Director Of Banned Horror Movie Hate Crime Speaks Out Against 'Anti-Semitism' Claims

Writer-director James Cullen Bressack, whose 2013 horror movie ‘Hate Crime’ has gained widespread notoriety since it was recently banned in the UK, has spoken out in defence of his work.

As we reported last week, ‘Hate Crime’ had been the intended launch film of new video-on-demand platform Nerdly Presents, a collaboration between UK fan culture site Nerdly and existing VOD site The Horror Show. However, the British Board of Film Classification refused to pass the film, citing its focus on “physical and sexual abuse, aggravated by racist invective,” which it was felt could not be diminished by cuts.

While the bulk of the online horror community in the UK and overseas have spoken out against this action, the ban did receive a rather notable endorsement from The Huffington Post,  whose writer Simon Thompson agreed that it was appropriate that ‘Hate Crime’ be banned on grounds of anti-Semitism  - despite the writer’s admission to not having seen the film.

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However, both the BBFC and The Huffington Post would seem to be unaware that ‘Hate Crime’ director James Cullen Bressack is himself Jewish, and made the film in part as response to having been the victim of hate crime himself.

In a statement released today, the director says, “As a Jewish man, and a victim of anti -Semitic hate, I made a horror film that depicts the very thing that haunts my dreams. As an artist I wanted to tell a story to remind us that we live in a dangerous world; a world where racial violence is on the rise.

"It saddens me to learn that censorship is still alive and well. As a critic and journalist, you should at least see the film you are criticizing and do your research to learn that the filmmaker is Jewish. However I have to admit that I do appreciate the press."

The director also notes, “As a fan of Simon Thompson’s work and the Huffington Post, I’m disappointed he didn’t see my movie.”

'Hate Crime' is only the fourth film to have been officially banned by the BBFC since 2009, the others being Japanese torture horror 'Grotesque,' US indie drama 'The Bunny Game,' and Dutch horror sequel 'The Human Centipede: Full Sequence,' the latter of which was ultimately passed after 2 minutes 37 seconds were cut from the film.

The ban of ‘Hate Crime’ is particularly notable as it is the first time such measures have been applied to a VOD release, under new laws passed in late 2014 which extend the BBFC’s jurisdiction to material distributed online.

However, TheHorrorShow.tv’s Jack Bowyer says the VOD platform are “in the process of submitting some of James’s other films to the BBFC, so that we can bring this distinctive and important filmmaker’s voice to UK horror fans, along with other exciting titles under our partnership with Nerdly Presents.”

'Hate Crime' remains legally available as a Region 1 DVD import, or via other VOD services based outside the UK.

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Picture Credit: Nerdly.co.uk/TheHorrorShow.TV, Unearthed Films