The Bunny Game is a 2010 American avant-garde horror film co-created and co-written by Rodleen Getsic (who also stars in the film) and Adam Rehmeier. [1] A prostitute searching for her next fix is kidnapped by a truck driver and subjected to extreme physical and sexual violence.
In the United States, the film was shot on a low-budget and had a limited theatrical release; it was later released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 31, 2012 by Autonomy Pictures. [2] [3]
In the United Kingdom the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) deemed the film 'unsuitable for classification' as doing so "would be inconsistent with the Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and would accordingly be unacceptable to the public." [4]
This article needs an improved plot summary.(February 2020) |
Drug-addicted prostitute "Bunny" propositions a truck driver (who in flashbacks appears to be a serial killer). He kidnaps her and subjects her to extreme torture, [5] inflicting brutal and extreme forms of physical and sexual abuse. [6]
A prostitute (who the credits refer to as "Bunny" Is shown performing fellatio on an unseen man, collecting her money, and using it to fuel her cocaine addiction. For the next several minutes, shots are alternated of her performing sexual acts on her clients, using the money to buy cocaine, and walking around searching for her next client.
Bunny meets a truck driver (who the credits refer to as "Hog") who asks her if she has an addiction, to which she replies that she does. He rejects her offer of a blowjob for thirty dollars, and instead drugs and kidnaps her. Later, Hog attempts to rouse Bunny from her drug-induced sleep, while rubbing her breasts, cutting her clothes of, running knives along her skin, licking her, and performing other physical and sexual acts. she eventually wakes up, terrified and handcuffed.
For the next several days, Hog subjects her to a series of physical, sexual, and mental torments. In no particular order, he forcefully kisses her, brands her with the shape of a caduceus, shaves her head, forces her to watch tapes of her tortures, drags her on a leash through the desert, and, in the titular "Bunny Game" chases her in the mask of a bunny, while wearing himself the mask of a hog.
Eventually, the back door of the truck is left open, and Bunny escapes. She runs through the desert naked, crying and laughing. However, Hog catches her and places her on a crucifix. He tells her that she is going to draw straws. If she draws the long one, she wins the game. If she draws the short one, he wins. she draws what appears to be the long one (we never see the full length of the other). She is then shown being carried over Hog's back. She is then loaded, unconscious or dead, into the back of a windowless van by a figure in white, leaving her fate unknown.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015) |
Filming took place in October 2008 over 13 days. Shot in black and white, production costs totaled $13,000. Rehmeier has stated that the disturbing, visceral experience of watching the film was also related to Getsic’s personal experiences, as she “wanted to use the production as this cathartic process, to really purge some of the traumas she’s had.” [6] [7]
The film entered the 2011 PollyGrind Film Festival, [8] in which it won several awards including "Best Cinematography", "Best Editing" and "Best Overall Individual Performance in a Film" (to Rodleen Getsic). [9]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2015) |
Critical reception for the film was mixed. Bloody Disgusting awarded the film a score of 2 out of 4 stating, "The Bunny Game is a well shot and expertly edited work, but it's not a film in the conventional sense. It's more of a vicious visceral experience. Because of the style and the wholesale devotion of Getsic and Renfro, The Bunny Game is captivating, but ultimately not an experience worth having". [10] Horror News.net gave the film a positive review, praising Rodleen Getsic's performance, and the film's editing. [11]
The Bunny Game is listed at #37 in Complex magazine's 50 Most Disturbing Films of All Time and was banned in the United Kingdom by the British Board of Film Classification due to its graphic scenes of sexual and physical abuse. [12] [13] Lead actress Rodleen Getsic has claimed that The Muppet Movie influenced the film. [5]
Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent and bizarre to dramatic and family-friendly movies. He is a controversial figure in the contemporary Japanese cinema industry, with several of his films being criticised for their extreme graphic violence. Some of his best known films are Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, the Dead or Alive trilogy and various remakes: Graveyard of Honor, Hara-kiri and 13 Assassins. He has directed over 100 movies and also plays as an actor in 20+ more.
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), which had been instrumental in the certification of motion pictures since 1912, was designated as the classifying authority in 1985. Works are classified by the BBFC under an age-rated system ; it is an offence under the Act to supply video works to individuals who are under the age of the classification designated. Works that are refused classification cannot, under the Act, be legally sold or supplied to anyone of any age unless it is educational, or to do with a sport, religion or music and does not depict violence, sex or incite a criminal offence. The BBFC may also require cuts to be made, either to receive a certain age rating, or to be allowed a classification at all.
This article chronicles the history of British film certificates.
