Post by Evil Dave on Sept 16, 2007 5:43:31 GMT -5
As we all know, one of the few taboo subjects to be viewed on screen is the death of a child. I can understand why as most studios will cut the visible death of children immediately because they know how to play the marketing game. I'm not saying I'm for or against it, I was just wondering what movies you can recall that actually took a chance and showed it. Here's the ones that I found in my memory banks:
1. 'Jaws' (1975) Alec killed by shark on floatie raft - Not very graphic, but not a cut-scene either. We see the boy pulled under and a lot of blood being spilled into the water around him.
2. 'The Blob' (1988) Eddie gets eaten in the sewer - There are two versions of this child death scene. The first (and original theatrical) version has Eddie emerging from under the water engulfed by The Blob. His skin is gone, and his body appears quite "melted." His muscles and bones are exposed and his face isn't much more than a bloody, mushy skull. The second version is decidedly much tamer as it's the same sequence of events, only Eddie still looks pretty much intact and just gets pulled back under. These two versions were shot intentionally in case the original version proved to be too disturbing for viewers. Of course it did, and voila! The second version took over and appears to this day in most DVD and television versions. If you decide to purchase this on DVD, make sure you get the one with this and other bloody versions of the kill scenes. Much better movie with them included.
3. 'The Toxic Avenger' (1985) Defenseless child on bike run over on purpose repeatedly - This one does piss me off. I've been over it before, but just in case you missed it: A group of drunk teens go out driving and purposely run over a boy on a bike. They do this several times laughing and really getting a kick out of it. Then, to make sure he's dead, they back slowly over his head and watch it "pop." And to top it off, they get out and take polaroid pictures of the aftermath so that they can have "keepsakes" of the event....................I think you can see why this one is out of bounds. My stance has always been that I'd tolerate a child being killed on screen as long as it was done because it made sense scene-wise to do so. But this one was borderline snuff. It's presented in a way that is supposed to convey humor and enjoyment. If you've seen it you'll know why I feel this way. But hey, what can you expect from Troma, right?
4. 'Grizzly' aka: 'Claws' (1976) Bobby is attacked and killed by the Grizzly; body found afterwards - After killing his mother the evil bear attacks the kid. His leg is torn off, showing a very bloody stump left behind. He is also shown being clawed mercilessly by the animal. When his body is found by the park ranger a very visible shot of his lifeless body is shown laying face down with his back torn completely out. Pretty rough stuff, but arguably appropriate since an animal would surely not show mercy to someone because they happen to be a child. A funny thing about this movie - it's somehow rated 'PG'! I have no idea how a movie showing the graphic (and believe me, it is GRAPHIC!) death of a small child could possibly be rated 'PG', but it is. In the late 90's when the DVD version was released, the child gore scenes were excluded unless you purchased a foreign version. However, in April of this year, a two-disc edition was released that contains the unedited version of this, and other, death scenes. That version; the one that was 'PG' in the 70's, is now listed on the case as "Unrated." I guess the MPAA has really changed over the years, huh?!
5. 'Silver Bullet' (1985) Aftermath of Brady's death - In the theatrical, video, and original DVD versions only a bloody kite is shown when the sheriff and father find Brady's body in the park. However, in the DVD version I own, there is a deleted scene that does show Brady's body lying dead in the park gazeebo. He's bloody, clawed, and beheaded. Daniel Attias comments that this scene was cut by the studio because they thought the young target audience wouldn't be up to seeing it. If you've seen the movie, the story definitely was written for a non-adult generation of viewers. Which is why I don't understand why it was allowed to carry as much gore as it does; thus earning an "R" rating. Odd. One other tidbit: In Stephen King's illustrated novelette, there is an illustration of the werewolf on top of Brady biting into his throat. I guess in lieterary form child death is acceptable, but in film form it isn't?
Anyways, like I said, I'm not necessarily for or against this content being shown in horror movies. Just wondering what all your opinions on it are, and also, if you remember seeing any other films that took a chance and showed this kind of content?
1. 'Jaws' (1975) Alec killed by shark on floatie raft - Not very graphic, but not a cut-scene either. We see the boy pulled under and a lot of blood being spilled into the water around him.
2. 'The Blob' (1988) Eddie gets eaten in the sewer - There are two versions of this child death scene. The first (and original theatrical) version has Eddie emerging from under the water engulfed by The Blob. His skin is gone, and his body appears quite "melted." His muscles and bones are exposed and his face isn't much more than a bloody, mushy skull. The second version is decidedly much tamer as it's the same sequence of events, only Eddie still looks pretty much intact and just gets pulled back under. These two versions were shot intentionally in case the original version proved to be too disturbing for viewers. Of course it did, and voila! The second version took over and appears to this day in most DVD and television versions. If you decide to purchase this on DVD, make sure you get the one with this and other bloody versions of the kill scenes. Much better movie with them included.
3. 'The Toxic Avenger' (1985) Defenseless child on bike run over on purpose repeatedly - This one does piss me off. I've been over it before, but just in case you missed it: A group of drunk teens go out driving and purposely run over a boy on a bike. They do this several times laughing and really getting a kick out of it. Then, to make sure he's dead, they back slowly over his head and watch it "pop." And to top it off, they get out and take polaroid pictures of the aftermath so that they can have "keepsakes" of the event....................I think you can see why this one is out of bounds. My stance has always been that I'd tolerate a child being killed on screen as long as it was done because it made sense scene-wise to do so. But this one was borderline snuff. It's presented in a way that is supposed to convey humor and enjoyment. If you've seen it you'll know why I feel this way. But hey, what can you expect from Troma, right?
4. 'Grizzly' aka: 'Claws' (1976) Bobby is attacked and killed by the Grizzly; body found afterwards - After killing his mother the evil bear attacks the kid. His leg is torn off, showing a very bloody stump left behind. He is also shown being clawed mercilessly by the animal. When his body is found by the park ranger a very visible shot of his lifeless body is shown laying face down with his back torn completely out. Pretty rough stuff, but arguably appropriate since an animal would surely not show mercy to someone because they happen to be a child. A funny thing about this movie - it's somehow rated 'PG'! I have no idea how a movie showing the graphic (and believe me, it is GRAPHIC!) death of a small child could possibly be rated 'PG', but it is. In the late 90's when the DVD version was released, the child gore scenes were excluded unless you purchased a foreign version. However, in April of this year, a two-disc edition was released that contains the unedited version of this, and other, death scenes. That version; the one that was 'PG' in the 70's, is now listed on the case as "Unrated." I guess the MPAA has really changed over the years, huh?!
5. 'Silver Bullet' (1985) Aftermath of Brady's death - In the theatrical, video, and original DVD versions only a bloody kite is shown when the sheriff and father find Brady's body in the park. However, in the DVD version I own, there is a deleted scene that does show Brady's body lying dead in the park gazeebo. He's bloody, clawed, and beheaded. Daniel Attias comments that this scene was cut by the studio because they thought the young target audience wouldn't be up to seeing it. If you've seen the movie, the story definitely was written for a non-adult generation of viewers. Which is why I don't understand why it was allowed to carry as much gore as it does; thus earning an "R" rating. Odd. One other tidbit: In Stephen King's illustrated novelette, there is an illustration of the werewolf on top of Brady biting into his throat. I guess in lieterary form child death is acceptable, but in film form it isn't?
Anyways, like I said, I'm not necessarily for or against this content being shown in horror movies. Just wondering what all your opinions on it are, and also, if you remember seeing any other films that took a chance and showed this kind of content?
