The Abyssis a 1989 sci-fi horror film directed by James Cameron and released in 1989.The film¡¯s premise harkens back to the Cold War era, with an American submarinesinking in the Caribbean. A search-and-rescue team frantically searches for thewreckage in the depth of the ocean before the Soviets find it first, but in theprocess, they discover new horrors unexpected horrors in the depths.
The filmhad a contentious release in the United Kingdom thanks to a scene that animalrights groups alleged was animal abuse. The scene portrayed a real-life ratbeing submerged in liquid fluorocarbon. Although the rat reportedly survived,the British Board of Film Classification nonetheless deemed the scene aviolation of the 1937 Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act and demandedthat all UK prints of the film cut out the scene. However, the controversy hasresurfaced with the film¡¯s Disney+ release.
The Abyss¡¯sDisney+ release drew renewed controversy from UK animal rights groups such asthe Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals?(RSPCA) after they discovered thatthe version of the film released on the streaming service was uncut.
Theirprotests have proven successful, as the film has since been pulled from the UKregion of Disney+, meaning that audiences once again have no official way ofviewing the controversial banned scene. All prior theatrical and home videoreleases of The Abyss had complied with the BBFC order and excised the scene.
The RSPCA,on their social media, accused streaming services of exploiting loopholes thatallowed them to get away with including alleged animal abuse that nationalcensor boards were meant to prevent.
?In astatement, an RSPCA spokesperson said that they wouldn¡¯t protest the film¡¯sreturn to Disney+, provided the controversial scene was removed, stating:
"This isn't about cancel culture ¨C we'd welcome DisneyPlus reinstating the film to their platform, just with this troubling sceneremoved¡This was instead about highlighting a loophole that currently existsallowing animal abuse scenes deemed unacceptable elsewhere to be streamedfreely and legally into our homes - and protecting the public from having tosee this animal abuse content."
While it¡¯sentirely possible for the BBFC-compliant UK cut of The Abyss to return to Disney+,the banned scene will remain banned for the foreseeable future.
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