Video nasties
The 72 "video nasties" compiled by the Director of Public Prosecutions and published in 1983, 39 of which were deemed "obscene" by the courts. The kind of films that, during my youth, were either passed around like samizdat literature on piss poor VHS tapes or were beyond our limited reach and so became the source of wild rumours about their lurid contents. Most proved rather disappointing when we finally tracked them down (although some rank amongst my favourite films), but being banned did add an extra level of enjoyment to tracking them down and watching them. Following the retirement of chief scourge of video nasties James Ferman, a lot of the films have since been resubmitted and most have passed with no cuts, those that remain cut tend to include violence to animals and women. Interestingly, Ferman's retirement in 1999 coincided with a renaissance in British horror films, as can be demonstrated in this graph. Coincidence?
I have grouped the videos by whether they were or were not prosecuted and then related films from the same period that were caught up in the moral panic (basically the grouping they have on Wikipedia), rounding things out with some documentaries. I've also provided a few quick details of the film's fate although I've not been too specific as there can be multiple versions of one title and the situation can change, so do your homework before buying.
Sources: Video Nasties list and The Complete Video Nasties List , both of which give an overview of the films (the former is the most in-depth).
Further reading: Seduction of the Gullible: The Truth Behind the Video Nasty Scandal (2007) by John Martin. The Evil Dead, The Living Dead and the dead wrong , a Guardian article looking back on the period, prompted by the release of the following DVD:
Further viewing: Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide (R2). There are also two collections, both also R2:
* Box of the Banned, contains: The Evil Dead, Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Driller Killer, The Last House on the Left, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, I Spit on Your Grave and Ban the Sadist Videos!. I didn't buy this one as some of the films are cut, I have either already seen some and the ones I wanted to buy I got in better quality and uncut DVDs.
* Box of the Banned 2, contains: Tenebrae, Contamination, Don't Go Near the Park, The Witch Who Came From the Sea, Evilspeak and Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2. I have this one as it seemed a reasonably-priced collection with a few films I was curious about seeing.
See also: Torture porn films (and their antecedents), my wider list of similar films from around the world. Someone else has done a list on "roughies," which I know little about but according to Sleazoid Express: A Mind-twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square they are "extreme, sexually motivated movies". Both lists demonstrate that there is far worse lurking out there, and the films that made the list seem rather random.
I have grouped the videos by whether they were or were not prosecuted and then related films from the same period that were caught up in the moral panic (basically the grouping they have on Wikipedia), rounding things out with some documentaries. I've also provided a few quick details of the film's fate although I've not been too specific as there can be multiple versions of one title and the situation can change, so do your homework before buying.
Sources: Video Nasties list and The Complete Video Nasties List , both of which give an overview of the films (the former is the most in-depth).
Further reading: Seduction of the Gullible: The Truth Behind the Video Nasty Scandal (2007) by John Martin. The Evil Dead, The Living Dead and the dead wrong , a Guardian article looking back on the period, prompted by the release of the following DVD:
Further viewing: Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide (R2). There are also two collections, both also R2:
* Box of the Banned, contains: The Evil Dead, Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Driller Killer, The Last House on the Left, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, I Spit on Your Grave and Ban the Sadist Videos!. I didn't buy this one as some of the films are cut, I have either already seen some and the ones I wanted to buy I got in better quality and uncut DVDs.
* Box of the Banned 2, contains: Tenebrae, Contamination, Don't Go Near the Park, The Witch Who Came From the Sea, Evilspeak and Ban the Sadist Videos! Part 2. I have this one as it seemed a reasonably-priced collection with a few films I was curious about seeing.
See also: Torture porn films (and their antecedents), my wider list of similar films from around the world. Someone else has done a list on "roughies," which I know little about but according to Sleazoid Express: A Mind-twisting Tour Through the Grindhouse Cinema of Times Square they are "extreme, sexually motivated movies". Both lists demonstrate that there is far worse lurking out there, and the films that made the list seem rather random.
