The cut M rated version was passed uncut in March 2008 but only after a
successful appeal to the Video Appeals Committee:
The BBFC issued the following
press release:
The Video Appeals Committee announced that the
result of their reconsideration of the Manhunt 2 appeal remains that the
appeal against the rejection of the work by the BBFC is upheld.
The Board’s decision to refuse a certificate to Manhunt 2 was successfully
challenged on appeal to the Video Appeals Committee. The Board challenged
the VAC’s decision by way of Judicial Review before the High Court, which
quashed the decision on grounds of errors of law. The VAC has now
reconsidered the appeal in the light of the High Court’s directions on the
law but has decided, again by a majority of four to three, to allow the
appeal on the basis that Manhunt 2 should be given an ‘18’ certificate.
In the light of legal advice the Board does not believe the VAC’s
judgement provides a realistic basis for a further challenge to its
decision and has accordingly issued an ‘18’ certificate.
David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: As I have said previously, we
never take rejection decisions lightly, and they always involve a complex
balance of considerations. We twice rejected Manhunt 2, and then pursued a
judicial review challenge, because we considered, after exceptionally
thorough examination, that it posed a real potential harm risk. However,
the Video Appeals Committee has again exercised its independent scrutiny.
It is now clear, in the light of this decision, and our legal advice, that
we have no alternative but to issue an ‘18’ certificate to the game.
The BBFC also provided a statement about the 18 certificate:
MANHUNT 2 is a violent action game based on a
psychological-horror theme. The player takes on the role of Daniel Lamb, a
seemingly disturbed patient in a mental facility, who escapes from the
institution in an effort to discover who he really is. As he progresses
through various environments collecting clues and information about his
identity, he is confronted by numerous thugs employed by "The Project"; a
secretive experimental organisation, whom he must either evade or kill in
order to ensure his own survival.
MANHUNT 2 has been classified '18' for very strong bloody and sadistic
violence, which takes the form of stealth executions. In order to
successfully despatch a target, the player-character must creep up behind
the victim quietly and kill before he is discovered. The killings are
achieved through a number of common items such as syringes, glass shards,
pens, crowbars, spades, power-saws, clubs, baseball bats, axes, pliers
and, later on in the game, firearms. Each killing is graphically portrayed
as a brief video scene where weapons are seen to impact on various parts
of the victim's body coupled to realistic sound effects and blood spurts.
The cumulative effect of these killings creates a very strong impression
of almost continuous violence and horror which is too strong to be
contained at any category below '18'. The game is entirely unsuitable for
anyone below this age.
