Five Essential... Video Nasties

Gary Collinson selects his Five Essential Video Nasties…

In the early 1980s the rise in popularity of the VHS cassette was met with concerns from some quarters (namely morality crusaders such as Mary Whitehouse, religious groups and media organisations looking to stir a moral panic) about the content of the unregulated home video market in the UK, particularly the low-budget horror genre.

The resulting furore led to the introduction of the 1984 Video Recordings Act - whereby the British Board of Film Classification became responsible for certification and censorship - along with a list of 39 films deemed ‘video nasties’ and prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. From that list, we present our Five Essential Video Nasties…

I Spit on Your Grave (1978, dir. Meir Zarchi)

Originally entitled Day of the Woman, rape-revenge flick I Spit on Your Grave was described by Roger Ebert as “a vile bag of garbage” and caused outrage the world over due to its misogynistic violence. Banned outright in a number of countries, the film received a censored release in the USA while it remained unavailable here in the UK until 2001, with over 7 minutes of cuts made to gain an 18 certificate. As is now the trend, a remake from director Steven R. Monroe is planned for release some time in 2010.





The Last House on the Left (1972, dir. Wes Craven)

The second rape-revenge thriller to make the list, horror master Wes Craven’s low-budget offering was refused a cinematic release in the UK in 1974 due to its violent content before making its debut on home video. The Last House on the Left was subsequently withdrawn when the Video Recordings Act came into effect and remained banned until 2002 when the BBFC passed the film with minor edits to some of the more extreme scenes. A complete and uncut version was eventually passed in 2008, while a Craven-produced remake was also released the following year.





Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979, dir. Lucio Fulci)

Lucio Fulci’s unofficial sequel to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Zombie Flesh Eaters proved to be the Italian director’s career breakthrough as well as his starting reputation as the ‘Godfather of Gore’. The film received a theatrical run in Great Britain in 1980 with almost 2 minutes of cuts but an unedited home-video version fell foul of the censors and resulted in prosecution. A heavily cut version was released on home video in the mid-90s (and falsely marketed as uncut), with an ‘Extreme Version’ following in 1999 before the complete print was passed for DVD release in 2005.




Cannibal Holocaust (1979, dir. Ruggero Deodato)

One of the most controversial films of all time due to its graphic sexual violence, high levels of gore and the inclusion of six scenes of animal killings, Cannibal Holocaust caused an outrage from the get go. At one point director Ruggero Deodata was facing murder charges in his native Italy with the authorities believing the deaths in the film (including the famous impalement scene) to be genuine, and the film was banned in countless countries. It was withdrawn in Britain in 1983 and eventually received a release in 2001, albeit with close to six minutes of edits. Chances of a complete, unedited release = zero.




The Evil Dead (1981, dir. Sam Raimi)

Sam Raimi’s classic splatter-fest The Evil Dead - with its graphic violence, gore and tree-rape - received an X certificate in the United States while being denied a release in a number of European countries. One of the first pictures to be classified as a video nasty by the Director of Public Prosecutions, The Evil Dead was withdrawn from UK distribution and proved hugely popular as a bootleg, eventually acquiring cult status before it was finally re-released uncut in 2001. Two sequels followed while talk of a fourth entry and re-imagining have been doing the rounds for a number of years.




Honourable Mentions...

Blood Feast (1963, dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis)
Death Trap a.k.a. Eaten Alive (1976, dir. Tobe Hooper)
The Driller Killer (1979, dir. Abel Ferrara)
Inferno (1980, dir. Dario Argento)
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974, dir. Jorge Grau)

Related:

Cult Classics: The Evil Dead (1981)
Extreme Cinema: The Last House on the Left (1972)
Movies... For Free! The Driller Killer (1979)

Agree? Disagree? We'd love to hear your comments on the list...

Gary Collinson

Essentials Archive

Movies... For Free! The Driller Killer (1979)

Welcome to this week's "Movies... For Free!" column, where we showcase classic movies freely available in the public domain (with streaming video!). Read the article and watch the movie right here...

