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| Video Nasties List | Notes | Availability | |||
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Absurd is a 1981 Italian horror by Joe D'Amato.
With George Eastman and Annie Belle.
 The anthropophagous beast goes on a killing and cannibalism spree including power tool murders, a hatchet job and baking someone's head in an oven. In return the beast suffers his guts unravelling on railings, blinding by compasses and an axe in the head. Summary Review: Halloween-esque Monster Hunter is the Halloween-esque 'sequel' to 1981's insomniac's dream Anthropophagous. This time around D'Amato brings to us a sense of pace, making Monster Hunter much more enjoyable. The added gore (including an ultra-torturous scene involving an oven) and cool electronic music score is a nice bonus. The story brings back George Eastman as our favorite cannibal, this time somewhere in the US being hunted by a priest. A bit boring at times but Eastman's presence is over powering and the end involving a 'vegetable' overcoming her disabilities to face the beast is fairly ironic. |
The first VHS was released uncut in 1982 by Medusa. The film was passed 18 with 2:32s of cuts for a cinema release in August 1983.
Current UK status: No release since US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
Note that this is the complete version with previous versions having being shortened rather than censored by up to 2 minutes |
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Andy Warhol's Frankenstein is a 1973 Italian/French horror by Paul
Morrissey. With Joe Dallesandro and Udo Kier.
Includes the famous scene where the Baron has an orgasmic grope amongst his creations innards and proclaims that You don't know life till you've fucked death in the gall bladder. Summary Review: Perverse A very good film from the Warhol/Morrissey partnership. It features a decent stab at the Frankenstein legend featuring a fair few intentional laughs Udo Kier is astounding as the mad Baron Frankenstein, Arno Juerging is great as his idiot assistant Otto, and Monique Van Vooren holds her own as Frankenstein's wife-sister, whose insatiable sexual appetite is fed by hunky Joe Dallesandro. The quality productions values add to the package and it justifiably gets rated as one of the best campy horrors of the time. |
The BBFC cut the 1975 cinema version by about 8 minutes. Video Gems released an uncut VHS in September 1981. The BBFC cut the 1982 cinema re-release by 2:08s.
The BBFC cut 56s from the 1996 First Independent VHS. BBFC cuts were finally waived when resubmitted for a Tartan DVD in 2006. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong bloody violence with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA X Rated for:
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The Anthropophagous Beast is a 1980 Italian horror by Joe D'Amato. With Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone and Serena Grandi.
Gruesome killing & cannibalism including stomping on the bellies of pregnant women so as to snack on their fetuses. As a finale, the beast dies after eating his own intestines. Summary Review: Cult Classic A group of tourists become stranded on an uninhabited island where they are stalked by an insane, violent, and grotesque killer that slaughtered the town's former residents. A cult film rated as a 'must have' for collectors of the genre. It is famour for a fetus eating scene that was cut for the US R Rated version. A good scary movie with good atmosphere, decent acting and plenty of gore. |
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uncut VHS was released by Video Film Promotions in February 1983. It
was listed as a video nasty in November 1983 and stayed listed throughout
the scare, so became one of the collectable DPP39s.A cut VHS version was then released on the Videoshack label to try and exploit the video nasty status, but it didn't sell well. However this did make it a rarity and therefore a challenge for collectors. The heavily cut US R Rated version, The Grim Reaper was passed by the BBFC in 2002. Current UK status: Passed 18 in an extensively pre-cut version US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Axe is a 1977 US horror by Frederick R Friedel. With Leslie Lee, Jack Canon and Ray Green.
Murderous gangsters on the run descend on isolated farm inhabited by girl & her paralysed father. The girl rejects amorous advances with the assistance of an axe and a razor. Summary Review: Classic of its kind A gang of three murderers escape the
police, terrorize a salesgirl in a roadside grocery store, then proceed to
hide-out in a seemingly deserted farmhouse. They soon discover that a young
girl, Lisa, and her paralyzed grandfather live there. The gang attempt some
sleazy deeds, but Lisa shows how she can work an axe in self defence. The movie doesn't really go anywhere, but it is a classic of its kind. |
The X rated cinema release was cut back in 1982 under
the title of California Axe Massacre
Passed 18 after 19s of BBFC cuts in 1999 as California Axe Massacre Passed 18 uncut when DVD resubmitted in 2005 by ILC as Axe Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong bloody violence with BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Beast In Heat
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The Beast in Heat is a 1977 Italian Naziploitation by Luigi Batzella With Macha Magall, Gino Turini and Edilio Kim.
