The Video Appeals Committee (VAC) announced today the outcome of the appeal by Blue Underground Limited against the BBFC’s decision to reject the video of The Last House on the Left. The VAC was unanimously of the view that the appeal should be dismissed.
The BBFC had required 16 seconds of cuts to scenes of sexual violence before the video could be given an ‘18’ certificate. Blue Underground Limited refused to make the cuts, and the BBFC therefore rejected the video. The distributor then appealed to the VAC.
The Board argued that the scenes were harmful under the terms of the Video Recordings Act and were in contravention of the Board’s published Guidelines. It also took into account convictions of the work under the Obscene Publications Act.
In upholding the Board’s rejection of The Last House on the Left, the VAC in its Judgment expressed the opinion that the Board’s Guidelines were “a sensible and accurate reflection of public concern especially where violence and sexual violence are concerned and we endorse them. We believe this video work is substantially in conflict with the Guidelines.”
The VAC also agreed with the Board’s contention that there was a danger that parts of the work may be imitated. The Committee found that the “viewer is asked to relish the violence, the violence is relentless and the parts to be cut are at the extreme end of that violence and humiliation”. It found that harm may be caused in the case of a significant number of viewers. The VAC was "firmly of the view that the Board was right in refusing to certify it without cuts."
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