Thats What I Call Obscene!

The History of Video Nasties By Honey Morales

The 1979 slasher film “The Driller Killer” and the 1980 Italian film “Cannibal Holocaust” were among the films that sparked a heated controversy regarding censorship in the United Kingdom when they were released on home video in the UK in 1982. In any case, what was even more terrifying? Which came first, the films that were attacked or the reactions of the outraged media and politicians?

While VHS players were introduced in the late ’70s, it wasn’t until the ensuing decade that they became commonplace in British living rooms. However, large distributors initially shunned this market because of concerns over video piracy and a reduction in cinema crowds, leaving it to smaller, independent distributors.

Although films had to be approved by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) before they were shown in theaters, there was no similar requirement for home video releases. There is a need for more precise guidelines because, while the Obscene Publications Act (OPA) of 1959 can be used to prosecute distributors and retailers of a film that is believed to violate the Act, this will not prevent films from being released in the first place and is a very inexact science.

Many individuals were troubled by the fact that video technology made it possible for people to see films in their own homes. Conservative MP Sir Bernard Braine summed up the worries of his political peers in a House of Commons discussion on 16 March 1984, saying, “In the privacy of one’s own home, it would be possible to slow down a video, dwell on particular scenes, and experiment, in a palpably unhealthy way.”

The provocative names and cover art of some films, set against the backdrop of individuals being able to watch unedited films in the comfort of their own homes, were the final straw for many. For example, the covers of ‘SS Experiment Camp,’ ‘I Spit On Your Grave,’ ‘Snuff,’ and ‘Zombie Flesh Eaters were all replete with blood, nudity, armament, and swastikas. Taglines for the aforementioned “The Driller Killer,” such as “The blood runs in rivers… and the drill keeps tearing through flesh and bone,” only served to fan the flames.

When it came to warning the public about the hazards of the home video industry, the ‘Daily Mail’ was the first major newspaper to do so. It was revealed that “Zombie Flesh Eaters,” “The Exorcist,” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” were some of the most watched videos among teenagers in an article headlined “The secret video show” (12 May 1982). “Those innocent Saturday mornings spent watching ‘Swap Shop’ round at a friend’s house could easily turn into torrid sex and violence sessions…” The next month, a story headlined “How High Street Horror is Invading the Home” appeared in “The Sunday Times.” To our knowledge, this piece was the first to use the term “nasties” to describe such flicks. Not that this would be the last time…

Gareth Wardell, a Labour MP, attempted to present a measure to make it illegal to rent or sell sexual videos to minors at the end of 1982. The law did not pass the government and received a lot of backlash after it was tabled on February 18 of the following year. It was deemed offensive that “the videos the kids collect in guiltily giggling groups to watch, could not be shown in any British cinema to their parents,” as stated in an article titled “We Must Protect Our Children Now” (25 February 1983).

The newspaper’s ‘Ban the sadist films’ campaign was launched at the same time when tales concerning the influence of nasties on those who committed violent crimes were commonplace on its pages. ‘We’re going to have an increase of violence and horror and abuse in our land and homes the likes of which we never suspected in our wildest dread,’ Mail writer Lynda Lee-Porter warned if tight censorship wasn’t imposed.

The ‘Daily Mail’ published an editorial on 30 June 1983 titled “Rape of Our Children’s Minds,” in which it discussed how children are buying “sadism from the video-pusher,” how women are being “savaged and defiled by youths, weaned on a diet of rape videos,” and how this threat is comparable to the rise of The Third Reich. Now Britain permits these perverted horrors and any variation of them to be nurtured in the name of “entertainment” to our youngsters.

Since there was no requirement for production companies to submit their films for vetting, the BBFC introduced a voluntary rating structure for videos in response to the uproar. Meanwhile, the DPP developed a list of titles that he thought would be illegal under the OPA. Dealers and distributors who were found in possession of a copy of the list, which was updated monthly, faced criminal charges.

While films still need to be certified for theatrical and home video distribution (though the introduction of the 12 and 12A ratings has eased restrictions), gone are the days when horror films were severely censored or banned, and retailers and distributors were prosecuted for selling them. Neither has there been a reduction in graphic violence and bloodshed in recent films. Due to its prolonged graphic brutality, film critic David Edelstein referred to Eli Roth’s “Hostel” upon its 2006 theatrical premiere as “torture porn.” The ‘Saw’ film series, which debuted in 2004, now goes by this name as well. In recent years, films like ‘The Human Centipede series have been released that have caused even the most devoted splatter lovers to recoil in horror.

Video-sharing platforms like YouTube have emerged in recent years to allow access to just about anything you can imagine (and quite a few things you may prefer not to see), and violent films continue to occasionally get blamed for society’s faults, especially in the wake of catastrophes. Some viewers of horror videos like “Video Nasties” may have felt that the release of such material has pushed them beyond their comfort zones.

The dispute over what constitutes acceptable taste in entertainment in the 1980s spread from the front pages to the House of Commons as a result of new home technologies. However, despite the public backlash and legislative efforts, the genre remains hugely popular throughout the decades.