I fell in love with a Video Nasty

[Vamp]

Watching Video Nasties you soon realise just how fucking tame some of they are. Possession starring Sam Neill being a fine example. Here's a film that probably would have been banned if anyone saw it 30 years ago, even though it's dead tame - Black Magic Rites and the Secret Orgies of the 14th Century. It's shit, but it's got Mickey Hargitay in it, and a man who looks like John C. Reilly with a facial tick who gets to have a threesome with two delightful ladies.

 

I was at a talk for a new Cannibal Holocaust documentary a while back and it's quite interesting the way that particular film has been re-appropriated as a work of art. Quite rightly I would argue. Apparently when the BBFC reviewed it they were more easy going on the classification than would have been expected in the past.

 

It's Argento. He's not my fave, and it's not his best, but it's still head and shoulders above much of this list. Only perversity means that I'd chose Night of the Demon over 70s and 80s Argento.

 

God I love Argento. Even if that is a wanky thing to admit. I even like Terror at the Opera.

 

People probably already know of it but next year's Cine-Excess might be of interest to people. They've had Argento show up previously. The people involved in the company are prolific writers on some of the genres that have come up in this discussion.

[Devon Malcolm]

I was at a talk for a new Cannibal Holocaust documentary a while back and it's quite interesting the way that particular film has been re-appropriated as a work of art. Quite rightly I would argue. Apparently when the BBFC reviewed it they were more easy going on the classification than would have been expected in the past.

 

Not surprising. They're a lot less harsh than they used to be. They're very big these days on judging things on having 'artistic merit', which shouldn't actually be in their remit, actually. It's the reason they banned Grotesque and The Human Centipede 2 - they claimed they had no artistic merit. The former certainly doesn't, it's one of the worst films I've ever seen, but I'm uncomfortable with them judging for others what passes for good or bad art and potentially stopping them from watching stuff.

[Vamp]

I was at a talk for a new Cannibal Holocaust documentary a while back and it's quite interesting the way that particular film has been re-appropriated as a work of art. Quite rightly I would argue. Apparently when the BBFC reviewed it they were more easy going on the classification than would have been expected in the past.

 

Not surprising. They're a lot less harsh than they used to be. They're very big these days on judging things on having 'artistic merit', which shouldn't actually be in their remit, actually. It's the reason they banned Grotesque and The Human Centipede 2 - they claimed they had no artistic merit. The former certainly doesn't, it's one of the worst films I've ever seen, but I'm uncomfortable with them judging for others what passes for good or bad art and potentially stopping them from watching stuff.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not keen on the BBFC judging what's of artistic merit or not, more in favour of the way things have changed. It's not so much a recent development but it did take a bit of time. Watching the Human Centipede 2 did make me feel somewhat sorry for the people working in the BBFC though. Admittedly it's their job and yadda yadda but I can only imagine how some of them feel watching movies that they have no desire to watch.

[Rey_Piste]

Props on the Damned reference in the title. Many of the films on the banned list were relatively tame, as the fact that many of them were resubmitted to the BBFC and got uncut 15 certs or minor cuts for an 18 for some of the gorier titles. I just don't like the animal torture shit like Cannibal Holocaust, which actually isn't a bad film, but the scene with the monkey does make me feel very squeemish.

 

I did go throuhg a phase of watching a load of the old Italian Mondo films, which never even got attempted to be picked up by distributers for the UK because they knew they'd have to be cut right down to even be considered for certification. Most of these are full of pseudo violent natives rituals, semi hardcore porn and animal torture/sex. Obviously the most famous of these was Faces of Death which I saw when a mate bought a laser disc player, which he supported the cost of by buying in foreign discs and flogging VHS copies of. As such I saw many of the banned or heavily cut films uncut and in good quality.

[Egg Shen]

i never really went through a phase of watching them, but i love reading about em. I've got that documentary and i highly recommend everyone gets that who has a passing interest in the subject.

 

My first experience of them myself was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, i remember lending it off a metalhead who lived opposite me, it had a partially ripped photocopied cover and must have been a 10th generation quality recording. It was shocking quality but i remember putting it on in my room and keeping the volume down so my mam wouldn't hear it. Crazy times, i'm glad i experienced it to some degree.

 

The newly polished up, remastered versions of the films are nice an' all, and the director's are probably delighted that their work is finally getting treated proplerly but nothing beats a battered, half chewed VHS.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I love the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I remember watching it on VHS when I was 13 with my mate and his two brothers. They were all near similar age (one was 12, one was 13 and one was 14), so we were all experiencing it for the first time. They were weird fuckers who liked watching films with the lights turned off at 2 in the morning, so when I slept over we liked to watch horror films (I had no choice in the matter, it was their house). That was a crap copy as well, but it made the experience even more frightening. Proper shit your pants scary as well. I didn't even know what it was about until Leatherface turned up and smashed someones head in with a hammer.

