The ‘Video Nasty’ era that plagued the UK in the early 80s will go down in history as one of the most absurd examples of wowserism and censorship in modern history. 1982 presented a perfect storm of factors that led to un-educated commentators pouncing on home entertainment and attacking accordingly. At the time, the cinema industry was already subject to scrutiny from the British Board of Film Censorship. Despite your attitude to censorship, this was a comparatively measured process that decided film such as ‘A Clockwork Orange’ probably shouldn’t be viewed by minors. With the explosion of home video in this period, movie lovers enjoyed unfiltered access to a world of cinema hitherto inaccessible. Film slipped past the murky process of censorship and landed right into the VCRs of horror and exploitation fans. If there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that unfettered access will eventually be stopped by those who believe they have a greater understanding of morality – by those who believe their own morality must be shared by others. In the case of the video nasties, much of the blame has been placed on the shoulders of outspoken wowser, Mary Whitehouse. Whitehouse was a self-styled social activist with traditional religious beliefs.

Armed with support from religious bodies and conservative media pundits, Whitehouse successfully gained significant attention to her cause to purify the out of control video industry. This is when the witch hunts commenced. The Video Recordings Act of 1984 was soon introduced and it wasn’t long before video stores and distribution warehouses were being raided by police with videos being seized at a heroic pace. All in all, 39 films were targeted and successfully banned. A further 33 films were also scrutinised, but these managed to survive. As of today, 10 of the films on the video nasty list are still banned in uncut versions in the UK. For a more detailed account of this embarrassing series of events, I urge you to watch the following documentary:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ppqutUB23A&w=540]

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The advent of the video nasty list had an interesting effect on the films involved. It gave each film instant notoriety and it’s safe to say that several of these films would have been forgotten were in not for the list. It should also be noted that many of these films aren’t particularly nasty. Rather than watch the films, it seems reasonable to assume that those responsible for correcting our moral compass assessed films based solely on the artwork and title. Anyone remotely interested in this world of cinema are very aware that low budget films will make grandiose claims in order to attract viewers to their schlock. A perfect example is Abel Ferrara’s notorious flick, ‘Driller Killer’. Those who have seen it will attest that there is very little gore. Rather we have a grimy psychological thriller. Removed from context however, the video cover (which you can see below) makes the film look horrifically violent. That combined with the alarmist film title really attracted the attention of the censors. Please enjoy the following selection of ten video covers from this infamous era. There will be more to come at a later date.





















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