The Abyss is still a film that many people hold with great affection, but a certain rat scene is causing trouble more than 30 years later. Image source: 20th Century Studios
Nowadays, is a single scene enough to prevent a film from being re-released in a new version because of animal cruelty? Factually speaking, yes. Exactly This is according to reports from Screenrant the 4K re-release of the James Cameron film The Abyss in the UK.
Animal cruelty?
Disney has stopped the 4K version of The Abyss for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The move followed a meeting between the entertainment giant, James Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, and the British authorities responsible for releasing media.
The latter had requested that a scene be cut, Disney is said to have been willing to give in. But the production company refused to cooperate. So the release in the UK failed because Disney obviously couldn’t force the change.
What scene is it specifically about? In the following scene, the film shows how a rat enclosed in a filled container adapts to breathing liquid instead of air. You can at least guess that the animal begins to panic before it visibly calms down again because the breathing transition has been successful – at least in the film.
Link to YouTube content
How was the scene filmed? According to a report by Film school rejects Five different rats were used, each of which was only exposed to stress, if not fear of death, for a relatively short time. The not inconsiderable duration of the scene was achieved through targeted cuts. They can also be seen crystal clear.
Even back then there was opposition, for example from people American Humans, an organization that also advocates for animal welfare. But it’s only now that the forgotten controversy is increasingly starting to offend people. Including those responsible in Great Britain.
Why did Lightstorm Entertainment decline? The exact reasons why the filmmakers refused to cut the film can only be speculated about, but no matter how people think about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the scene, one thing must be noted.
It is not unimportant to the plot of the underwater adventure. Maybe that alone, beyond all other reasons, was enough to turn it down.
