Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned)   CLICK HERE to buy from V.O.D.   CLICK HERE to buy from   CLICK HERE to buy from V.O.D. Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!

In 1984, the British Board of Film Classification started to classify not only films for theatrical release, but also VHS tapes, caving in to the pressure of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, headed by Mary Whitehouse, an as such rather arbitrary organisation that nevertheless managed to force their will and their tastes onto video audiences at large by claiming violations of the Obscene Publications Act 1959. One of their main goals seems to have been censor or outright ban movies of predominantly the horror genre they just deem too bizarre for the general public, so really robbing mature adults the right to choose for themselves what to watch - and one has to understand here, none of these so-called video nasties in any way broke any laws themselves, they were really just outlawed by the taste of few. Of course, the list of video nasties did not include any major studio releases but mostly foreign movies and indies, including questionable fare like Faces of Death, but also cult classics like Cannibal Holocaust, The Driller Killer, Flesh for Frankensein, I Spit on Your Grave, The Last House on the Left, Suspiria, Zombie Flesh Eaters and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to limit myself to the few mentioned in this movie.

Now above is actually only the set-up for what VHS Nasty is actually about, as it doesn't so much recount the history of video nasties (which any self-respected horror fan probably knows anyhow) but talks about the effects - as one thing the rigorous censorship measures did not achieve, the obliteration of extreme horror, actually it only shone a light on a heretofore rather obscure corner of the genre, and suddenly fans, lured by the forbidden, wanted to get their hands on these movies which suddenly were promoted to holy grail status. And that was not just in the UK but all over the world. Now the film in hand gives a voice to some of the people affected by the video nasty craze, all of whom have become indie horror filmmakers and all of whom see seeking out video nasties at video conventions (and now also darker corners of the internet) as part of their grooming - and literally from all over the world, including Australia's Nathan Hill and US-Americans Dustin Ferguson, Shawn C. Phillips and Jim Towns. So if the video nasties have succeeded in one thing, it was in giving us a new crop of very cool genre filmmakers ...

Now not only as a horror fan one can't but applaud VHS Nasty's message not only about the video nasties but censorship as such, quite simply that censorship doesn't work, and pretty much only creates a counter-movement, an underground, ultimately the means of its own destruction - and really, this film shows this beautifully, not via spectacle and name-calling but by presenting the aftermath, by letting those affected share their stories - in an often anecdotal way that makes it easy at least for genre fans to follow since most of us growing up during the period of video nasties had similar experiences.

Basically, a documentary that genre fans will enjoy.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find VHS Nasty at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find VHS Nasty here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai Something naughty? (Must be over 18 to go there!)   find VHS Nasty at adultvideouniverse.com

Thanks for watching !!!