THE
BBFC announced today that HATE CRIME, the first release in a new joint VOD
venture between geek blog Nerdly.co.uk and TheHorrorShow.TV- has officially been
banned in the UK. It is one of only four horror movies officially refused
classification by the BBFC since 2009, the others being Grotesque, The
Bunny Game andThe
Human Centipede 2,
later released with nearly 3 minutes of cuts.
Set
to be the first release under the new Nerdly Presents banner, HATE CRIME
tells the story of a Jewish family, having just arrived in a new neighbourhood,
who are recording their youngest son's birthday celebrations on video when
their home is suddenly invaded by a bunch of crystal-meth-crazed neo-Nazi
lunatics.
The film is the second feature from director James Cullen Bressack (To
Jennifer, Blood Lake, 13/13/13), and has already had a
successful release in the US, reviewed favourably by the likes of Bloody Disgusting, MoreHorror and
even the UK's very own Starburst Magazine.
The
full official statement from the BBFC:
"HATE
CRIME focuses on the terrorisation, mutilation, physical and sexual abuse and
murder of the members of a Jewish family by the Neo Nazi thugs who invade their
home. The physical and sexual abuse and violence are accompanied by
constant strong verbal racist abuse. Little context is provided for the
violence beyond an on screen statement at the end of the film that the two
attackers who escaped were subsequently apprehended and that the one surviving
family member was released from captivity. We have considered the attempt at
the end to position the film as against hate-crime, but find it so unconvincing
that it only makes matters worse.
"The
BBFC's Guidelines on violence state that 'Any depiction of sadistic or sexual
violence which is likely to pose a harm risk will be subject to intervention
through classification, cuts or even, as a last resort, refusal to classify. We
may refuse to classify content which makes sexual or sadistic violence look
appealing or acceptable [...] or invites viewer complicity in sexual violence
or other harmful violent activities. We are also unlikely to classify content
which is so demeaning or degrading to human dignity (for example, it consists
of strong abuse, torture or death without any significant mitigating factors)
that it may pose a harm risk.'
"It
is the Board's carefully considered conclusion that the unremitting manner in
which HATE CRIME focuses on physical and sexual abuse, aggravated by racist
invective, means that to issue a classification to this work, even if confined
to adults, would be inconsistent with the Board's Guidelines, would risk
potential harm, and would be unacceptable to broad public opinion."
"Of
course, the Board will always seek to deal with such concerns by means of cuts
or other modifications when this is a feasible option. However, under the
heading of 'Refusal to classify' our Guidelines state that 'As a last resort,
the BBFC may refuse to classify a work, in line with the objective of
preventing non-trivial harm risks to potential viewers and, through their
behaviour, to society. We may do so, for example, where a central concept of
the work is unacceptable, such as a sustained focus on sexual or sadistic
violence. Before refusing classification we will consider whether the problems
could be adequately addressed through intervention such as cuts.' The Board
considered whether its concerns could be dealt with through cuts. However,
given that the fact that unacceptable content runs throughout the work, cuts
are not a viable option in this case and the work is therefore refused a
classification."
Says
director James Cullen Bressack: "I am honoured to know that my mind is
officially too twisted for the UK. So it goes … I find it unbelievable that a
film that shows little to no on screen violence and no nudity was actually
banned. it just shows the power of what is implied and peoples imagination; and
is a testament to the fact that the same crimes that happen in the world are
truly horrifying."
Nerdly.co.uk's Phil Wheat adds: "HATE
CRIME was always going to be a contentious title to submit to the BBFC,
especially given recent racial tensions. But as part of Nerdly Presents' remit
to uncover great underground movies it was worth taking the gamble on James
Cullen Bressack's movie. After all, horror is often about pushing boundaries
and making your audience uncomfortable. HATE CRIME does that by throwing political
correctness out of the window to create a raw, emotive and disturbing film that
is a tour-de-force in reality filmmaking, taking the found-footage genre
to a whole new level - asking questions of both the filmmakers and the
audience. As such it's definitely worth championing."
TheHorrorShow.TV's
Jack Bowyer said: "Although it may surprise some people, TheHorrorShow.TV
supports classification over censorship, as we would hate for any of our
growing number of films to be viewed by an inappropriate audience. We work in
collaboration with the British Board of Film Classification to ensure that our
content is appropriately rated, but sometimes you need to test boundaries to
find out where they are. In the case of HATE CRIME, it appears that the BBFC has
deemed the content inappropriate for people of any age, even adults, and
regrettably we will be unable to bring the film to the UK as part of our very
exciting collaboration with Nerdly."
Review
links:
http://www.starburstmagazine.com/component/content/article/77-vod-review/10397-hate-crime-vod-review
About
Nerdly Presents
Having
spent five years reviewing under-appreciated, mainly straight to DVD fare, Nerdly.co.uk (formerly Blogomatic3000)
owner Phil Wheat decided it was time that some of those films, which hadn't yet
seen the light of day in the UK, deserved a chance at a legitimate release. And
so the idea of Nerdly Presents was born. Tasked with highlighting the types of
films that are ignored by the mainstream, Nerdly Presents (http://www.nerdypresents.co.uk)
is set to be the new home for underground cinema in the UK, releasing films
online in collaboration with TheHorrorShow.TV, before debuting limited edition
physical releases of the most-requested of their catalogue.
About
TheHorrorShow.TV
Video
on demand (VOD) destination http://www.TheHorrorShow.TV is
the UK's new home of horror on demand. Created for horror fans, and curated by
horror fans, the site was launched in June 2013 and currently has over 250
films available to stream or download, including many UK exclusives, with a
growing number available as part of its new subscription service. In addition
to its existing collaboration with many UK and overseas distributors and rights
holders, the VOD site's efforts to bring more diverse, difficult-to-find or
downright obscure films to the UK has led to its collaboration with Nerdly.co.uk on the Nerdly Presents label.
About
James Cullen Bressack
Bursting
upon the indie horror scene at the age of eighteen with his first feature My
Pure Joy, James Cullen Bressack has been called "horror's new hope"
(StudioCity Patch - Mike Szymanski) and "a talent to watch out for."
(H.S.T.- Ben John Smith) as well as garnering rave reviews on almost every
horror web site. Released by Media Blasters on their Fresh Meat Shriek Show
label in 2012, the film quickly rose to the top of the best sellers list on Amazon.com in the horror category. His
second feature, a real shocker, Hate Crime, was a festival favorite and
garnered many awards. Bressack then made history with his next feature, To
Jennifer, which was the first feature film shot entirely on an iPhone 5. The
prolific filmmaker then made Pernicious, filmed in Thailand and due to be
released later this year. His film, 13/13113 followed and his most
recent feature, Blood Lake, which aired on Animal Planet, was a ratings hit.
Censor censorship. Adults can make their own choices without government interference. Sigh.
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