A-Z of VIDEO NASTIES
text sourced from http://www.hysteria-lives.co.uk/hysterialives/Hysteria/slasher_nasties_4.html
sourced for research purposes [May 2005]
A-Z of VIDEO NASTIES
Many,many movies were, at some time or other accused of being 'video-nasties'. Prior to the 'Video Recordings Act of 1984' (VRA) the onus was on the courts to prosecute a film if it was likely to "deprave or corrupt" the viewer. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) drew up a list of videos that were liable for prosecution. Below are 39 films that were cleared from the nations shops and successfully prosecuted. Some were later released in butchered versions, others were never seen again- the lucky few managed to make a meagre living at especially dodgy bootfairs. Here they are, ladies and gentlemen, the original, the infamous, the banned, the...video-nasties.
ABSURD
(1981,It.)
(aka ROSSO SANGUE aka HORRIBLE aka THE MONSTER HUNTER)
...the late, great Joe D'Amato's gored up, wigged out take on John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978). Not to mention a sequel to fellow 'nasty' ANTHROPOPHAGOUS THE BEAST (1980). Still banned in the UK and with no real chance of ever getting a legitimate video release.
ANTHROPOPHAGOUS THE BEAST
(1980,It.)
(aka ANTROPOHAGUS aka THE GRIM REAPER)
...D'Amato monster epic. Part gore hounds delight, part travelogue. Managed to offend almost everyone with a foetus quaffing scene that guarantees it wont be appearing next to A VERY BRADY SEQUEL at your local HMV for some time to come!
AXE
(1977,US)
(aka CALIFORNIA AXE MASSACRE aka LISA LISA)
...a, largely incompetent, rape/revenge saga that would have been largely forgotten today if it hadn't of been caught up in the 'nasties' fuore. Still banned.
THE BEAST IN HEAT
(1977,It.)
(aka SS HELL CAMP aka SS EXPERIMENT CAMP 2)
...one of the most notorious 'nasties' and also one of the rarest- original copies have been known to exchange hands for silly, and I mean silly money. A dumb and dull Nazi sexploitationer that has a midget with a taste for pubic hair! Naturally, it remains banned.
THE BEYOND
(1981,It.)
(aka L'ALDILA aka SEVEN DOORS OF DEATH)
...Arguably Lucio Fulci's finest movie. A surrealist zombie tour-de-force with eye popping (literally!) gore fx....The version that was banned was in fact the already censored 'X' UK cinema version. It was further butchered by the BBFC for its post VRA re-release.
BLOODBATH
(1971,It.)
(aka A BAY OF BLOOD aka TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE)
...Mario Bava's hugely influencial black comedy. A gory body-count movie about deadly struggles and fatal greed. Without it there would not have been FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980). Was re-released in the UK on Redemption (post-VRA), with some cuts.
BLOOD FEAST
(1963,US)
...Herschell Gordon Lewis' seminal gore epic is the oldest film on the list. It also provides testament to the retarded morality and continuing stupidity of a censorious society that could find a film as campily hilarious as this, offensive or obscene. Incredibly it remains banned on video in the UK.
BLOOD RITES
(1969,US)
(aka THE GHASTLY ONES)
...One of Andy Milligan's tedious period gore/home-movies. Still banned in the UK and, lets face it, for the sake of the nations sanity should probably remain there!
BLOODY MOON
(1980,Sp/WG.)
(aka PRO FONDE TENEBRE aka COLEGIALAS VIOLADAS)
...Never one to let a movie trend go by without exploiting it, this is legendary Spanish director Jesus Franco's take on the slasher/body-count movie. Hokey gore, disco dancing and more fast zooms than you can shake a bloody stick at. Was re-released (post-VRA) with cuts.... Incindentally the movies' most infamous moment, a sawmill decapitation, shows up intact in the opening scene of Pedro Almodovar's MATADOR.
THE BOGEY MAN
(1980,US)
(aka THE BOOGEYMAN)
...Ulli Lommel's sometimes intriguing mixture of themes from THE EXORCIST (1973), THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) and, of course, HALLOWEEN. Chock-a-block full of gory designer deaths. Was re-released (post-VRA) with slight cuts.