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- DirectorJoe D'AmatoStarsGeorge EastmanAnnie BelleCharles BorromelA priest-doctor chasing a man with supernatural regenerative abilities, who has recently escaped from a medical lab, reaches a small town where the mutant goes on a killing spree.aka Anthropophagus 2 (although not actually a sequel)
Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorJoe D'AmatoStarsTisa FarrowSaverio ValloneSerena GrandiA group of friends and a hitchhiker become stranded on a tourist island where they are stalked by a disfigured cannibalistic killer who is prowling the island after killing its residents.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorAntonio MargheritiStarsJohn SaxonElizabeth TurnerGiovanni Lombardo RadiceMentally unstable Vietnam vets who were held captive by the Viet Cong come back to America after being rescued carrying a dangerous virus that turns people into cannibals when bitten.aka Cannibal Apocalypse
Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorFrederick R. FriedelStarsLeslie LeeJack CanonRay GreenThree criminals on a murder spree arrives at a farmhouse, where a girl is living with her paralyzed grandfather.aka Lisa, Lisa
Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2005. - DirectorMario BavaStarsClaudine AugerLuigi PistilliClaudio CamasoThe murder of a wealthy countess triggers a chain reaction of brutal killings in the surrounding bay area, as several unscrupulous characters try to seize her large estate.aka Twitch of the Death Nerve
Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2010. - DirectorCharles McCrannStarsCharles McCrannBeverly ShapiroDennis HelfendMarijuana growers deep in the woods are hit with a new toxic herbicide, and they turn into mindless cannibals killing everyone they come into contact with.aka Toxic Zombies
Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2006. - DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsWilliam KerwinMal ArnoldConnie MasonAn Egyptian caterer kills various women in suburban Miami to use their body parts to revive a dormant Egyptian goddess while an inept police detective tries to track him down.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2005. - DirectorJesús FrancoStarsOlivia PascalChristoph MoosbruggerNadja GerganoffGirls are killed at a language-school in Spain.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2008. - DirectorTony MaylamStarsBrian MatthewsLeah AyresBrian BackerA former summer camp caretaker, horribly burned from a prank gone wrong, lurks around an upstate New York summer camp bent on killing the teenagers responsible for his disfigurement.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2001. - DirectorUmberto LenziStarsGiovanni Lombardo RadiceLorraine De SelleDanilo MatteiThree friends set out to disprove cannibalism on a trip to the Amazonian jungle, where they meet two men trying to escape a vicious cannibal tribe.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorEloy de la IglesiaStarsVicente ParraEmma CohenEusebio PoncelaA meat factory worker accidentally kills a taxi driver, and begins gradually killing people close to him in order to cover up his original crime. He starts getting rid of the mounting corpses stored in his bedroom through his day job.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorJesús FrancoStarsUrsula BuchfellnerAl CliverAntonio Mayansa young woman modelling in South America is kidnapped for ransom in the jungle when a Vietnam veteran is going to rescue her only to find out that the jungle is filled with cannibalsProsecuted.
Passed uncut in 2008. - DirectorJames BryanStarsNick ClelandMary Gail ArtzJames P. HaydenFour friends camping in the woods inadvertently stumble upon the domain of a maniacal killer.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2007. - DirectorAbel FerraraStarsAbel FerraraCarolyn MarzBaybi DayAn artist slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the streets of New York after dark and randomly killing derelicts with a power drill.
