a moral observation. I don’t see how else we can regard a scene in which a bound naked woman is forcibly shaved by Renfro while a ball-gag suffocates her cries. I did feel that the fre- netic editing of other scenes might have been intended to render them unpornographic by not allowing us to engage fully with the material, like the ec- centric present-tense William S. Burroughs intermittently adopted for the John and Mary scene in NAKED LUNCH, but does the montage
Jeff Renfro tortures one of his abductees in director Adam Rehmeier’s THE BUNNY GAME, recently denied certification by the BBFC.
generate excitement instead? More generally, to what extent can pornography have a subtext or an unpornographic theme? Aren’t these likely to be overwhelmed—rendered meaningless by the pornographic material?
If this were the case, pornography would be unique, the only genre that can signify nothing except itself, and I think there are persuasive ex- amples to the contrary—Sade, for instance, or John Cleland. On occasion, the Czechoslovakian Lupus Pictures, producers of disciplinary fantasies too severe for the average spanko viewer, have made political films based on the makers’ experi- ences under Communism: the Stalin films. Niki Flynn starred in the second one, and writes in her memoir DANCES WITH WEREWOLVES, “It’s not porn. It’s not frivolous entertainment. It’s political satire of the blackest kind.” (She also suffered a forcible haircut in a Lupus film, which suggests another reason why the BUNNY GAME team could usefully have been more aware of this genre.) The trouble is that STALIN II is also erotic, at least for some, and mustn’t this confuse the issue to an extent? At least it has a theme that’s clearly dis- cernible from a viewing of the film, whereas the meaning of THE BUNNY GAME may not even emerge from the commentary track. Getsic says she “wanted to confront evil” that she had experienced in her life. She consented to everything she undergoes in the film; indeed, she and Rehmeier say they encouraged Renfro to go further. Admittedly, David Hess did in LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT—he was fond of recount- ing how he’d drooled on his rape victim—but even
Getsic seems unhappy that Renfro branded her back without warning. Rehmeier sees this as a problem of filming—it was lucky the camera was on—and the reader may decide whether I’m wrong to have any other reservations about it. On the other hand, Getsic confirms liking tight collars, surprising her director and rather undermining the authenticity of a scene where she’s dragged about on a lead.
Rehmeier enthuses about a protracted image of an emaciated Getsic crawling out of the truck. “I love this shot,” he says and mentions it gives him “flashes of Auschwitz.” If the film seemed in any way to address this theme or aspects of it, the reference would be less gratuitous. Getsic ends up supine on a cross, though not actually attached to it, before she’s passed to the next man. Could the shot of her being driven away signify a rebirth somehow? On the commentary, she says it “felt like going to Heaven.” She and Rehmeier found the film “healing,” but I honestly can’t see how the film communicates this experience. Getsic fasted for 40 days (originally to be “one lunar cycle”) in preparation for the film; I imagine Christian Bale may have prepared similarly for THE MACHIN- IST. Other religious elements are harder to dis- cern. Renfro wears a cross despite his actions in the film.
The Autonomy Pictures release offers trailers, which include footage not in the film, and a docu- mentary, “Caretaking the Monster.” Getsic and Page seem entirely happy in it; I couldn’t spot Coriander Womack. The whole documentary is accompanied by white noise.
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