The ’90s Controversial Mystery Thriller They Are Letting Disappear Forever

Before we dive into the movie’s disappearance and subsequent talks about the importance of media preservation, let’s discuss what made Boxing Helena into a movie many believe is better left forgotten. Boxing Helena delves into the dark and obsessive world of a surgeon, Dr. Nick Cavanaugh—portrayed by the late Julian Sands.

It centers around his unhealthy obsession with Helena (Sherilyn Fenn), with whom he had an intimate encounter once, but she feels disdain for him. It’s a typical ’90s film until the plot takes a shocking turn with Helena suffering an accident.

The accident in Boxing Helena happens in front of Nick’s house, and instead of calling help after she suffers a high-grade tibial fracture in a hit-and-run accident, Nick kidnaps Helena and treats her in her home. However, his version of the treatment involves amputating both of Helena’s legs above the knee and torturing her in an attempt to control her. To make things even worse, she gets a hold of him and attempts to choke him, after which he amputates both her arms above the elbow.  

Though a victim of kidnapping and mutilation, Helena still dominates Nick through dialogue while constantly ridiculing his shortcomings, and she still continues to feel disdain for him. By the film’s end, it’s revealed that the whole kidnapping and dismemberment were Nick’s fantasy. A vivid dream he had while waiting in the hospital for Helena to recover from surgery—with her limbs still being a part of her body. Given the dismemberment and control aspects of the movie, it’s rather easy to label Boxing Helena as a film centered around amputee fetishism.

However, Boxing Helena is everything but a fetishism-glorifying piece. The grotesque acts of possession and control did spark widespread controversy due to their disturbing and graphic nature, but they also broke new ground in depictions of how control and obsession affect the dynamics of male-female relationships. Shortly, the movie explored the extremities (no pun intended) of human behavior and desire in a manner that didn’t really sit well with the mainstream audiences of the time.

But should we let Boxing Helena disappear? The movie isn’t currently available on VOD or at any of the major streaming sites, and there aren’t any Blu-Ray or DVD releases as well. We researched various options, and none of the major illegal P2P file-sharing networks have the movie.

Please note that we don’t condone or support digital piracy. Well, despite its shortcomings, Boxing Helena shouldn’t disappear completely, if for no other reason than to serve as a showpiece for movie students on what to avoid when the time for their directorial debut finally arrives.

Despite its controversial themes and poor box-office performance, Boxing Helena shouldn’t be allowed to disappear, and while major streamers might actively try to disassociate themselves from the title, someone might want to give Boxing Helena another look at some point in the future and perhaps find some artistic value in the film.