- DirectorEric WestonStarsClint HowardR.G. ArmstrongJoe CorteseAn outcast military cadet taps into a way to summon demons and cast spells on his tormentors through his computer.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2004. - DirectorJames Kenelm ClarkeStarsUdo KierLinda HaydenFiona RichmondA paranoid writer is unable to get started on his second novel. He hires a secretary and then his troubles really begin.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorJohn Alan SchwartzStarsMichael CarrSamuel BerkowitzMary Ellen BrightonA collection of death scenes, ranging from TV material to homemade super 8 movies.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorRobert A. EndelsonStarsRobert JuddCatherine PeppersLela SmallA mean trashy exploitation picture about three convicts who escape from jail and hole up at the house of a black minister. There are a few nasty scenes where the minister's family is being repeatedly terrorized by the thugs. In the end the minister turns the tables on the 3 convicts and gives them their just desserts.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorPaul MorrisseyAntonio MargheritiStarsJoe DallesandroUdo KierDalila Di LazzaroBaron Frankenstein creates two "zombies" - one male, one female - planning to mate them in order to create a master race.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2006. - DirectorCesare CanevariStarsAdriano MicantoniDaniela PoggiMaristella GrecoA Jewish woman who survived the horrors of a concentration camp revisits the ruins of the camp, along with a former SS officer, and recollects the humiliation, the torture, and the constant abuse she went through.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorAndy MilliganStarsVeronica RadburnMaggie RogersHal BorskeThree married couples are forced to spend the night in a Victorian-era house where they start getting killed off by a deranged psycho who's bent on claiming an inheritance they are all entitled to.aka Blood Rites
Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorLucio FulciStarsCatriona MacCollPaolo MalcoAnia PieroniA New England home is terrorized by a series of murders, unbeknownst to the guests that a gruesome secret is hiding in the basement.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2011. - DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsDavid HessAnnie BelleChristian BorromeoTwo low-life punks invite themselves to a party at a posh villa and after being taunted by their snobbish hosts, hold everyone hostage and subject them to various forms of torture and mayhem.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorLuigi BatzellaStarsMacha MagallGino TuriniEdilio KimA beautiful, nefarious senior female SS officer/doctor creates a genetic, mutant human hybrid; the beast is a, squat, mongoloid hyper-sexually-driven fiend which she uses to torture and molest female prisoners while get fellow Nazis watch.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorRené CardonaStarsJosé Elías MorenoCarlos López MoctezumaArmando SilvestreA doctor tries to save his son's life through a complicated heart transplant operation, the involuntary donor being a gorilla. Eventually, the young man turns into a violent hybrid beast.aka Night of the Bloody Apes
Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2002. - DirectorNico MastorakisStarsBob BehlingJane LyleJessica DublinA couple of perverted and maniac killers get loose on a Greek island.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2010. - DirectorMeir ZarchiStarsCamille KeatonEron TaborRichard PaceAn aspiring writer is repeatedly assaulted, humiliated, and left for dead by four men she systematically hunts down to seek revenge.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2008. - DirectorLee FrostStarsBob CresseMaria LeaseKathy WilliamsTwo female Army agents go undercover at a Nazi prison camp to get information from a scientist being held there.Prosecuted.
Resubmitted but refused classification. - DirectorMiguel IglesiasStarsPaul NaschyMercedes MolinaSilvia SolarWaldemar, the renowned adventurer, joins an expedition to find the Yeti in the Himalayas. While hiking the mountains, he's captured by two cannibalistic demon nymphets guarding a remote Buddhist temple and becomes their sex-slave. They transform him into a werewolf setting him loose to roam the mountain where he encounters a sadistic bandit.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorJack WeisStarsCurt DawsonGwen ArmentWilliam MetzoPolice try to capture someone who is commiting ritual murders of women during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorRomano ScavoliniStarsBaird StaffordSharon SmithC.J. CookeA mental patient embarks on a murder spree upon escaping from an institution.aka Nightmares in a Damaged Brain
Prosecuted. - DirectorJames C. WassonStarsMichael CuttJoy AllenBob CollinsAn anthropologist and his students attempt to track down a Bigfoot responsible for a rash of violent murders, only to uncover something even more sinister.Prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorMichael FindlayHoracio FredrikssonSimon NuchternStarsMargarita AmuchásteguiTina AustinAna CarroA so-called "snuff" film involving the exploits of a cult leader leading a gang of bikers in a series of supposedly real killings on film.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2003. - DirectorSergio GarroneStarsMircha CarvenPaola CorazziGiorgio CerioniNear the end of WW2, prisoners of war are used in experiments to perfect the "Aryan" race.Prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorDario ArgentoStarsAnthony FranciosaGiuliano GemmaJohn SaxonAn American novelist visiting Rome to promote his latest book is stalked and harassed by an obsessed fan who is committing a string of murders that appear to be tributes to his work.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2003. - DirectorOvidio G. AssonitisStarsPatricia MickeyMichael MacRaeDennis RobertsonA woman is pursued by her murderous, psychopathic twin sister in the days leading up to their birthday.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2004. - DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.Prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2005. - DirectorLucio FulciStarsCatriona MacCollDavid WarbeckCinzia MonrealeA young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2001. - DirectorUlli LommelStarsSuzanna LoveJohn CarradineRon JamesThrough the reflection in the mirror, a girl witnesses her mother's boyfriend's murder.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2000. - DirectorBruce PearnUlli LommelPaul WillsonStarsSuzanna LoveUlli LommelShannah HallLacey travels to Hollywood, to the home of a film director, where she brings along the last surviving haunted mirror shard from the end of the first movie as proof to her horrifying experiences.aka Revenge of the Bogey Man
Not prosecuted.
