Sometimes movies are so cross-border that they don’t even get an 18+ rating. But this refusal is not necessarily the end of the story: film distributors can turn to the legal committee of the umbrella organization of the film industry (SPIO for short). Videos can confirm that they do not pose a serious threat to young people, or that they are not a criminal offence.
Thanks to the SPIO quality mark, productions can also be offered legally and unadulterated without FSK approval. A recent example of this is the ultra gory action thriller”Project Wolf Huntwhich will be published in a strictly limited edition in the Mediabook on May 5, 2023:
In addition to the Blu-ray media book, there will also be an uncut version DVD edition on Amazon*in addition, Capelight’s rental shop offers both the Blu ray* just like the DVD* bee.
Astute movie fans may have noticed: “Project Wolf Hunting” started in theaters in early March with an FSK rating from 18 years old. However, the rental company had to fight for it!
Because the FSK refused him the 18 seal in the uncut version in the first two tests of the film. She was not convinced by Capelight’s arguments until her third attempt. However, the protection of minors in the home cinema is somewhat stricter than in the cinema, so that the 18 rating just achieved on the big screen was not enough.
The unabridged home theater evaluation of the brutal ripper, which looks like a mix of “Con Air” on a freighter and hardcore “X-Men”, therefore required the SPIO seal. And with that, Project Wolf Hunting is in good company…
“The Sadness”: pandemic shocker with an extra bloody zombie look
In 2022, “The Sadness” experienced the same thing as “Project Wolf Hunting” this year: the Taiwanese shocker caused a sensation at film festivals, not least because of its drastic depictions of violence. But these are the very things that kept the ultra-nasty pandemic thriller with zombie-shock aesthetic from being released uncut in home theater with the blessing of the FSK.
Thanks to the SPIO check, “The Sadness” is still available in its entirety, for example in a Steelbook with 4K disc and Blu-ray:
Like Project Wolf Hunting, The Sadness is available direct from Capelight at 4K Steelbook*in the 4K Media Book*like regularly Blu ray* but also regular DVD*.
“The Sadness” is about a disease that causes people to lose all self-control and thus pursue their violent and sexual urges with disgusting consequences:
Since the beginning of “The Sadness,” genre fans have been eagerly arguing whether or not the film’s unscrupulous villains pass for zombies or not. At least according to the critics of FILMSTARTS, it is one of the “grossiest zombie movies of all time”!
“Cat Sick Blues”: The perverted cat lover with a thirst for blood
Not only battle records with liters of fake blood and countless dismembered victims only came into home theaters in the recent past with the SPIO seal. With “Cat Sick Blues” a slasher was also denied the FSK rating from the age of 18, after which the responsible label Busch Media Group took the road to the legal committee.
There, the low-budget horror film was approved so that it could be released in its entirety. Cat Sick Blues follows cat lover Ted (Matthew C. Vaughan) who has a nervous breakdown after the death of his pet.
He then convinces himself that by killing nine people he can bring the cat back to life. This is how the protagonist of “Cat Sick Blues” goes through Melbourne at night with a cat mask, an XXL strap-on and razor-sharp claws.
Ted prefers to target women, whom he brutally butchers, raising the question of whether he is really after his cat’s rebirth, or simply killing it.
At the same time, Claire (Shian Denovan) is finally looking for redemption: her cat, which made her an online star, was recently murdered. The cat killer also raped Claire, filmed the act and posted the video online. When Claire and Ted meet, it has disturbing consequences…
“Caged”: Torture horror meets erotic thriller
To complete our cross-section, we cannot avoid rough sexuality: in 2022 “Caged – Prisoners of Lust” came to Germany – ten years after its world premiere. The mix of kidnapping thriller, fetish erotica and torture horror received an FSK rating for theatrical exploitation from the age of 18 in unadulterated form.
Nearly a year later, “Caged” was less fortunate: The FSK has not issued an 18 stamp in the home theater, which is why Busch Media took the detour to the legal committee. The curiosity of the genre nodded without cutting corners.
Caged has been celebrated in both individual horror publications and the CineKink festival, dedicated to risqué eroticism and sexually explicit storytelling. The film was directed and written by Stephan Brenninkmeijer, who was inspired to the project by real incidents:
During one of the filmmaker’s earlier sex psychodramas, numerous women told him about unusual, daring and sometimes disturbing experiences. He incorporated these stories into the fictional story about the married Stella (Chantal Demming), who suffers from a prudish husband.
When he allows her to indulge in erotic escapades alone, she indulges in one night stand after another. Stella is euphoric – until a masked man takes her to a vaulted cellar and tortures her…