THE BURNING
(1980,US)
...This Summer Camp slaughterthon in the FRIDAY 13TH (1980) vein was ,after an administrative error- it should have been the cut UK cinema version, accidentally put out on video uncut by a mortified THORN/EMI. It was recalled and, much to their continuing embarrasment, re-issued again without the appropriate cuts. Eventually a BBFC approved version, which made sizable cuts to Tom Savini's effective gore fx- methodically removing any evidence of flying digits or blood on breasts, was released.
CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE
(1980,It.)
(aka CANNIBALS IN THE STREETS aka INVASION OF THE FLESH HUNTERS)
...Even 'X' rated in the States- when that rating was usually only used for hard-core porno, this is a grim and gory mixture of cannibal and Vietnam movie. Starring John Saxon and that regular of this list John Morgen. Remains banned in the UK.
CANNIBAL FEROX
(1981,It.)
(aka MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY aka WOMAN FROM DEEP RIVER)
...One of the nastier of the 'nasties', a film that revels in an avalanche of hokey but ,at the same time, disturbing gore- made all the more so by unnecessary, real animal mutilation. Proudly proclaimed itself as being "Banned in 31 countries!".
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST
(1979,It.)
...Right up there with DRILLER KILLER and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE as nasty numero-uno, Deodato's film is a powerful and disturbing work that is acclaimed as a masterpiece in some quarters, but, like FEROX needlessly relies on the extremeties of the MONDO movies for a great deal of its shock value. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST has been repeatedly accused of being a 'snuff' movie (even as recently as last year!), by societies' intellectually challenged. The version banned in the UK was not uncut, it had already undergone severe trimming at the hands of its distributor.... It would be a cold day in Hell indeed before this film legally sees the light of day in the UK.
CANNIBAL MAN
(1972,Sp.)
(aka LA SEMENA DEL ASESINO aka THE APARTMENT ON THE 13TH FLOOR)
...The 'Cannibal' tag got this one noticed, but it is in fact Spanish variation on the themes from Polanski's REPULSION (1965). May have been safe from prosecution if it hadn't associated itself, by name, with Deodato's and Lenzi's gutmunchers...Was eventually re-released (by Redmption), after some BBFC cuts.
CANNIBAL TERROR
(1981,Fr/Sp.)
...Dull and inept entry into the then popular sub-genre. Even completists find this a chore to sit through...Was dropped from the Director of Public Prosecution's lists of films liable to be prosecuted but, as of this moment, no one has attempted to re-submit it to the BBFC for a legitimate video certificate. Probably a good thing!
CONTAMINATION
(1980,It/WG.)
(aka ALIEN 2 aka ALIEN CONTAMINATION)
...Following in the hearty Italian tradition this is Luigi Cozzi's cheap and cheerful (unofficial) sequel to ALIEN (1979). Also nicking elements from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1958), CONTAMINATION is a enjoyably gory and daft romp, with Cozzi glossing over the budgetry differences by upping the spalt-value considerably- ALIEN had one exploding stomach, in CONTAMINATION entrails rarely stay where they are meant to!. Was re-released (post VRA) in a significantly butchered form.
DEAD & BURIED
(1981,US)
...One of the larger budget films to get banned. DEAD & BURIED had completed a fairly successful run at UK cinemas and THORN/EMI were expecting equally good things for its video release. Unfortunately in the then hysterical climate Stan Winston's realistic gore fx were condidered beyond the pale. So this, one of the best horror movies from the early 80's disappeared from sight- until a slightly cut version was released post-VRA. (update- 02/08/99: The film has now been re-released completely uncut (bar one sound effect?!), on a budget label (4-front)- in the UK.)
DEATH TRAP
(1976,US)
(aka EATEN ALIVE aka STARLIGHT SLAUGHTER)
...Tobe Hooper's follow up to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) not only upped the black comedy, but also the gore for his backwoods-motel-massacre. And despite screening at the London Film Festival it found itself being persecuted by a mostly unlikely nemesis the great (although unfortunately not late), Mary Whitehouse. Whitehouse, a rabid housewife who's wrath seemed completely arbitary- she singled out THE EVIL DEAD as the 'number one nasty', but was famous for never actually watching any of the films that she condemned. And her righteous interfering was enough to send DEATH TRAP on its way to a successful prosecution for obscenity. It was eventually re-released on video with 25 seconds worth of cuts.