Re-edited with additional footage and passed in 2003 - DirectorAlain DeruelleOlivier MathotJulio Pérez TaberneroStarsSilvia SolarGérard LemairePamela StanfordAfter botching a kidnapping, two criminals hide with their victim in a friends house in the jungle. After one of them rapes the friend's wife, they're left to be eaten by a nearby cannibal tribe.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2003. - DirectorLuigi CozziStarsIan McCullochLouise MarleauMarino MaséA former astronaut helps a government agent and a police detective track the source of mysterious alien pod spores, filled with lethal flesh-dissolving acid, to a South American coffee plantation controlled by alien pod clones.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2004. - DirectorGary ShermanStarsJames FarentinoMelody AndersonJack AlbertsonSheriff Dan Gillis investigates eerie deaths in a sleepy coastal town.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 1999. - DirectorTobe HooperStarsNeville BrandMel FerrerCarolyn JonesA psychotic redneck, who owns a dilapidated hotel in rural East Texas, kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.aka Eaten Alive!
Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2000. - DirectorPeter MarisStarsTurk CekovskyDebi ChaneyTerry TenBroekAn ex-soldier is hired by local right-wingers as a vigilante to clean up criminals and street people. However, he freaks out and starts killing off everybody.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorJesús FrancoStarsLina RomayMartine StedilNathalie ChapeA small-time hood brings the attention of the law with an insurance scam and diamond theft, but things become even more interesting when his moll murders him and is slammed behind bars where she faces all manner of electric shock treatments to various parts of her anatomy.aka Women Behind Bars
Not prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorJoseph EllisonStarsDan GrimaldiCharles BonetBill RicciA disturbed young man who was burned as a child by his sadistic mother stalks women with a flamethrower.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2011. - DirectorLawrence David FoldesStarsAldo RayMeeno PeluceTammy TaylorTwo siblings cursed in prehistoric times survive for millennia by feasting on the entrails of young people, prowling in what eventually becomes a park in contemporary Los Angeles.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2006. - DirectorAldo LadoStarsFlavio BucciMacha MérilGianfranco De GrassiA pair of psychotic hoodlums and an equally demented nymphomaniac woman terrorize two young girls on a train trip from Germany to Italy.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2008. - DirectorStephen CarpenterJeffrey ObrowStarsLaurie LapinskiStephen SachsDavid SnowFour college students are stalked by an unknown assailant while staying on campus over the Christmas holidays to help clear out a dormitory which is to be demolished.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorMurray MarkowitzStarsElke SommerDonald PilonChuck ShamataA woman is murdered and her millionaire husband is accused. But is he guilty?aka Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2001. - DirectorWilliam AsherStarsJimmy McNicholSusan TyrrellBo SvensonAn orphaned teenager finds himself being dominated by his aunt who's hell-bent on keeping him with her...at all costs.aka Night Warning
Not prosecuted.