The Last House on the Left is a 1972 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven in his directorial debut, and produced by Sean S. Cunningham. The film stars Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, and Marc Sheffler. Additionally, Martin Kove appears in a supporting role. The plot follows Mari Collingwood (Peabody), a teenager who is abducted, raped, and tortured by a family of violent fugitives led by Krug Stillo (Hess) on her seventeenth birthday. When her parents discover what happened to her, they seek vengeance against the family, who have taken shelter at their home.
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics to have higher aspirations, such as social commentary, than to be simply exploitative for its own sake.
R18 is a film or video classification given by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It is intended to provide a classification for works that do not breach UK law, but exceed what the BBFC considers acceptable in the 18 category. In practice, this means hardcore pornography.
The 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), to state that in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game is suitable only for persons aged 18 years and over. It recommends that no one below that age should be admitted to view a film with an 18 certificate in a cinema, and that 18-rated video recordings should not be sold or rented to anyone below that age.
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) is the organisation responsible for films, television programmes, and some video game classification and censorship within Ireland. Where restrictions are placed by the IFCO, they are legally binding.
The House on the Edge of the Park is a 1980 English-language Italian exploitation horror film written by Gianfranco Clerici and Vincenzo Mannino, and directed by Ruggero Deodato. It stars David A. Hess and Giovanni Lombardo Radice as two criminals who infiltrate a posh gathering in a villa and violently turn against the partygoers after they mock them. The film is a loose remake of The Last House on the Left (1972), in which Hess also starred.
Extreme cinema is a subgenre used for films distinguished by its use of excessive sex and violence, and depiction of extreme acts such as mutilation and torture. It recently specializes in genre film, mostly both horror and drama.
Aftermath is a 1994 Spanish horror short film written and directed by Nacho Cerdà. It stars Pep Tosar, Jordi Tarrida, Ángel Tarris, and Xevi Collellmir. The film contains no spoken dialogue, and follows an unnamed morgue worker, played by Tosar, as he mutilates and has sex with the dead body of a woman named Marta. It is the middle installment in a thematic trilogy of short films by Cerdà, being preceded by The Awakening in 1991 and proceeded by Genesis in 1998.
Martyrs is a 2008 psychological horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier, and starring Mylène Jampanoï, Morjana Alaoui, and Catherine Bégin. It follows a young woman's quest to seek revenge against individuals who abducted and tortured her as a child, and her friend, also a victim of abuse.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), previously the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works released on physical media within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify all video works released on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The BBFC was also the designated regulator for the UK age-verification scheme, which was abandoned before being implemented.
Home Movie is a 2008 found footage psychological horror film and is the directorial debut of actor Christopher Denham.
Grotesque is a 2009 Japanese exploitation horror film written and directed by Kōji Shiraishi.
A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian exploitation horror film produced and directed by Srđan Spasojević in his feature directorial debut, with Aleksandar Radivojević co-writing. It tells the experience of a financially struggling pornstar who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with pedophilic and necrophilic themes. The film stars Serbian actors Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović, and Jelena Gavrilović.
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) is a 2011 psychological body horror film written, directed, and co-produced by Tom Six. An international co-production of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the sequel to Six's 2009 film The Human Centipede (First Sequence), the film stars Laurence R. Harvey as a psychiatrically and intellectually impaired English man who watches and becomes obsessed with the first Human Centipede film, and decides to make his own "centipede" consisting of 12 people, including Ashlynn Yennie, an actress from the first film.
The PollyGrind Film Festival, also known as simply Pollygrind and the PollyGrind Underground Film Festival, was an annual event held in Las Vegas, Nevada that specialized "in all things alternative, with a wide variety of films not shown elsewhere." Spotlighting short films, feature-length films, music videos and trailers of all genres, PollyGrind was founded by filmmaker and promoter Chad Clinton Freeman. The event prided itself on focusing on individuality, diversity, creativity and empowerment. Vegas Seven has said PollyGrind is a "celebration of all things, dark, bloody, underground and arthouse."
Film censorship in the United Kingdom began with early cinema exhibition becoming subject to the Disorderly Houses Act 1751. The Cinematograph Act 1909 was primarily concerned with introducing annual licensing of premises where films were shown, particularly because of the fire risk of nitrate film. After the Act began to be used by local authorities to control what was shown, the film industry responded by establishing a British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) in 1912, funded by an Incorporated Association of Kinematograph Manufacturers levy.
Hate Crime is a 2013 American found footage horror film directed by James Cullen Bressack, co-written by Bressack and Jarret Cohen.