair and anguish. Its a term that has served the horror genre well over the last few years with such films like Hostel and Sawgaining a massive fan base that has resulted in sequel after sequel, but also spawning many imitations that have stank the place out and left a rotting smell to many fans who want more than just see limbs being hacked off at every given moment.It also seems that every new year comes a film that is determined to outdo the last one for big shocks. Two years ago we had A Serbian Film to mull over, a film that was banned for a while and then released with a few cuts because lets face it, who really wants to see “newborn-porn” close up on screen. Not wanting to be outdone, last year we had the sequel of The Human Centipede to debate over. A fiasco in itself because after months of being banned and vowed never to be shown in the UK, now you can see it all its uncut glory which makes a mockery of all the publicity that engulfed the movie.

I have seen both films and while I was not fussed on the HC2, simply because I saw it more of a comical tone than a downright horror, I did enjoy A Serbian Film because I thought it was wonderfully dark that tipped the horror balance into a rather twisted direction. Yes that infamous notorious scene is still a moment that I do not wish to remember while I type this review, but I feel the film is overshadowed by “that” moment because how can horror fans not like scenes of a naked man, killing a bad guy with a use of an erection. A Serbian film was so tongue in cheek that I “got it!” even though I can fully understand why many would hate the film.

Am I sick to say I enjoyed it? Maybe watching too much horror has left a mark on the brain. The genre is like a drug and I am an addict looking for the next big fix and waiting for a film to take me to a place that I have not been for a while. As we get older its get hard to get scared and feel any emotion while watching a horror film. Those who say they were scared of films like The Woman In Black and Insidious makes me shake my head either in frustration or jealousy that I can no longer feel like a child again, Who do I blame for this cold stone heart? Well being the age of thirty five and having watched Halloween way back when I was five, maybe I am just too immune to being scared again.

That is why I look for horror films now that take me to edge and leave me feeling emotionally drained. One’s that I simply can not shake out of my system days on end. Being scared and disturbed are two different things and maybe I am the addict in the street, looking for the dealer to get that fix and A Serbian Film and HC 2 were the two films that teased me with their promise of taking me to a higher place, somewhere I just did not want to go, but the hype was way overboard for two films that left me cold and disappointed. But the way the horror genre is at the moment, it was only a matter of time before 2012 saw a film to carry on the recent tradition of being banned and the papers all full of the usual “Do not watch this filth”….all I had to do is wait….and wait some more…….

 
 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has rejected the sexually violent DVD The Bunny Game. The film follows a female prostitute who hitches a lift with a truck driver. The truck driver kidnaps the woman, restrains and forcibly strips her, and proceeds to physically and sexually abuse and humiliate her. The abuse of the kidnapped woman takes up the greater part of the film.

The Board’s Guidelines state “A strict policy on sexual violence and rape is applied. Content which might eroticise or endorse sexual violence may require cuts at any classification level. This is more likely with video works than film because of the potential for replaying scenes out of context. Any association of sex with non-consensual restraint, pain or humiliation may be cut”. The principal focus of The Bunny Game is the unremitting sexual and physical abuse of a helpless woman, as well as the sadistic and sexual pleasure the man derives from this. The emphasis on the woman’s nudity tends to eroticise what is shown, while aspects of the work such as the lack of explanation of the events depicted, and the stylistic treatment, may encourage some viewers to enjoy and share in the man’s callousness and the pleasure he takes in the woman’s pain and humiliation.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: “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.”

The Board considered whether its concerns could be dealt with through cuts. However, the pervasiveness of the abuse makes it very difficult to deal with The Bunny Game by means of cuts. If the company would like to attempt to cut this work in order to submit it in a reduced form, they are entitled to do so, but the Board can offer no assurances that such re-editing would be successful.

That is a brief snippet from the BBFC on the reason why they have banned The Bunny Game, a film that has been winning rave reviews and yet once again we in Britain have not got the right to see because its banned and by the looks of it……there is no chance of it ever seeing the light of day. Having watched the very film tonight, I can only share with you my feelings before I say were they right to ban the film, but before that….let me tell you what its about!

The film starts with life in the day of a hooker (co-writer Rodleeen Getsic) and its not a pretty picture by any means. Even before the main thrust of the the movie we are already subjected to a horrible world which is pure frightening because its actually a real one for some poor souls out there. From drugs to forceful sex, for this sad hooker, life is one big mess and we the viewer see everything she goes through. The Bunny Game is not a movie to shy away from, in fact its quite rightly one of the most horrific moments of someone’s life you ever get to see,

After picking up one punter who leaves her with nothing, in despair she ends up taking a lift with a truck driver who seems friendly at first. Somehow in this remarkable film you can sense the the dread getting deeper and stronger and soon thanks to help of a dirty cloth to her mouth, the poor hooker is drugged and placed on the back seat. The crazed driver (Jeff Renfo) drives to the desert and when the hooker wakes, she finds herself chained in the back of his truck.