Resubmitted but refused classification. - DirectorS.F. BrownriggStarsBill McGheeJessie Lee FultonRobert DracupA young psychiatric nurse goes to work at a remote asylum following a murder. There, she experiences varying degrees of torment from the patients.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2005. - DirectorFrank RoachStarsRenee HarmonLynne YeamanWolf MuserMad scientists turn people into frozen zombies and the zombies wreak havoc and kill people.Not prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorTobe HooperStarsElizabeth BerridgeShawn CarsonJeanne AustinFour teenagers visit a local carnival for a night of innocent amusement, but soon discover that nothing there is innocent or amusing.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 1987. - DirectorGregory GoodellStarsLinda HaynesGeoffrey LewisEllen TravoltaA demented prison doctor performs gruesome shock therapy experiments on inmates.Not prosecuted.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorDario ArgentoStarsLeigh McCloskeyIrene MiracleEleonora GiorgiAn American student investigates the disappearance of his sister and the death of a friend, both connected from New York to Rome by an old alchemy book.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2010. - DirectorJorge GrauStarsCristina GalbóRay LovelockArthur KennedyA cop chases two hippies suspected of a series of Manson family-like murders; unbeknownst to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a hunger for human flesh by ultrasonic radiation being used for pest control.aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie or The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue
Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2002. - DirectorUmberto LenziStarsIvan RassimovMe Me LaiPrasitsak SingharaAfter a photographer is captured by a primitive tribe, his life is spared and he's accepted into the village after the chief's daughter falls for him, but he has to survive the jungle's harsh life, including the cannibals.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorKen HughesStarsLeonard MannRachel WardDrew SnyderWho's been decapitating the innocent girls at a local night school? The police are baffled.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsIsabelle AdjaniSam NeillMargit CarstensenA woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 1999. - DirectorSergio MartinoStarsUrsula AndressStacy KeachClaudio CassinelliA woman and her brother fly to New Guinea to look for a lost expedition, led by her husband, which has vanished in the jungle.aka The Mountain of the Cannibal God
Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorJ.S. CardoneStarsSarah KendallFrederick FlynnCarol KottenbrookTwo couples become stranded on a rugged isle, and are haunted by a supernatural beast, drawn to the wife of one of the couples, who dreams of its killings.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2001. - DirectorGiulio BerrutiStarsAnita EkbergAlida ValliMassimo SeratoLegendary Swedish sex bomb Anita Ekberg stars as Sister Gertrude, a cruel nun who discovers depraved pleasure in a frenzy of drug addiction, sexual degradation and sadistic murder.aka Killer Nun
Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2006. - DirectorDennis DonnellyStarsCameron MitchellPamelyn FerdinWesley EureA ski-masked maniac kills apartment complex tenants with the contents of a toolbox.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorDon GronquistStarsLaurel MunsonJanet PennerSara AnsleyThree young women who crash their car during a rainstorm are taken in by a bizarre family at their large, rural estate.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2004. - DirectorJean-Claude LordStarsMichael IronsideLee GrantLinda PurlA deranged, misogynistic killer assaults a journalist. When he discovers that she survived the attack, he follows her to the hospital to finish her off.Not prosecuted.
Still cut. - DirectorMatt CimberStarsMillie PerkinsLonny ChapmanVanessa BrownA disturbed woman is haunted by memories of childhood abuse, which culminates in a murder spree.Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2006. - DirectorBruno MatteiClaudio FragassoStarsMargie NewtonFranco GarofaloSelan KarayAfter an experiment gone wrong, a virus that turns people into zombies spreads throughout New Guinea. A female reporter and her cameraman, and a team of four commandos sent to investigate try to survive the onslaught.aka Hell of the Living Dead
Not prosecuted.
Passed uncut in 2002. - DirectorRobert HoustonKenji MisumiStarsTomisaburô WakayamaKayo MatsuoMinoru ÔkiWhen the wife of the Shogun's Decapitator is murdered and he is ordered to commit suicide by the paranoid Shogun, he and his four-year-old son escape and become assassins for hire, embarking on a journey of blood and violent death.Despite what some people think it was never actually on the video nasties.