DEEP RIVER SAVAGES
(1972,It/Thai)
(aka MAN FROM DEEP RIVER aka MONDO CANNIBALE)
...Lenzi's later CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) may be the more brutal and graphic film, but he hardly does the Third World any favours with this gut-muncher. Once again proving that using real life animal butchery for effect is a weak disguise for a lazy and talentless film maker. It was removed from the list but has not been submitted for classification since- and would unlikely get one without further cuts.
DELIRIUM
(1980,US)
(aka PSYCHO PUPPET)
...Confusing and misogynistic junk that has a Vietnam vet hired to 'clear some scum off the streets', in his spare time he likes to hunt down and kill nubile women! Was re-released with cuts as PSYCHO PUPPET
DEVIL HUNTER
(1980,Sp/WG)
(aka SEXO CANIBAL)
...More nonsense from unstoppable Jesus Franco. This one is a confusing and inept tale concerning a model- who's clothes keep falling off, being kidnapped by primitives and being saved by...well, you guessed it. Why this was banned remains a mystery to this day and, perhaps more incredibly, it remains so.
DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE
(1979,US)
(aka THE BURNING)
...Originally it was going to be called THE BURNING until the makers realized that Miramax had snapped up the right to that name for its own Summer Camp slaughterthon. This is a sleazy tale of a nerd who locks women in a steel room and burns them to death in a twisted revenge against his dead mother. Nasty, down-beat but also pretty inept. The ending was re-used in William Lustig's MANIAC (1981).... Eventually re-released with cuts.
DON'T GO IN THE WOODS
(1980,US)
(aka DON'T GO IN THE WOODS...ALONE!)
...This back-woods slasher is a sphincter-splinteringly bad movie. Almost achieves a new art-form through its jaw-dropping ineptness. Once seen, never forgotten- regardless how much therapy you go through!... Still banned in the UK.
DON'T GO NEAR THE PARK!
(1979,US)
(aka NIGHT STALKER aka CURSE OF THE LIVING DEAD)
...The everyday story of two pre-historic teenagers condemned to live for eternity as vampires. A few disembowellings and an early appearance from Linnea Quigley, as a girl with the power to make rapists explode (!), are the only things to recommend this movie.... It was removed from the list released, but has never been re-released.
DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT
(1973,US)
...This Florida lensed shocker was, originally, a big hit at US drive-ins. Its that old the-lunatics-have-taken-over-the-asylum gag again. The release that was banned in the UK had already had much of the gore cut out of it. Removed form the list, but has never been re-submitted for a certificate.
DRILLER KILLER
(1979,US)
...Abel Ferrara's much maligned first feature- feared by those who hadn't seen it and generally hated by those who had. Usually because of the boffo, but misleadingly gory, video art- a promotional stunt to get noticed which backfired spectaculaly. The film does have explicitly gory moments, but very few of them. DRILLER KILLER has more in common with REPULSION (1965) than it does with FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980). A post-punk study in madness. And a very good movie if you are in the right frame of mind.... Hasn't got a snowballs chance in Hell of getting a UK video release.
THE EVIL DEAD
(1982,US)
...Sam Raimi's hugely enjoyable, wildly frenetic rollercoaster ride through a gore drenched comic book landscape. The film had already found great success on this side of the Atlantic- in 1982 it was second only to ET at the Scottish box office, and it repeated that success on video. Quickly becoming a cause celbre and the focus of censorship lobbies- most famously becoming Mary Whitehouse's bette noir. Criticism obviously focused on scenes taken out of context or plain descriptions without the imagery or humour to temper them. It was eventually released with around 65seconds worth of cuts made at the altar of the BBFC.
EVILSPEAK
(1981,US)
...Great worm-that-turned horror story with Clint Howard (brother of Ron) as the nerdy student at a military academy who accesses arcane powers through a computer. A little slow at times, but well made. With voracious and deadly pigs and a knock-out gore fuelled climax this is one not to be missed. ...However, when the movie was re-released on video (post-VRA) most of the good bits had been cut out. Go figure!
EXPOSE
(1975,GB)
(aka THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL aka TRAUMA)
...The second British film to actually find itself on the banned list- the other being the sci-fi/horror opus XTRO. EXPOSE was planned, and was actually heavily promoted at UK cinemas, as a vechile for, then famous, 70's British sex-pot Fiona Richmond. It turned out to be more akin to Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS- a simialr juxtaposition of quaint rural countryside and mean-spirirted violence. And it was the rape scene, where fellow star Linda Hayden appears to enjoy the ordeal, that, along with Peckinpah's film, caused no end of censorship woes. Ending with the film being dubbed a 'video-nasty'. It has been re-released on video shorn of just under a minutes worth of material.
