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Released by: Autonomy Pictures
Released on: July 31, 2012.
Director: Adam Rehmeier
Cast: Rodleen Getsic, Jeff Renfro, Drettie Page, Gregg Gilmore
Year: 2011
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The Movie:
Directed by Adam Rehmeier who co-wrote with lead actress Rodleen Getsic, The Bunny Game, on the surface at least, is a very simple film. When it begins, we see a woman being suffocated with a plastic bag over her head. Some quick editing juxtaposes this with another woman (Getsic) giving a man whose face we never see a rough blowjob - he's not letting her up for air but once he finishes, he leaves her. She's a prostitute with a cocaine addiction and we follow her around the streets as she turns tricks for money which she then promptly snorts up her nose. When she gets too 'fucked up' with one trick, she passes out and he robs her. Desperate for cash, she hops into the cab of a big black eighteen wheeler were she does a few snorts with an older man. She offers him a blowjob for thirty bucks and he responds by knocking her out, dragging her to the middle of nowhere and then basically torturing her for five days straight. These scenes are contrasted with some flashback scenes in which we see him do similar things to another nameless woman (played by Drettie Page). Things go from bad to worse when the truck driver puts on a leather 'hog' mask and forces her to wear a leather 'bunny mask' - this won't end well for anyone, that much is clear.
You could lump this one in with other 'extreme horror' offerings like the August Underground movies or the Guinea Pig movies but where this black and white shot on digital video feature differs from those earlier entries is not in its lack of color but in its lack of bloodshed. Aside from a drop here and there, there's virtually no gore in the film at all. Instead what the filmmakers use to portray the horrors of the situation is some relentless and very real sexual violence. When we see 'hog' run that knife over 'bunny' he really is running that knife over her and when we see him push a hot branding iron into her skin, he really is pushing a hot branding iron into her skin - those marks are not washing off when the shoot is finished.
While Rehmeier maintains a sense of controlled chaos with his directorial style, the fast cutting and rapid fire editing can get a bit disorienting at times - that's likely the point but it might put some off the film (as if the content weren't enough). There is some interesting style at work here, however - close up shots do a very good job of capturing the emotional and physical Hell that our female lead finds herself trapped in, and on the flip side of that coin so too do they capture the psychotic and malicious glee in the eyes of her tormentor. The movie is well framed and is generally shot well even if some of the handheld shots might have been more effective had they been more stable.
This is a movie more about the performances than anything else, however. For better or worse, Rodleen Getsic's work here is completely fearless. She becomes the character in the movie, and she is entirely convincing in the part. Never do you get the sense that she is going through the motions or acting, mainly because for the most part she isn't. Likewise, Renfro, basically given the freedom to terrorize her as he sees fit, indulges all manner of twisted games of power and control with his plaything with startlingly effective malice.
With all of that said, when it's all over and done with, you're kind of left wondering what the point was. Rehmeier was obviously out to horrify his audience, and he and his cast and crew certainly succeed - this is a horrifying movie. There's nothing nice about it, there are no punches pulled nor are there any concessions made. It would be easy to react to the film by calling it misogynist but that's not entirely fair - the movie isn't misogynist, it simply deals with a misogynist and given Getsic's very willing deep personal involvement with the film, it's hard to really apply that label to the picture. The film does not pander to audience expectations and it goes into places many of us would likely want to steer clear of. It is, however, very well made and very well acted and yes, quite literally horrifying. If that's the intent of extreme horror films such as this, then The Bunny Game is at the top of the heap.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Bunny Game is presented on Blu-ray in an AVC encoded 1.78.1 widescreen 1080p high definition transfer (the packaging states '1.78 anamorphic letterbox') that probably looks as good as the iffy source material will allow for. Some close up shots show strong detail and texture but anytime the camera moves fast, which is often, some motion blurring is evident. How much of this stems back to the original DV files as opposed to the authoring of the disc is probably debatable but it's probably a safe guess to assume that this has more to do with the camera used than anything else. The black and white image is generally stable, despite the blurring - contrast looks good and blacks do tend to be fairly solid even if sometimes some compression artifacts are obvious. This isn't the type of movie that you really watch for the sterling video quality, but a quick comparison between the Blu-ray disc and the DVD disc does show a fair bit more detail and depth in the high definition presentation than was present on the standard definition presentation.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track (the packaging touts English HD 2.0 Stereo - there's no lossless option here), there are no alternate language options, subtitles or closed captioning options provided. This isn't a film with a lot of dialogue, what little is said between 'bunny' and 'hog' does tend to be either whispered or screamed so expect things to spike here and there, though this seems to be in keeping with the director's intent. The soundtrack, which uses some death metal early on but thankfully takes a more ambient and industrial approach later on, is frequently abrasive and high in the mix but again, you get the impression that this is how it is supposed to be. What's here works - it suits the film in a way similar to how Trent Reznor's music suited the video that Nine Inch Nails released for Broken back in the 1990s.
Writer/director Adam Rehmeier provides a commentary track here with input from Getsic who joins him via Skype (and as such, doesn't sound quite as clear). They make some interesting observations about the film, such as how the opening sequences shows suffocation via two very different methods, and they discuss how Getsic was so completely willing to give herself over to the movie and do literally anything that was required of her. They discuss Renfro's performance, the few other supporting players, where the movie was shot, why it was edited the way it was in certain scenes and more. Rehmeier has more to say than Getsic but both provide some insight into the film that is worth listening to.
Also included here is a sixteen minute long featurette entitled Caretaking The Monster: The Making Of The Bunny Game, which interviews Rehmeier and Getsic as well as Renfro, who notes that when he first met Rehmeier he wanted to punch him out. We also hear from Gregg Gilmore who was originally to play the 'hog' character but who notes he backed out after spending time with Getsic when he realized it would be way too easy to simply go too far with this. Getsic notes that she's been 'abducted more than once' and that the events in the movie are based on one occurrence that was particularly savage. Aside from that, look for a pair of trailers, a still gallery, menus and chapter stops. As this is a DVD combo pack you get a standard definition disc containing the same contents as the Blu-ray disc.
The Final Word:
The Bunny Game is a tough watch, there's no doubt about that - but it does accomplish what it sets out to do, and that's to make the viewer incredibly uncomfortable and unsettled. Getsic's performance is literally insane and Renfro's amazingly committed - both turn in impressive work here. Is it a movie you'll enjoy? Not likely but those who appreciate the more extreme side of horror films will respect what the cast and crew have accomplished here. If the Blu-ray doesn't look amazing, it does include some decent extras that shed some welcome light on the movie.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
