For the second time in less than one year, the British Board of Film Classification has rejected a horror movie. To be honest, the last time they only cut shamelessly A Serbian Film, but now with The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence the decision is definitely drastic and clear:
“Whereas in the first film the ‘centipede’ idea is presented as a revolting medical experiment, with the focus on whether the victims will be able to escape, this sequel presents the ‘centipede’ idea as the object of the protagonist’s depraved sexual fantasy […] There is a strong focus throughout on the link between sexual arousal and sexual violence and a clear association between pain, perversity and sexual pleasure. It is the Board’s conclusion that the explicit presentation of the central character’s obsessive sexually violent fantasies is in breach of its Classification Guidelines and poses a real, as opposed to a fanciful, risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers… […] “
The job of this group of people is to be concerned about the harm that a horror movie can cause to the viewers, and to defend the delicate minds of cinamagoers; but they should be more concerned about the freedom of art, of expression and let the fans and the public judge for themselves. It is unacceptable that an entire nation is forbidden to watch a horror movie in a theatre as if it was 1984 all over again, when the Video Nasties filled up the list of movies banned in the UK. Fortunately nowadays there are other ways to catch a film that is not released in cinemas, but nonetheless banning a horror movie surely cracks the feigned façade of the modern, contemporary and free UK.
On the Empire Online website, the director of the movie, Tom Six, has declared the following statement:
““Thank you BBFC for putting spoilers of my movie on your website and thank you for banning my film in this exceptional way. Apparently I made an horrific horror-film, but shouldn’t a good horror film be horrific? My dear people it is a f****cking MOVIE. It is all fictional. Not real. It is all make-belief. It is art. Give people their own choice to watch it or not. If people can’t handle or like my movies they just don’t watch them. If people like my movies they have to be able to see it any time, anywhere also in the UK.”
Enough said.