What follows is………..well…………two words……..fuck me!

If I told you that the film is based on a real life experience of the actress Getsic then maybe you can understand how twisted and fucked up this movie is. Now I rarely swear in my reviews but its the emotion that is running through my veins as I attempt to get my head together to write this for the site. What I can not get out of my head is a review I read a few months ago about this film that called this a real “snuff” movie!. Its a term that I was determined not to use when I ended up writing mine but it is such a brilliant phase that its the only way you can describe the film after you have watched. Yes its torture-porn but its torture-porn happening for real right in front of your eyes. Getsic gets beaten and really put through things that you do not wish to see and the fact that its not fake and its happening right there made me visit a place in horror that I may have longed for but have no wish to return. It really is a brutal blast to your senses and for some of you, well it may just be too much to take.

I have never seen an actress put through such an ordeal by her own freewill, I mean there is a scene where she actually gets branded by an iron, now guys this is not a fake effect scene, I mean this happens and its…..well stomach turning. I have no shame in saying that I actually had to compose myself many times while watching and anyone reading this who thought Martyrs was bad, then times that film by 1000 and you know what to expect. You the viewer actually feel the suffering and its simply hard to shake and on a few occasions I felt dirty and ashamed that I was watching these women suffer this quite horrific ordeal.

The lack of blood is also a strong factor and a major selling point within the film. The Trucker whose name we come to know of has Hog, does not share the same blood thirst with the likes of Jigsaw but his form of punishment is even worse. I mean why cut flesh when you can torture the brain. In fact The Bunny Game is more of a show in how a human being can mentally “torture” another human being and its not a pretty sight.

But and this is a shocker. While the likes of Serbian and Centipede just shocked for fun and in some ways was made so they could see what they could get away with, The Bunny Game is a different beast of a movie. This is not just some horror for the sake of shock and I would be dismayed by those who see otherwise. The direction itself by Adam Rehmeier is first class and stunning at times and really mocks the fact that this is his debut picture. There are some gorgeous imagery on show which is helped by the black and white setting, and the music itself fits the mood perfectly. You be hard pressed to see another horror film this year that is brilliantly filmed and scored like this.

Its also a proper horror film. Forget the mindless sequels and the dreaded re-makes, this movie shows that there are still people out there willing to do something different and really push the boundaries to give normal people the taste of nightmares. There will be those who disagree which is the norm of these films. Some may call it “empty” and “pointless”, I mean why sit and watch women get beaten and spat at for 78 minutes, but they are missing the point. There is a world out there where dark and evil thrives and now and again to get a taste of such a vile experience may make you appreciate the things around you.

Again I can only weep at the banning in the UK! Is it a film fitted to be banned? Well I have seen worst films in terms of horrifc imagery and once again you get a longing for somethng more because it does not quite tip the scale of downright sick, but its also a film that even now I can not shake out of my system. Its an emotional savage film that derserves to be seen by those hardcore fans out there even though I can understand fully why the BBFC are wary on young minds seeing this film.

The Bunny Game is an adult horror made by adults for adults. Its a remarkable film that will leave you shaking for days afterwards and when I compared myself to somekind of Drug addict whose looking for his next big fix in horror…after watching this film I am going cold turkey for a while because at the moment I feel drained at the experience but I can not end the review by not mentioning Getsic again…..

If there is justice in the horror world, then Getsic’s role needs to be seen to be apprecaited. Hats off to what is one the greatest in any horror film…..and I now wait with eager and excitement at director’s Rehmeier next film “Jonas” which is said to be a loose sequel to this very film!

 
Like a Serbian Film I will not rate this movie, its a film that needs to be judged by the individual, but what I will say that this is one of the best draining horrors to come out for a very long time and one that I doubt will find much love for those brought up on the likes of Final Destination and the endless teen horror’s.
 
This is proper horror and one that you simply won’t forget in a hurry!
 
                                                   
 
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About Ross Hughes 535 Articles
Since my mother sat me down at the age of five years of age and watched a little called Halloween, I have been hooked on horror. There is no other genre that gets me excited and takes me to the edge of entertainment. I watch everything from old, new, to cheap and blockbusters, but I promise all my readers that I will always give an honest opinion, and I hope whoever reads this review section, will find a film that they too can love as much as I do! Have fun reading, and please DO HAVE NIGHTMARES!!!!!!

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