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That movie is, of course, The Abyss, Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi movie about a civilian underwater drilling crew tasked with recovering a sunken nuclear submarine during the Cold War, only to encounter a mysterious, intelligent alien species in the deep ocean. The movie started streaming on Tubi on February 1st, just months after it was pulled from Disney+ in the UK after its remastered version violated an almost 40-year ban on a scene featuring animal cruelty. Outside of its removal from Disney+ in the UK, the film has a long history of being pretty difficult to stream and only occasionally makes returns to US streaming services.
James Cameron’s The Abyss Controversy, Explained
The controversy that led to The Abyss’ removal from Disney+ in the UK has persisted for decades and boils down to a single scene roughly midway through the film. In the scene, the movie attempts to show how a mammal can survive in oxygenated fluorocarbon fluid, technology that Ed Harris’ character utilizes later in the film, by submerging a rat in a vat of fluorocarbon liquid. The scene stirred outrage over the fact that a real rat was used in the scene. Although all rats used in the scene, for which the production consulted with experts, survived, it caused significant uproar regarding animal safety. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) eventually banned the scene after it was deemed a violation of animal cruelty laws, and for decades the controversial scene was cut from theatrical, TV, and home video releases in the UK – until the mishap over the summer that saw the movie added to Disney+ in the UK in its uncut form.
