As the social climate shifts and streaming services pull and edit movies to prevent any further backlash, it’s an excellent time to look at banned films of the past. More specifically, the “Video Nasties,” a slew of 72 films once deemed legitimately dangerous to young viewers by British Conservative activist Mary Whitehouse.
In 1983 during the emergence ofVHS rentals, The UK’s Director of Public Prosecution released a list of those films, under pressure from Whitehouse, as they were labeled to be in violation of the Obscene Publications Act of 1959.
Whitehouse, who essentially made it her job to instill paranoia about media’s detriment to vulnerable viewers, coined the term “Video Nasty.” Despite admitting she had never seen a single frame of the films she considered to be “nasty,” Whitehouse was convinced the presence of these 72 titles on U.K.video store shelveswas destined to turn children into sadists.
Of the 72 films listed, 39 were prosecuted and banned. It took until the 2000s for many of these movies to again see the light of day in their uncut forms.
Nearly all of the Video Nasties fall under the category of horror. In Whitehouse’s words they’re sadistic, obscene, immoral and evil. What she probably didn’t understand at the time is those sorts of labels only make films more appealing to the average horror lover.
The Video Nasties range in notoriety, and vary greatly in quality. Many were incredibly low-budget, grainy flicks from little-known directors that relied on the shock of brutal violence, or other unsavory subject matter like rape and tortue. Other titles come from masters of thehorror genre(that isn’t to say they aren’t also brutal in some sense.)
These flicks spread across a number of subgenres. A large portion of the Nasties can be considered slashers. Quite a few others are cannibal flicks, a subgenre that saw its heyday in the early 80s when Italian exploitation directors like Umberto Lenzi, Joe D’amato, and Ruggero Deodato really took to and ran with the idea of showing people having their parts devoured by other human beings. There’s of course also a select few highly polarizing revenge flicks in the mix.
What each Nasty does have is adistastefuldepiction or two that at least slightly merits the label “Video Nasty.” Some films are obviously far more vile than others, while several seem tame by today’s standards and beg the question, “How could get this banned?”
Let’s have a look at the notorious Nasties that are actually worth your time. Many may already be familiar titles, given legends like Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Argento, and Fulci landed themselves here. Other more obscure movies also might be known, at least to fans of sick cinema. My hope is at least a couple of these flicks are new to you. They certainly will be if you’re not demented.
22The Funhouse (1981)
We’ll kick things off with one of my personal top 10 favorite horrors ever, and criminally underappreciated gem The Funhouse, directed by Tobe Hooper. In truth, it has no place being among the Video Nasties. It’s even been speculated that it only landed on the list because Whitehouse confusedThe FunhousewithThe Fun House, an alternate title for the far more disturbing film Last House On Dead End Street. The latter is a grisly, offensive for the sake of being offensive film that absolutely warrants a Video Nasty position, so it’s safe to assume the rumors are true - Tobe Hooper’sThe Funhousewas included by mistake.
Nevertheless, it’s an underseen chiller with a ripe for horror setting and spooky atmosphere that isn’t short on scares. The flick follows teens as they spend the evening at a carnival where hellish events take place. It’s mostly slasher, with a splash of paranormal. If you’ve ever wanted to see a deformed man in a Frankenstein mask murder an elderly fortune teller with large boobs after soliciting her for sex, this is your chance.
21Last House On The Left (1972)
Last House On The Leftis a monumental piece of terror for several reasons: For one, it gave Wes Craven a name. It broke away from the tired fantasy of creature features and haunted house flicks in depicting real, “this actually happens” horror; brutal horror at that. It also inspired several other almost carbon copy movies on the Video Nasty list, proving subject matter so violent and raw could actually pioneer a subgenre.
Last House On The Leftis just as difficult to stomach today as it probably was upon release. More impressively, it manages to be a solid, artistically impressive film despite its horrific subject matter. As Roger Ebert so perfectly summarized it decades ago, it’s “about four times as good as you’d expect.” Craven took a risk in shooting a The Virgin Spring-inspired, less restrained horror in guerilla-esque style, but it works. So well that it remains one of the most uncomfortable flicks in history.
20Zombie (1979)
You can’t make a list of “nasty” films without including the work of Lucio Fulci, andZombieis one of 3 entries from the Italian gore-master. Fulci’s answer toDawn Of The Deadis still one of the nuttiest films in the undead canon, thanks mainly to a visually stunning scene showing a zombie fighting a shark. Though much ofZombieis silly by today’s standards, it’s still gory as hell and a fun watch. The graphic close-up of wood jutting through a woman’s eyeball is probably what landed it on the list, but who’s to say?
We’ll smoothly transition into the other Fulci flicks (by stating we’re transitioning.)