Passed uncut in 1999. - DirectorHarry Bromley DavenportStarsPhilip SayerBernice StegersDanny BraininAn alien creature impregnates a woman who gives birth to a man who was abducted by aliens three years ago. The man reconnects with his wife and son for a sinister purpose.Despite what some people think it was never actually on the video nasties.
Passed uncut in 1987. - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsEllen BurstynMax von SydowLinda BlairWhen a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Passed uncut in 1999. - DirectorWilliam LustigStarsJoe SpinellCaroline MunroAbigail ClaytonA psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Still cut. - DirectorCharles KaufmanStarsTiana PierceNancy HendricksonDeborah LuceTwo brothers kidnap and brutalize three women for the pleasure of their demented mother.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Never resubmitted. - DirectorLucio FulciStarsJack HedleyAlmanta SuskaHoward RossA burned-out New York police detective teams up with a college psychoanalyst to track down a vicious serial killer randomly stalking and killing various young women around the city.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Still cut. - DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Passed uncut in 2002. - DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Banned by the BBFC but never on the list.
Passed uncut in 1999. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.Not banned as some think, but pulled by Kubrick after claims that it had caused copycat violence.
Released uncut after Kubrick died in 1999. - DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsRay WinstoneDavid ThrelfallMartin PhillipsThis is the hard and shocking story of life in a British borstal for young offenders. The brutal regime made no attempt to reform or improve the inmates and actively encouraged a power struggle between the 'tough' new inmate and the 'old hands'.The BBC refused to broadcast the TV film as part of its Play for the Day series because of the violence, so it was retooled into the 1979 film:
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsRay WinstoneMick FordJulian FirthAn uncompromising story of life in a British juvenile offender institution in the '70s.Released as a film with the strapline "The film they tried to ban."
- DirectorDavid GregoryStarsChris TheobaldNorman AbbottBarrie GoldAn in-depth analysis of the "Video Nasty" scandal of the early 1980s in Britain.
- DirectorDavid GregoryStarsChris TheobaldMary WhitehouseGraham BrightAn investigation of UK video censorship after the video recordings act was introduced.
- DirectorJake WestStarsJulian PetleyMarc MorrisAndy NymanA documentary analyzing the furore which so-called "video nasties" caused in Britain during the 1980s.
- DirectorPaul JacksonStarsAdrian EdmondsonRik MayallNigel PlanerMike and Vyvan plan to watch video nasties but have trouble working the video player; Neil has a bath; a vampire terrorizes the guys.In which the guys rent the fictional video nasty "Sex With the Headless Corpse of the Virgin Astronaut," which someone should have made at some point.
- DirectorJörg ButtgereitStarsLars EidingerViktor NeumannClaudia Urbschat-MinguesA stage play by Jörg Buttgereit.Two films called Video Nasty. I am surprised it took someone so long to do this (and then 2 come along at once!!). The content of either is unclear, I just threw them in for the curiosity value.
- DirectorThomas McCueFour masked Assailants have just kidnapped Rian Fletcher, the teenage Daughter of Brian Fletcher; a prominent businessman and multi-millionaire. Their plan is simple; make a video of a battered and bruised Rian, send it to her Father and demand a ransom. Held up at an abandoned warehouse the first part of the plan goes off without a hitch and a ransom demand is sent. However, as night falls the Men realize that they are not alone, there is a Creature in the warehouse, a blood thirsty creature that begins to take them out one at a time. Very soon the Kidnappers and their Victim realize that they will have to work together if they are going to survive the night.
- DirectorDarren J. PerryMark WilliamsStarsRick BakerMark J. BanvilleGary BaxterA feature length documentary taking a look at the explosion of movies that became available on VHS in the U.K. Taken from the perspective of those who tried to unearth that elusive movie at all costs known as psychotronic cinema.