Japanese horror Grotesque rejected by BBFC for sadistic content
Story by Jack Foley
JAPANESE horror film Grotesque has been denied an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) because of its sadistic content.
The distributors of the film had been seeking an 18 certificate for a straight to DVD release, but BBFC director David Cooke ruled that Grotesque presented “little more than an unrelenting and escalating scenario of humiliation, brutality and sadism”.
He added that due to its “unacceptable content”, cuts were “not a viable option”.
Grotesque now becomes one of only three titles denied an 18 rating over the past four years due to violent content. The other two were violent sex thriller Murder Set Pieces and Terrorists, Killers And Other Wackos, a film that included real clips of execution and torture.
Two pornographic works seeking the restricted 18 rating have also been rejected in the same period.
Grotesque fell foul of the censors because of its central focus on the sustained sexual assault, humiliation and extreme torture of a male and female victim.
The protagonist inflicts serious injuries on a restrained couple, including amputation and eye-gouging.
“The torture becomes even more extreme, leading to the gory and violent death of both hostages,” the BBFC continued.
“The chief pleasure on offer seems to be in the spectacle of sadism (including sexual sadism) for its own sake,” continued Mr Cooke, while its “minimal narrative or character development” set it apart from such other “torture-themed” works as the Saw and Hostel movie series.
In what has been a busy year for the BBFC, the classification board drew criticism earlier this year for passing Danish horror Antichrist uncut, despite its graphic scenes of sex, violence and self-mutilation.
The makers of Grotesque do have the right of appeal.