The BBFC on Antichrist: The Modern Video Nasty

If the film wasn’t shocking enough, what the BBFC said about Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist could have been even more shocking. however not for the same reasons. I saw Antichrist recently and it is the most shocking films I have ever seen (however I enjoyed it a hell of a lot) but something hit me. I was wondering why the BBFC hadn’t cut any of the ultra graphic scenes, for example the real sex scene or the self female genital mutilation. What is this? If something this disturbing has been approved for just an 18 certificate without any of it being cut then why did they single out Video Nasties in the late 70s.

Have they just given up with arguing with controversial directors? It took Last House on the Left about twenty years for it to get a release but a film this graphic can be shown. Even if the sauce of all this is from The Sun (probably the worst tabloid out there) it has a detailed what the BBFC said about the film and why it wasn’t banned. I believe that the film Antichrist is a modern Video Nasty but even though it’s as shocking as it’s basterd grandparents, it was let fly uncut. Amazing…

“BBFC director David Cooke said: (about Antichrist) “The film does not contain material which breaches the law or poses a significant harm risk to adults. The sexual imagery, while strong, is relatively brief, and since 1990 the Board has passed a number of works containing such images. “This reflects the principle, strongly endorsed in a number of public consultations, that adults should be free to decide for themselves what to watch or what not to watch, provided it is neither illegal nor harmful.” The sex in Antichrist is certainly too unpleasant to gratify most normal people. But the popularity of “torture porn” films such as Hostel and Saw suggests the BBFC are wrong. Even Von Trier admits that Antichrist — out here on July 24 — might be porn and that his “perversions” are reflected in the film. The Sneak is against banning films, but the BBFC has definitely become more liberal over the past couple of decades. Films that would have been rated 18 in the past are now 15 or 12A.”

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