FACES OF DEATH
(1979,US)
...This lamentable psuedo documentary was produced primarily for the Japanese market and by the time it was let loose on an unsuspecting British public it had lost 35 minutes of its more troubling material- courtesy of nervous British distributor 'Atlantis'. Still enough Mondo madness remained to offend most who saw it (and even more so the people who just heard about it). The fact that much of the 'authentic' material was blatantly faked didn't help it gain a reprieve from the insatiable list. It remains banned and has no chance what-so-ever of getting a legitimate release, the same going for any of its sequels.
FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
(1977,GB)
(aka I HATE YOUR GUTS aka BLOODBATH AT 1313 FURY DRIVE)
...A revenge flick along the lines of LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, but made without any modicum of skill. Racist clap-trap, that, in yet another illustration at how fucked up things were during this period, FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE was given an UK cinema 'AA' certificate by the BBFC. That certificate no longer exists but, at the time, it meant the censors were more than happy to let kids as young as 14 see it!.... Naturally it is still banned in the UK.
FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN
(1973,It/Fr.)
(aka ANDY WARHOL'S FRANKENSTEIN aka IL MOSTRO E IN TAVOLA... BARONE FRANKENSTEIN)
...Kooky, campy, gory and originally shown in 3-D! This version of FRANKENSTEIN is an absolute riot from beginning to its grand-guginol-in-spades climax. Regardless of who actually directed it- it certainly wasn't Warhol, but there has long been controversy as to who had the biggest input; Paul Morrissey or Antonio Margheriti, this movie is a somewhat a pearl-amongst-shit when compared to some of the ..er.. less than accomplished abominations of the list. Shot back-to-back with the equally good BLOOD FOR DRACULA. It was re-released with, you've guessed it, cuts for its recent UK video release.
FOREST OF FEAR
(1979,US)
(aka TOXIC ZOMBIES)
...A mildly enjoyable variation on the DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) theme. Stoners are turned into toxic zombies in flares and bandanas with a taste for human flesh after the dope they've been cultivating is blitzed with a experimental herbicide. It's all fairly cheap and cheerful. A few graphic gore fx managed to get it noticed by the fuzz. It still languishes on the list.
FROZEN SCREAM
(1981,US)
...I have'nt had the pleasure but from what I hear it isn't up to much and found its way onto the list through bad luck more than anything. It has been removed from the DPP list but, as far as I'm aware, there has'nt been a rush of prospective distributors!
THE FUNHOUSE
(1981,US)
...Spooky fairground set thriller, which shows the possibilities for the slasher movie when it is in the hands of someone with real talent. It's no TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974), but Hooper really wrings some thrills and a good deal of suspense from a fairly generic script concerning teens battling a mutant in the eponymous funhouse of the title. Actually there was not a great deal in the way of grue for the Daily Mail to get outraged by and it has been suggested that some twat got this and Victor Janus' LAST HOUSE OF DEAD END STREET- which had been doing the rounds as a bootleg, mixed up. It was eventually re-released and, as far as I'm aware didn't suffer any further cuts.
THE GESTAPO'S LAST ORGY
(1977,It.)
(aka L'ULTIMA ORGIA DEL III REICH)
...Apparently a slick and polished rip-off of the earlier THE NIGHT PORTER. Remains Banned.
THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY
(1981,It.)
(aka QUELLA VILLA ACCANTO AL CIMITERO)
...Another of Lucio Fulci's boffo Italian gore epics. The legend on the box declares: 'Can anyone survive the demented marauding zombies in...THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY?'. In fact there is only one, albeit especially nasty, zombie- Dr. Freudstein (presumably Fulci's musing on horror and the mind). It's short on logic but long on gore and Fulci actually manages to sustain some suspense and a pervading ambience of unease. Plus it has the most bonkers bat attack ever committed to celluloid.... The release that was banned was the BBFC approved 'X' cinema version. It was further cut for a subsequent re-release.
HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK
(1980,It.)
(aka LA CASA SPERDUTA DEL PARCO)
...Ruggero Deodato's return to 'nasty territory is a vicious story of class warfare which takes its cue from Wes Craven's earlier THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT- it even features that films main villian, David Hess, in a similarily sleazy role. With a grinding mean-spiritedness it is some feat indeed to sit through the whole thing- grim stuff indeed.... Remains banned.
