Remember back a few months ago when Aussie distributors Monster Pictures announced that THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 would be getting an uncut release in the country? Well for a little while there it did, however the film has now been banned. It has been pulled from release and no longer allowed to be seen in the country.
The film got its original rating from the Australian Classification Board, this happened back in May. However NSW Attorney General Greg Smith had requested that the rating be reconsidered. But it would be reconsidered by the Classification Review Board; this request was followed up by an official application. The decision was revealed in a press release, leaving many extremely pissed off.
“In the Review Board’s opinion, The Human Centipede II (full sequence) could not be accommodated within the R 18+ classification as the level of depictions of violence in the film has an impact which is very high.
“In addition, the film must be refused classification because it contains gratuitous, exploitative or offensive depictions of violence with a very high degree of impact and cruelty which has a high impact.”
The film is no stranger to this behaviour; it was banned in the UK off the bat. It got passed after 2 minutes and 37 seconds were cut, this was also the cut the US got to see. The film had just finished a very successful screening tour with star Laurence R. Harvey, who was on hand for Q & A sessions. It seems kind of silly to place this ban after people had seen it, but Australian is known for harsh censorship that I highly disagree with. It seems that the wrong people are making decisions, surely as adult we can make the decision whether we want to see a film or not? It is insulting to everyone that films need to be butchered so an audience can see them. Maybe one day right?
I assume that Monster Pictures will try and get a cut version of the film passed; it had secured a release date for DVD and Blu-ray for February 23rd of next year before the banning. Whatever the case, I wish Monster Pictures all the best and hope the film will be available in some form.
THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE I & II star Ashlynn Yennie
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