Hello Everyone,
I simply had to post this message, as the news was so important. On Thursday 6th October 2011, the British Board Of Film Classification finally rescinded the "Rejected" rating it imposed on Tom Six's THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II (FINAL SEQUENCE) and awarded it an 18 certificate... with cuts!
Now, the cuts are extensive - around 2 minutes and 37 seconds worth, but at least the film has finally been given legal status in the UK, and cinemas and a DVD/Blu-Ray release can now proceed.
According to the BBFC's site , the cuts were mandatory:
This work was cut. The cut(s) were Compulsory. To obtain this category cuts of 2m 37s were required. Company was required to make 32 individual cuts to scenes of sexual and sexualised violence, sadistic violence and humiliation, and a child presented in an abusive and violent context. In this case, cuts included: a man masturbating with sandpaper around his penis; graphic sight of a man's teeth being removed with a hammer; graphic sight of lips being stapled to naked buttocks; graphic sight of forced defecation into and around other people's mouths; a man with barbed wire wrapped around his penis raping a woman; a newborn baby being killed; graphic sight of injury as staples are torn away from individuals' mouth and buttocks. Cuts required in accordance with BBFC Guidelines, policy and the Video Recordings Act 1984.
Now, whilst I am genuinely anti-censorship, if it's a choice between seeing a cut version or no version at all, a cut version is certainly the lesser of the two evils. It remains to be seen when the film will be shown in cinemas, and more to the point, in which cinemas, as I'm certain some chains will ban it due to its notoriety. (Odeon has famously banned some films from being shown in their chain.)
As for a DVD and Blu-Ray release, well Eureka Entertainment who are the parent company of Bounty Films, the distributor's of HUMAN CENTIPEDE II, have yet to make any official announcement. In the US, the film has been released Unrated, as like the BBFC, there's a high chance that the MPAA would either have banned the film or cut it even more than in the UK. (Just look at the way SRPSKI FILM / A SERBIAN FILM (2010, Srdjan Spasojevic) was treated in the USA.) In Australia, HUMAN CENTIPEDE II has been given an uncut R18+ certificate for theatrical release only, and they had originally released a heavily-cut version of A SERBIAN FILM for home viewing, but that certification was rescinded just 48 hours later, effectively banning the film outright!
We live in very interesting times, and it seems that depending on where you live in the world, will depend on what version of a film you see. Still, I look forward to seeing HUMAN CENTIPEDE II, cut or uncut!
And lastly, here's the US Trailer! Enjoy!
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