The Driller Killer, 1979.

Directed by Abel Ferrara.
Starring Abel Ferrara (as Jimmy Laine) and Carolyn Marz.

The Driller Killer is a cult grindhouse horror about a New York artist, Reno (portrayed by director Abel Ferrara, making his feature debut both sides of the camera), who is struggling to complete his masterpiece in an apartment that he shares with his girlfriend Carol (Marz) and her friend Pamela (Baybi Day).

Driven to madness by the incessant music from a neighbouring apartment, Reno begins to murder the homeless using a drill. When his painting is rejected by the head of the art gallery and Carol decides to return to her ex-husband, Reno is pushed completely over the edge and sets about extracting a bloody and brutal revenge.

Ferrara's debut is notable for the controversy that surrounded it during the U.K. video nasty moral panic of the early 1980's. Despite being more of an art-house film that concentrates on the psychological aspects of Reno's character as opposed to out-and-out gore, the film's violent promotional imagery brought The Driller Killer to the attention of the BBFC, who subsequently banned the movie under the Video Recording Act of 1984.

The Driller Killer was eventually passed for release in 2002 and a remake by British filmmaker Jed Shepherd is set for 2010.

Please note that viewer discretion is advised!



Embed courtesy of Internet Archive.

Click here to view all previous entries in our Movies... For Free! collection.

Five Essential... Japanese Horrors

Richard J. Moir selects his Five Essential Japanese Horrors...

5. Audition (1999, dir. Takashi Miike)

Audition is a Japanese horror film but you wouldn't think it from the opening hour. It plays as more of a romantic drama with hints of comedy (mainly coming through the actual audition scene) and leaves the audience wondering what direction the film is actually going in. The last half an hour is exciting though, with a gruesome scene to show why this was labeled horror in the first place. Although the effects were used to full effect, and believe me, they don't cut much out, the use of camera work was often distracting and amateurish. The lack of a dolly and stedicam made me feel queasy at times, butthis just adds to the effect of the film. The final scene is one to remember.



4. Ju-on (2000, dir. Takashi Shimizu)

You may have seen ghost stories before, but they never had ghosts like the ones in Ju-on. Crafted with exquisite care by director Takashi Shimizu, Ju-on is an unrelenting 90 minutes of terror that will leave you gasping.










3. Onibaba (1964, dir. Kaneto Shindô)

Creepy and disturbing to the very last detail, Onibaba is a classic in Japanese horror and it's easy to see why through the stunning cinematography, creepy settings and costumes and the high pitched and daunting sounds. Despite being a great horror film, it's extremely symbolic which sometimes gets in the way, and I often found this hard to relate too. But that wasn't ruining my viewing pleasure one bit and the final scene is pure horror.






2. Battle Royale (2000, dir. Kinji Fukasaku)

Not quite the J-Horror film that describes the other films on the list, but the brutal scenes that plague this movie make this 2nd in my list. Set in an alternate present, a group of students are put on an island to kill one another, to solve Japan's problems of an out-of-control youth system. Some scenes are iconic and the characters play their parts well, while the cinematography is stunning and the ending superb.







1. Ringu (1998, dir. Hideo Nakata)

Gloomy, eerie and unsettling, Ringu masters suspense through it's dark mise-en-scene, disturbing soundtrack and fantastic plot. Watch a cursed videotape, and you will die in seven days. Everyone knows the story. It sparked a few remakes (Hollywood being the obvious culprit) and it's easy to see why. Ringu is a fantastic horror film, which uses the "demon woman" as it's main scare. Throughout we see Reiko, a reporter, watches the supposed cursed videotape and finds herself caught in it's trap, seeing things that aren't there, and witnessing horrid flashes of where the curse began.




Honourable Mentions

Ju-on: The Grudge (2002, dir. Takashi Shimizu)
Ichi the Killer (2001, dir Takashi Miike)
Gojira (1954, Ishirō Honda)

Agree? Disagree? We'd love to hear your comments on the list...

Richard J. Moir

Essentials Archive