Asthram

A person is shot and another’s throat is cut. A child strikes their sibling on the head with a heavy object, resulting in strong bloody detail. Animated flashbacks to feudal Japan show men being compelled to kill themselves with swords, creating slow-motion blood spurts. In another scene we hear prolonged screaming as a person is burned to death off-screen. Moderate fight scenes feature stylised crunchy blows and breaking of bones.

An ominous tone runs throughout the film, punctuated by moderate sequences of aggressive behaviour and threat involving knives and guns.

There is infrequent use of strong language (‘f**k’). Milder terms include ‘pissed’, ‘bloody’, ‘bastard’, ‘shit’, ‘screwed’, ‘damn’, ‘Jesus’ and ‘God’.

Scenes show people dying by what appears to be suicide, often in front of distressed loved ones; however, it is later revealed that the victims were made to do so against their will. Verbal references to suicide run throughout.

There is strong bloody detail in the context of violence and apparent suicide. References to the 1978 Jonestown massacre are accompanied by grainy photographs of seemingly real dead bodies strewn on the ground, without visible injury detail.

There are scenes of emotional distress and bereavement. Potentially upsetting references to infant death, fertility struggles and complications during pregnancy include a flashback depicting a man weeping over a grave containing a small figure wrapped in cloth, implied to be his stillborn baby.

This work contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.