19The Beyond (1981)
The most notable and critically acclaimed of Fulci’sGates of Helltrilogy,The Beyondis his quintessentially Fulci take on haunted house horror - eye gore, spiders, buckets of blood, and void of any hope ending included. The Beyond centers on a young woman who takes over a Louisiana hotel, where creepy, often violent occurrences begin plaguing her. Fulci has a true gift for shooting horrific moments beautifully, and that’s on full display inThe Beyond.
18House By The Cemetery (1981)
House By The Cemeteryusually gets the least mention among theGates of Helltrilogy, and that’s not necessarily fair considering The Beyond and City of the Living Dead are undebatable horror classics.
House By The Cemeteryis very appropriately about a house by a cemetery. Specifically, it’s about a house in which an unknown psycho dwells in the basement. It’s a fantastic, creepy flick if you can ignore the atrocious dubbing going on with the child “Bob.” As someone who consumes a shameful amount of Italian horror, even I can admit the kid’s voice is a tad distracting. Regardless,House By The Cemeteryis in fact Fulci - Very lacking in script, and packed to the brim with creepy sights,grossoutantics, and stylish depictions of violence.
Its inclusion makes you wonder, why wasn’t City of The Living Dead labelled a Nasty? Was a woman puking up her entrails not enough for these stiffs?
Sam Raimi made low-budget horror history withThe Evil Dead, and paved the way for a campy cult horror franchise that’s almost unrivaled in terms of fan appreciation. Given the over-the-top extreme violence and excessive use of blood, it’s really no wonder The Evil Dead made it on the list. Plus we can’t ignore the infamous tree-rape scene, which even Raimi has admitted he regrets.
16A Bay Of Blood (1971)
Some call it the firstslasher. Many would mark it one of the best giallos ever. High praise aside,A Bay of Bloodis Italian horror master Mario Bava’s bloodiest giallo, and particularly graphic in comparison to the rest of the subgenre.A Bay Of Bloodis a brutal thriller throughout which you’re not left to guess who’s killing, you’re merely curious who’s going to survive. Bava uncharacteristically spares some atmosphere in favor of more blunt brutality, but it’s still his still signature flare.
LikeThe Funhouse,Dead and Buriedalso ranks among my favorite horror films of all time, and it too is severely underrated. Additionally, its spot on the Video Nasty list is questionable.Dead and Buriedis by no means a disgustingly violent film, nor does it depict anything heinous like rape. It’s a through and through interesting take on the zombie genre, in which an eerie coastal town inhabited by cold locals plays a huge part in the overall creepiness. It’s more atmospheric than it is shocking, and much of the film’s effectiveness is due to a uniquely bizarre build. Don’t watchDead and Buriedexpecting a despicable Video Nasty. Go into it knowing you’re about to witness a one-of-a-kind sci-fi zombie flick that’s heavy on mood, in the vein ofMessiah of Eviland evenCarnival of Souls.
14Island of Death (1976)
Let’s get this fact out of the way first:Island of DeathAKAPsychic Killer 2is an awful film. I’ll go so far as to call it an unbelievably shameful piece of trash. There’s zero artistic merit about this Greek exploitation flick, and director Nico Mastorakis clearly made it either to cash out on a shock trend, or just for the sake of making something so contemptible. With that being said, Island of Death meets every single piece of Video Nasty criteria, and depicts any loathsome act you may imagine seeing on film. It’s worth watching purely for how reprehensible it is.
Here’s a rundown of what you’re in for withIsland of Death- An incestuous brother/sister duo head to the island of Mykonos to rid it of any and all sexual deviancy, yet act as complete sexual deviants in the process. Our lead fella has sex with a goat for no explainable reason, then proceeds to slit its throat. He forces his sister to have sex with guys, and photographs these sex acts while angrily referring to the dudes as “perverts” before killing them. It’s the only film I can think of in which a man is killed by having paint dumped down his throat. As if the flick needed any more disgusting elements, it’s terriblyanti-gay. It’s also ridiculously hateable to the point of being hilarious. If you need a laugh which you’ll immediately feel very bad about, check out the unmatched garbage that is Island of Death.
13Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Ruggero Deodato’sCannibal HolocaustisThe Godfatherof sick cinema, and respected as such. It’s a feat in found-footage horror. In fact, the newness of found footage in combination with real depictions of animal violence led many to believe that actors were actually harmed during the film’s production. Though Deodato and others have confirmed none of the human violence was real, the animal abuse certainly was, and for that reason among others Cannibal Holocaust is a tough watch. Deodato didn’t go on to make anything quite as notorious, but how could you? It spurred other cannibal films, and while that craze has died out we know very well how commonplace found footage horror is even today.
It’s only a movie. You can remind yourself of that fact while watching, yetCannibal Holocauststill exudes a snuff kind of feeling. That’s the power of inventive filmmaking, I suppose.
