No Excuses

Sad, solemn, depressing 1992 NSPCC cinema PIF, rated 15, which I'm sure was notorious at the time of its release. I'm no history buff, but it'd be pretty outlandish to imagine that this PIF never won an award of some sort.
In all honesty, the presentation is quite simple. Some downright bleak music - "Tell Me There's a Heaven" by Chris Rea, to be precise - plays for about a minute straight over a black screen. It makes you think that the video is either broken or glitched; that was what I assumed when I first saw it. But it actually serves as some sort of unsettling introduction, putting you in a grim mood right from the start.
We then get simple still photographs of children, with a caption underneath giving an excuse for why this particular child has been injured. Of course, the excuses are absolute rubbish. Yes, that's right - those child-abusing psychos are at it again.
There is a clear message here: there is no excuse for child abuse. And this PIF makes that pretty damn obvious. While it's not graphic or hard-hitting by any means, it manages to be, in my opinion, one of the most effective PIFs that the NSPCC have ever produced.
Personally, I think it's that music. I can't even bear to listen to it after seeing this. The children look so happy and innocent, but the sad tune and sinister captions just make your eyes water. It's a brilliant combination done in such a simple way. I commend it.
And this was for cinema exhibition, too. Imagine watching this before seeing a film. It's enough to put you in a deep depression for a good few hours. God forbid if you went to see a comedy; you wouldn't laugh once.
In fact, I'm reminded of those old DETR PIFs from a while ago. Remember? Those ones where it shows old home video footage of children who have died in speed-related car accidents. This PIF predates that one - which came out in 1997 - by several years, so perhaps DETR drew some inspiration from this in order to create their similarly upsetting PIF.
However, I prefer the photographs as opposed to the home video approach. It makes this just a tad more heart-wrenching. It makes it seem like it's completely all in the past. This has already happened, and there's simply nothing you can do about it.
All in all, this is one of my favourite NSPCC PIFs. It's very powerful, and hits you where it hurts. It just goes to show that you don't need evil ventriloquist dummies, or sprinting rabbits, or children cowering in fear from someone playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on the PS1. All you need is a few photographs and a solemn tune. Brilliant.