Latest Cuts: BBFC and MPA

Murders In The Zoo is a 1933 US crime horror by A. Edward Sutherland
Starring Charles Ruggles, Lionel Atwill and Gail Patrick

BBFC animal cruelty cuts were required for a PG rated video release in 2023.

Summary Notes

A monomaniacal zoologist is pathologically jealous of his beautiful but unfaithful wife Evelyn and will not stop short of murder to keep her.

Versions

cut: run: 62:08s pal: 59:39s		UK: Passed 12 for sexual threat, moderate horror, threat after BBFC cuts: 2023 Eureka Entertainment Ltd video The BBFC commented: The distributor chose to make cuts to a sequence of animal cruelty.
uncut run: 60:00s pal: 57:36s		UK: 3D version passed A (PG) uncut: 1933 cinema release

Snuff Tapes is a 2020 Chile horror by Vito Garcia Viedma
Starring Valentina Soto Albornoz, Camila Carreno Arancibia and Camila Medina

The discovery of explicit footage on old VHS tapes triggers a woman's memory, forcing her to face her demons and seek revenge on the psychopath who raped her.

In their latest board meeting the BBFC discussed the upcoming release of Snuff Tapes:

The Board considered the film's scenes of sexual violence and abuse in relation to the BBFC's strict policy on sexual and sadistic violence and agreed that it should be classified 18 with the ratings info sexual violence, sadistic violence, gore.

The BBFC has also been discussing the boundaries between 15 and 18 rated violence and are going to be surveying public opinions on this during their upcoming guidelines consultation. The BBFC discussed two examples:

A scene from the seasonal horror film Nutcracker Massacre in which a fantastical villain attacks a man in his kitchen, severing his testicles with the eponymous weapon. The film was classified 18 for strong violence and injury detail. The Board considered whether the scene could have been defended at 15 given the comic tone and the lack of realism, but ultimately agreed that the lingering focus on the victim's mutilated genitals meant that the film was appropriately classified at the lower end of 18 rather than the upper end of 15.

A clip from an 18-rated episode of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi series See in which the protagonist played by Jason Momoa uses swords to dispatch a series of enemies. The extended sequence features multiple bloody slashes and throat cuts before Momoa forces a sword down an opponent's gullet. The Board considered arguments for 15 -- including the fantastical context, the mitigation provided by the focus on the Momoa character's combat skills, and the lack of both strongest gore and meaningful sadism -- but again concluded that the level of bloody violence was best classified at a low 18.

The Untold Story is a 1993 Hong Kong crime comedy drama by Danny Lee, Herman Yau
Starring Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Danny Lee and Emily Kwan

The film was unavailable for many years in the UK with the assumption that the BBFC would never pass it. The BBFC offered a cut release in 2005 but the distributor didn't take this up. The video was finally passed 18 uncut in 2023. Uncut and MPAA Unrated in the US. The film was also cut in Hong Kong.

Summary Review: Unpredictable, daring, extreme

This story concerns a serial killer posing as a restaurant proprietor who goes into violent rages and indulges in sadistic acts.

For those of you looking for something to disturb you, seek this out. It's not an atypical story by any means, but the murder scenes are pretty grisly. It's not quite all out gore, but it's pretty disturbing in that you're just not used to this kind of stuff.

One guy gets chopped up into dim sum. In another sequence, a family gets hacked to pieces...you ever notice in Hollywood where murdered children get killed offscreen? Not here. There's also a graphic rape scene involving chopsticks that ain't exactly feminist-friendly.

It's rare you see a horror film provoking anything more than laughter nowadays. This one is all out, gung-ho savagery. What's even weirder is the moments of slapstick that pop-up whenever the cops are in a scene. A strange way to lighten the darker scenes, but, that's Asian cinema for you...unpredictable, daring, extreme and the polar opposite of Western filmmaking.

Versions

uncut run: 95:52s pal: 92:02s		UK: Passed 18 uncut for sexual violence, strong bloody violence, threat, gore: 2023 88 Films video US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for: 2020 Unearthed Records (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon 2020 Unearthed Records R1 DVD at US Amazon #ad
banned	banned	UK: The film was unavailable for many years in the UK with the assumption that the BBFC would never pass it. Thanks to Scott.The BBFC offered a cut release in 2005 but the distributor didn't take this up. The BBFC explained: A work called THE UNTOLD STORY co-directed by Danny Lee and Herman Yau was submitted in 2005 for classification. The film was discussed across the Board, and cuts were requested under the Board's sexual violence policy to a scene of sexual assault. The work was never classified as the distributor - according to our records - did not respond to the request for cuts within the allotted time scale. The work was withdrawn after there was no further response from the distributor to a reminder sent to them.