HUMAN EXPERIMENTS
(1979,US)
(aka BEYOND THE GATE)
...I haven't seen this one, but by all accounts I haven't missed much. Those who have usually wonder why-on-earth it got added to the list in the first place. A fairly dull pot-boiler set in an asylum.... Re-released with BBFC cuts.
I MISS YOU HUGS AND KISSES
(1978,CAN)
(aka DROP DEAD DEAREST)
...Another film that ,probably, got into trouble more for its packaging than its content. The video blurb asked potential viewers if they were, "..those who like their sex served up with some violence." A confusing and scrappy film, which contains little sex and the violence is presented in an almost abstract fashion.... Was re-released, with cuts, as DROP DEAD DEAREST.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
(1978,US)
(aka DAY OF THE WOMAN)
...Another of the big titles a far as the list goes. This rape/revenge saga has been declared as everything form "..a feminist feature." to "..a misogynistic, degrading experience.". I suppose it could be seen as a little of both... Has absolutely no chance of ever being re-released on video in the UK.
INFERNO
(1980,It.)
(aka HORROR INFERNAL)
... This is Dario Argento's magical sequel to SUSPIRIA (1977). Beautiful, surrealist and non-linear, INFERNO is the work of a master at the height of his experimental powers. A small percentage of people prefer this to SUSPIRIA- and sometimes I count myself amongst them. ...It was re-released with only minimal cuts.
ISLAND OF DEATH
(1975,Gr.)
(aka ISLAND OF PERVERSION aka A CRAVING FOR LUST)
...This sleazy little flick certainly lives up to its depraved reputation. A young couple torture, rape and murder their way around a small Greek island. Has a schizophrenic morality that seems to offend practically anyone who watches it.... Was re-submitted to the BBFC under the title PSYCHIC KILLER 2, unsurprisingly it was rejected and still languishes at the bottom of the list.
KILLER NUN
(1978,It.)
(aka SUOR OMICIDI aka DEADLY HABIT)
...Anita Ekberg plays the eponymous 'killer nun' in this Italian would-be-sleazy epic. She takes drugs, has sex with men and then kills them- which all sounds much more interesting than it actually is!... It is thought that this one found its way to the list because of its cover, which has a coy (but not coy enough!), shot of what looks like Joe Dallesandro being fellated by a nun. ....Re-released with minimal cuts.
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
(1972,US)
(aka KRUG AND COMPANY aka SEX CRIME OF THE CENTURY)
...Wes Craven's and Sean Cunningham's seminal and controversial reworking of Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING. Two girls are kidnapped, tortured, raped and eventually murdered. The tables are turned when the girls parents take revenge. Inspired a whole slew of Italian exploitation movies, most of which ended up on this list! ...Remains banned.
NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS
(1974,Fr/Sp.)
(aka L'ULTIMO TRENO DELLA NOTTE aka THE NEW HOUSE ON THE LEFT)
...Basically THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT set on a train. This is one of the better films that were ..er.. inspired by Craven's film. ...Remains banned.
THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE
(1974,It/Sp.)
(aka DON'T OPEN THE WINDOW aka LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE)
...George Grau's excellent living dead movie. Set, incongruously, in the English Lake District, flesh-eating zombies prowl after being awakened by sonic waves from an experimental pest control device. Atmospheric, suspensful and damned gory. ...Re-released after substantial cuts.
LOVE CAMP 7
(1968,US)
(aka CAMP 7: LAGER FEMMINILE aka CAMP SPECIAL NO.7)
...Early Nazi sexploitationer is tamer than some of its later Italian counter-parts, but is still pretty tasteless. It is also inept and boring. ...Remains banned.
MADHOUSE
(1981,US)
(aka THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL aka AND WHEN SHE WAS BAD)
...Bonkers film from Italy which copies US slasher movies, rather than use the more traditional 'giallo' style, but still manages to come up with something ..er.. quite unique! Its the story of two sisters- one nice, the other is murderously mad and has just escaped from the asylum. Very ,(if not wholly convincingly) gory death scenes. The denouement is very similar to the same years HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. ...Remains banned.
