The Abyss has been removed from Disney Plus in the UK after a version with a banned scene was added to the streamer back in April.
In the sci-fi movie, which was directed by James Cameron and released back in 1989, there's a scene where a rat is forcibly submerged in fluorocarbon liquid. A real rat was used in the movie's production and, while it's said to have survived, the scene has been banned from cuts of the film shown in the UK since the '80s due to campaigning from animal rights charities like the RSPCA.
It was cut by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) under the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which meant it couldn't be shown theatrically in the UK. As the BBFC also regulates physical media, the board also cut the scene under the Video Recordings Act 1984, which meant it couldn't be included in home releases either.
However, a version of the movie with the mistreatment of the rat somehow still made it on the UK version of Disney Plus earlier this year. The RSPCA again campaigned to have it removed, and the streamer has since taken the movie off its site.
"This isn't about cancel culture – we'd welcome Disney Plus reinstating the film to their platform, just with this troubling scene removed – as is already the case in cinemas, on TV, and on DVD," the RSPCA's Head of Public Affairs said in a statement.
"This was instead about highlighting a loophole that currently exists allowing animal abuse scenes deemed unacceptable elsewhere to be streamed freely and legally into our homes - and protecting the public from having to see this animal abuse content."
The Abyss stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn and follows a search and recovery team on a mission to recover a sunken submarine off the coast of the Caribbean – and who find something unexpected deep in the ocean…
While The Abyss may not be available to stream in the UK for the time being, fill out your watchlist with our picks of the other best movies on Disney Plus.
