| The Bunny Game | |
| Director: | Adam Rehmeier |
| Starring: | Rodleen Getsic |
| Cinematography: | Adam Rehmeier |
| Editing: | Adam Rehmeier |
| Distributor: | Death Mountain Productions |
| Runtime: | 76 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $13,000 |
The Bunny Game is a 2010 American avant-garde horror film co-created and co-written by Rodleen Getsic (who also stars in the film) and Adam Rehmeier.[1] A prostitute searching for her next fix is kidnappedby a truck driver and subjected to extreme physical and sexual violence. The film was shot on a low-budget and had a limited theatrical release in the United States; it was later released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 31, 2012 by Autonomy Pictures.[2] [3]
In the United Kingdom the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) 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."[4]
Drug-addicted prostitute "Bunny" propositions a truck driver (who in flashbacks appears to be a serial killer). He kidnaps her and subjects her to extreme torture,[5] inflicting brutal and extreme forms of physical and sexual abuse.[6]
A prostitute (who the credits refer to as "Bunny") is shown performing fellatio on an unseen man, collecting her money, and using it to fuel her cocaine addiction. For the next several minutes, shots are alternated of her performing sexual acts on her clients, using the money to buy cocaine, and walking around searching for her next client.
Bunny meets a truck driver (who the credits refer to as "Hog") who asks her if she has an addiction, to which she replies that she does. He rejects her offer of a blowjob for thirty dollars, and instead drugs her, then kidnaps her. Later, Hog attempts to rouse Bunny from her drug-induced sleep, while rubbing her breasts, cutting her clothes of, running knives along her skin, licking her, and performing other physical and sexual acts. She eventually wakes up handcuffed and undoubtedly terrified.
For the next several days, Hog subjects her to a series of physical, sexual, and mental torments. In no particular order, he forcefully kisses her, brands her with the shape of a caduceus, shaves her head, forces her to watch tapes of her tortures, drags her on a leash through the desert, and, in the titular "Bunny Game" chases her in the mask of a bunny, while wearing himself the mask of a hog.
Eventually, the back door of the truck is left open, and Bunny escapes. She runs through the desert naked, crying and laughing. However, Hog catches her and places her on a crucifix. He tells her that she is going to draw straws. If she draws the long one, she wins the game. If she draws the short one, he wins. She draws what appears to be the long one (we never see the full length of the other). She is then shown being carried over Hog's back. She is then loaded, unconscious or dead, into the back of a windowless van by a figure in white, leaving her fate unknown.
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.”[7]
The film entered the 2011 PollyGrind Film Festival,[8] in which it won several awards including "Best Cinematography", "Best Editing" and "Best Overall Individual Performance in a Film" (to Rodleen Getsic).[9]
Critical reception for the film was mixed. Bloody Disgusting awarded the film a score of 2 out of 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".[10] Horror News.net gave the film a positive review, praising Rodleen Getsic's performance, and the film's editing.[11]
The Bunny Game is listed at #37 in Complex magazine's 50 Most Disturbing Films of All Time and was effectively banned in the United Kingdom after the British Board of Film Classification refused to classify it due to its graphic scenes of sexual and physical abuse.[12] [13] Lead actress Rodleen Getsic has claimed that The Muppet Movie influenced the film.