MARDI GRAS MASSACRE
(1981,US)
...Low rent semi-remake of BLOOD FEAST (1963). A killer stalks New Orleans and scoops out hearts of victims (the films one major gore effect which is repeated ad naseum). ...Remains banned.
NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES
(1968,Mex)
(aka HORROR Y SEXO aka GOMAR, THE HUMAN GORILLA)
...A daft Mexican mad scientist saga. Things go horribly wrong when a gorilla to human heart transplant goes awry. Cheaply gory. ...Re-released with cuts.
NIGHT OF THE DEMON
(1980,US)
...Not to confused with the 1950's B/W classic- Oh no! This is the hilariously bad and hugely enjoyable Bigfoot, backwoods slasher turkey! Tons of gore- none of it very convincing. Priceless dialogue. All in all- cheesier than a Brie convention! ...Re-released with cuts.
NIGHTMARE MAKER
(1981,US)
(aka BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER aka NIGHTMARE MAKER)
...Excellent psychological thriller starring Susan Tyrell (in a wonderful scenery chewing performance), as a unbalanced woman who jealously protects her adopted son. Well acted and intelligently written. Has a fair amount of gory bits towards the end. ...Was removed from the DPPs list but was refused a certificate for video when it was resubmitted to the BBFC as THE EVIL PROTEGE.
NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN
(1981,US)
(aka NIGHTMARE aka BLOOD SPLASH)
...Cheap but effective slasher-come-psycho-drama. A man released from an asylum, on a course of experimental drugs, goes on a killing spree across the States. Incedibly graphic film. The version that was released on video in Britain was longer than the BBFC approved cinema version- a fact that, when the film was prosecuted, resulted in the distributor being jailed for six months, but was, in fact, not completely uncut anyway. ...Remains banned.
POSSESSION
(1981,Fr/WG.)
...If the arthouse thought it was just the grindhouse that was at risk from the hysteria that surrounded the whole 'video-nasties' debacle, it was dead wrong. Andrzej Zulawski's surrealist and organic tale of a woman's neurosis' becoming flesh still managed to offend Daily Mail readers. ...Actually recently re-released uncut on video.
PRANKS
(1981,US)
(aka THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD aka DEATH DORM)
...Prime era slasher where a group of college students stay behind during the Christmas holidays to catalogue items in an old dorm that is due to be ripped down. Naturally they are stalked and murdered by an unseen assailant. God knows why this was banned as it is far less gory than other films that were passed over, such as FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980) or ROSEMARY'S KILLER (1981). ...Re-released with cuts.
PRISONER OF THE CANNIBAL GOD
(1978,It)
(aka MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD aka SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD)
...Ursula Andress slums here big time along with Stacy Keach in this fairly early enrty in the Cannibal cycle. Pretty feeble. Contains the usual depressing cruelty to animals contrived by no talent directors. ...Removed from the DPP list but has not been re-submitted for video classification.
REVENGE OF THE BOGEYMAN
(1982,US)
(aka BOOGEYMAN 2)
...Ulli Lommel's fairly needless sequel to the first 'bogeyman' movie. Pretty lazy stuff- it seems that the entirety of the first film is flash-backed to at some point (hence it joining it on the 'nasties' list). The only interesting thing is the semi-parody of Hollywood, in which Lommel himself plays a director attempting to make a fictionalized version of events in the first film. ...Removed from the DPP list,but not re-released.
SHOGUN ASSASSIN
(1972,Jap)
...Made from two shorter Japenese films in a popular series, edited down into SHOGUN ASSASSIN for the American market, hence it is a little fragmented and not particularily linear. However, it is a visual treat. A jaw dropping ballet of violence and choreographed blood-letting- a wonderful assault on the senses. ...Re-released with cuts.
THE SLAYER
(1981,US)
...A very good, creepy, atmospheric movie that thematically pre-dates Wes Craven's A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984), by a number of years- but hasn't got a teen in sight!. A writer is haunted by dreams of 'the slayer', dreams which become to take shape in reality- with fatal results. Good gory fun. ...Re-released with cuts.
SNUFF
(1976,Arg/US)
(aka SLAUGHTER)
...The sheer audacity of Roberta and Michael Findlay to pass up a crappy Argentinian exploitation flick as a snuff movie by tacking on a lamentably phoney looking ending, is not the most incredible thing about this video. It's the fact that anyone actually believed it was the real McCoy! ...Regardless of its defrocking as a poor fraud it has absolutely no chance getting a certificate for home video.
