'The Bunny Game' DVD rejected by BBFC for sexual violence

The Bunny Game has been denied a British release on DVD due to its overly sexually violent scenes.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has rejected the movie, which centres around a truck driver who picks up a female prostitute, and goes on to kidnap, torture, humiliate and sexually abuse her for most of the running time.

The Bunny Game is only the second movie this year to be rejected by the BBFC, following Tom Six's The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), which recently had its ban lifted.

The 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 BBFC claims that the film appears to eroticise the violent events, and doesn't give the viewer a clear explanation as to why it is happening in the plot.

BBFC director David Cooke 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 decision means that unless it is resubmitted with edited cuts, it cannot be distributed legally in the UK.

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