[Rey_Piste]

I do think the illegality of a lot of the films was the appeal of them in my teens. It did mean that films which are genuinely good like A Clockwork Orange got ruined for me because the copy of I saw was so poor you could barely concentrate on the plot. Though it also had the opposite effect as well where films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist were shown up for not being the classic they were touted as.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

That's definitely true with a lot of films. Especially the Exorcist. I remember my Dad telling me "we shit ourselves" when him and my uncle Michael saw it in the 70s and just rumblings for years about how terrifying it was. Back when it was re-released in 1998 for Halloween, on the last day before our holidays our a bit mental science teacher asked us if we had any videos. One girl had this in her bag and he just let us watch it. None of us were fussed about it while watching it. The impact it once had is definitely gone for me. I remember hearing that it was proper terrifying.

[Rey_Piste]

Talking of films watched in school I remember one English lesson near the end of term watching Walkabout. This is a film that has a fully naked bush and all 16 year Jenny Agutter, yet due to artistic merit got a PG rating. You could have charged the national grid from all the static electricity produced from pubescent boys crossing their legs wearing cheap nylon school trousers.

[bAzTNM#1]

All those pictures in the opening post are absolutely brilliant. I just wish I could own at least *some* of them in that format.

 

I only got into the old Video Nasties when Vipco started putting them onto DVD. But they were cut to shreds and I shouldn't have bothered.

 

http://melonfarmers.co.uk/nasties.htm is a good site to see the full "Video Nasty" list. Watch out for the NSFW adverts around the page though.

 

Excellent topic.

 

P.S. Only thing I remember from "The Driller Killer" is the lesbian scene in the shower. Holy Christ.

 

"The Burning" is like an early Friday the 13th film. It should never have been banned. Rick Wakeman does the musical score for some reason.

 

I bloody love "Cannibal Holocaust"'s soundtrack. It is absolutely beautiful.

[Vamp]

Though it also had the opposite effect as well where films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist were shown up for not being the classic they were touted as.

 

I think Texas Chainsaw Massacre is every bit the classic it's touted as. Maybe, to a certain extent, it doesn't uphold in fear factor but it's still bloody intense and brilliantly done.

 

I wonder how many of these are on YouTube or whatever now. Maybe this should lead to a fortnightly video nasty club.

[Richie Freebird]

I spit on your grave

 

I read the Wikipedia on this one and it sounded despicable enough to raise my interest. Is it worth seeing do you think? I don

[Halitosis Romantic]

I think it's a good movie - Camille Keaton's performance is very strong, and it's pretty intense for long portions. I think you'd love it, Richie. It's actually been on telly before, I don't know how cut it was - I taped it off of the TV, having seen the movie on a classically "distressed" 4th-gen VHS, but even though I then transferred it to DVD, I've not seen it since.

[WWFChilli]

That's definitely true with a lot of films. Especially the Exorcist. I remember my Dad telling me "we shit ourselves" when him and my uncle Michael saw it in the 70s and just rumblings for years about how terrifying it was. Back when it was re-released in 1998 for Halloween, on the last day before our holidays our a bit mental science teacher asked us if we had any videos. One girl had this in her bag and he just let us watch it. None of us were fussed about it while watching it. The impact it once had is definitely gone for me. I remember hearing that it was proper terrifying.

 

My mother still steadfast refuses to watch this film even today after she originally saw it. I imagine when it was released the effect it had was enormous but over time it lost it's sheen.

[Rey_Piste]

Though it also had the opposite effect as well where films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Exorcist were shown up for not being the classic they were touted as.

 

I think Texas Chainsaw Massacre is every bit the classic it's touted as. Maybe, to a certain extent, it doesn't uphold in fear factor but it's still bloody intense and brilliantly done.

 

I wonder how many of these are on YouTube or whatever now. Maybe this should lead to a fortnightly video nasty club.

I think it's a film that it's reputation preceded it. So watching it whilst it was still banned and also watching after it after seeing the sequel I was expecting a gorefest, not a film that slowly ramps up the tension. As soon as you see leatherface with the hammer twatting the one fella you expect shit to get nasty instead you end up with a good 30 minutes of the blonde bird running about screaming constantly with the only bit of blood ending up being the bit where leatherface cuts his own leg on the saw. The acting overall is decent and the pacing is very good, it was just a film that was disappointing because of it's notoriety. Driller Killer being another fine example of this.