''The Bunny Game'' is a 2010 American

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

horror film co-created and co-written by Rodleen Getsic (who also stars in the film) and Adam Rehmeier. Set in the desert, the film is about a prostitute who is abducted by a truck driver and subjected to extreme "games" of torture. In the United States, the film had a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

; it was later released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 31, 2012 by Autonomy Pictures. In the United Kingdom the British Board of Film Classification (

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

) deemed the film 'unsuitable for classification' as doing so "would be inconsistent with the Guidelines, would risk potential harm within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, and would accordingly be unacceptable to the public."

Plot

Drug-addicted prostitute "Bunny" propositions a truck driver (who in flashbacks appears to be a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

). He kidnaps her and subjects her to extreme torture, inflicting brutal and extreme forms of physical and sexual abuse.

Cast

* Rodleen Getsic as Bunny * Jeff Renfro as Hog * Gregg Gilmore as Jonas * Drettie Page as Martyr

Production

Filming took place in October 2008 over 13 days. Shot in black and white, production costs totaled $13,000. Rehmeier has stated that the disturbing, visceral experience of watching the film was also related to Getsic’s personal experiences, as she “wanted to use the production as this cathartic process, to really purge some of the traumas she’s had.”

Release

The film entered the 2011

PollyGrind Film Festival The PollyGrind Film Festival, also known as simply Pollygrind and the PollyGrind Underground Film Festival, was an annual event held in Las Vegas, Nevada that specialized "in all things alternative, with a wide variety of films not shown elsewher ...

, in which it won several awards including "Best Cinematography", "Best Editing" and "Best Overall Individual Performance in a Film" (to Rodleen Getsic).

Reception

Critical reception for the film was mixed. '' Bloody Disgusting'' awarded the film a score of 2 / 4 stating, "''The Bunny Game'' is a well shot and expertly edited work, but it's not a film in the conventional sense. It's more of a vicious visceral experience. Because of the style and the wholesale devotion of Getsic and Renfro, ''The Bunny Game'' is captivating, but ultimately not an experience worth having". ''Horror News.net'' gave the film a positive review, praising Rodleen Getsic's performance, and the film's editing. ''The Bunny Game'' is listed at #37 in ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' magazine's 50 Most Disturbing Films of All Time and was banned in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

due to its graphic scenes of sexual and physical abuse. Lead actress Rodleen Getsic has claimed that ''

The Muppet Movie ''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the fil ...

'' influenced the film.

References

External links

* * *
The Bunny Game
at New York Times

Cine-Excess {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunny Game, The 2011 films 2011 horror films American horror films American black-and-white films Films originally rejected by the British Board of Film Classification American serial killer films Films set in deserts 2010s English-language films 2010s American films