SS EXPERIMENT CAMP
(1976,It)
(aka SS EXPERIMENT LOVE CAMP)
...Yet another title where the lurid cover artwork invited controversy. Its title became a by-word for depravity in the tabloids during the early 80's. Quite some achievement for yet another mildly incompetent Italian sexploitationer with some of the most risible, and hilarious dialogue in trash cinema. ...Remains well and truly banned.
TENEBRAE
(1982,It)
(aka TENBRE aka UNSANE)
...Dario Argento's brutal giallo, which gives a slight nod to the stalk-n-slash film (then) popular in US cinema. Someone is imitating the killings in a crime writers novels. Packed with the cruel and lush visuals that make the majority of his work such a treat. The version that was banned in England was, in fact, the same cut version that had played at British cinemas. ...There have recently been hopes for a legitimate re-release of TENEBRAE after SUSPIRIA was finally released widescreen and totally uncut, however it appears that the continuing position on what the BBFC sees as "sexualized violence" may prohibit this.
TERROR EYES
(1980,US)
(aka NIGHT SCHOOL)
...The director of CHITTY, CHITTY, BANG-BANG(!) made this lack-lustre addition to the slasher stakes. A head-hunter is decapitating young women in the Boston area. There is precious little blood and Rachel Ward, the films star, has all the presence of a plank of balsa wood. ...Re-released with cuts.
THE TOOLBOX MURDERS
(1978,US)
...Infamous, but if truth-be-told, grindingly dull gore opus- except in the version banned in the UK, the heavily censored print that appeared at cinemas, you can cross out the 'gore' bit. The director's complete inability to muster up any semblance of suspense makes it play like bad porno. ...Removed from DPP list, but not re-issued.
UNHINGED
(1982,US)
...Pretty dull slasher with three leads who sure weren't chosen for their acting abilities. Attempts a little of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE intensity at the end but woefully fails.
VISITING HOURS
(1981,Can)
(aka THE FRIGHT)
...Occasionally diverting slasher movie with Michael Ironside as a nut stalking Lee Grant through the wards of a large hospital. Pretty sleazy in places and certainly not your average popcorn fodder. ...Re-released with cuts.
THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI
(1975,Sp)
(aka NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST)
...Pretty standard loopy lupine goings on in Paul Naschy's eighth outing as the Wolfman. Why this one was banned and none of the others that were available is completely open to conjecture. ...Remains banned.
THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA
(1976,US)
...An oddity from director Matt Climber- one time husband of Jayne Mansfield. Millie Perkins stars in a story of razor blades and bloody castrations. ...Removed from DPP list, but has not been re-issued.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
(1975,Fr/Sp.)
...Proving that he had his fingers in all the pies, yet another Jesus Franco sleaze epic. This time a cheerfully inept women's prison palava. ...Removed from DPP list, but no re-release as of yet.
XTRO
(1982,GB)
(aka MONSTROMO)
...Just to prove that we could provide our own home grown 'nasties', here is a story of alien abduction. Guaranteeing itself in the hallowed halls by including a bit where a woman gives birth to a full grown man! ...Re-released without cuts.
ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH
(1981,It/Sp.)
(aka INFERNO DEI MORTI VIVENTIaka VIRUS)
...Akin to many other titles that got sucked into the mania that surrounded the 'nasty' hysteria ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH was far from uncut when it made its glorious debut onto early 80's home video cassette. Still, that didn't stop this hum drum story of toxic zombies chowing down on the living being banged up with the rest of them. ...Re-released with yet more cuts.
ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS
(1979,It.)
(aka ZOMBIEaka ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD)
...At least VIPCO, ZOMBIE FLESH-EATERS UK video distributors, had the common decency to put out two versions of the film on video; the soft censored one and the "Strong uncut version". Thus bestowing onto the audience a modicum of choice and even road testing a system of cerification as illuminated as that in the US- even though, admittedly, that is far from perfect. Anyway, the authorities decided to take away the moral choice from Joe public and slammed both version of Fulci's celebrated barfo gut-muncher into the clink. Ho hum! ...Re-released in its 'uncut' UK cinema release form, which meant 'very cut' indeed!
text sourced from http://www.hysteria-lives.co.uk/hysterialives/Hysteria/slasher_nasties_4.html
sourced for research purposes [May 2005]
your Amazon recommendations