Lady SS doctor tortures POWs in her charge and feeds the females to a crazed midget troll kept on a diet of mega-aphrodisiacs. The POWs finally get the upper hand and give her a taste of her own medicine. Summary Review: The Good Old Days A beautiful, nefarious senior female SS officer/doctor (Magall) creates a genetic, mutant human Beast (half man/half beast). The Beast is a rapacious, squat, mongoloid sex fiend which she uses to torture and molest female prisoners while the Nazis watch. The vertically challenged beast is kept on a diet of mega-aphrodisiacs. There is plenty of sadistic titillations, gore and nudity in this Nazi sub-genre exploitation flick. Ahhh, the
good old days when absolutely nothing was safe or sacred to the exploitation
movie merchants.... Here we have, in my opinion, probably the most tasteless
example of the Naziploitation picture, a genre that more or less died
shortly after this "movie". |
Released uncut on VHS in June 1982 by JVI
Current UK status: Still banned in UK US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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The Beyond
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The Beyond is a 1981 Italian horror film by Lucio Fulci With Catriona MacColl and David Warbeck.
Fifty years after a fatal witch/warlock hunt in a hotel, inhabitants start to meet gruesome deaths including eye gouging, face eating by spiders & acid attacks. Summary Review: Fulci Lives The Beyond is one of Fulci's best films. The film takes place in modern day Louisiana as a woman oversees the the renovation of an hotel that she inherits. Strange and gory things start to happen and poof the hotel just happens to be over one of the 7 doors to hell. Very bloody with a slightly incoherent plot the film is a lot of fun and I suspect that no Fulci fan should be without their copy. Visually I think this is Fulci's best film (that I've seen) and the acting is what you'd expect. |
The
BBFC imposed 1:39s cuts
on the 1981 cinema release Vampix released the cut cinema version on video in March 1982. This was banned as a video nasty in November 1983 but was later dropped from the list in April 1985 The cut cinema version was passed without further cuts for Elephant Video in 1987 and the same version was reissued by Vipco 1992 Finally passed 18 uncut for the 2002 Protected/Vipco DVD Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Blood Bath is a 1971 Italian horror by Mario Bava. With Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli and Claudio Camaso.
A perverse reworking of La Ronde involving 11 graphic murders. Summary Review: Granddaddy of all slasher movies
Bay of Blood is often called the "Granddaddy of
all slasher movies". After watching Bay of Blood you can
definitely see where Friday the 13th (made in 1980) got a lot of it's
ideas. Saying that, Bay of Blood does not possess the single element that
defined the slasher film, the indestructible, omnipresent killer. |
The BBFC refused this a cinema certificate in
1972.
Re-released after 43s of BBFC cuts as Bay of Blood (Redemption, 1994) The BBFC waived their cuts for the 18 rated 2010 Arrow DVD/Blu-ray Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut. UK: Passed 18 with BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Blood Bath is a 1976 US horror by Joel M Reed. With Harve Presnell, Jack Somack and Curt Dawson. Not an official video nasty. The tongue in cheek horror film sort of made the video nasty list due to its shared name with the real video nasty, Mario Bava's Blood Bath. The list didn't specify details beyond the title so this unlikely video was also removed from UK video shop shelves Summary Review: B-movie horror The cast of a horror film go out for dinner with their director one night and they all exchange horror stories. This a very enjoyable low budget anthology, more in keeping with the Creepshow series than the Amicus efforts. The second and third story are played for laughs for the most part, although both have agreeably twisted denouements. Its hard to believe that the director of this film was also responsible for Bloodsucking Freaks as this is quite a restrained effort. This is a very worthy addition to the Anthology horror genre, and there's plenty of gore and laughs to be had. |
Released in 1982 by Rank.
Wasn't listed as a video nasty but was yanked from the shelves as it shared
its name with the real video nasty, Mario Bava's Blood Bath Current UK status: No release since US: Uncut and MPAA PG Rated for:
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Blood Feast is a 1963 US horror by Herschell Gordon Lewis. With William Kerwin, Mal Arnold and Connie Mason.
Crazed Egyptian attempts to invoke the goddess Ishtar by building the perfect woman out of body parts from victims not yet ready to donate them. Summary Review: Pretty Damn Cool An utterly barebones production, flatly pathetic acting, stilted and pointless dialogue, and lots and lots of ultra-phony gore.
Of course, this is pretty undisputedly the
first real gore film, so horror fans pretty much have to see this. And, even
if it weren't so important historically it would be worth seeing anyway,
cause it's pretty damn cool either way. |
Passed 18 with 23s of cuts in 2001 for Tartan Video Passed 18 uncut in 2005 for an Odeon DVD release Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 with previous cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Blood Rites is a 1969 US horror horror by Andy Milligan. With Veronica Radburn, Maggie Rogers and Hal Borske.
Mysterious killer retard stalks family will reading. Summary Review: Eating Live Rabbits Three 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 inheritence they are all entitled to. The Ghastly Ones (aka. Blood Rites), Andy Milligan's first horror film, is a 1968 film shot in cranium-cleaving color at his Victorian mansion on Staten Island. After a prologue in which a couple with a really large umbrella are hacked up by some guy, this movie has three daughters and their husbands at a reading of their late father's will. It is his wish that the couples spend three days in the family mansion in sexual harmony, and then they will find out who gets what from the old man. But once there the handyman is eating live rabbits, the couples start fighting, and then people start dying and showing up as the main course at dinner. Very slow staring, but if you are loose for a high content of cheese with your blood and gore, you will not be disappointed. |
Released on video by Scorpio in March 1983. Banned as a video nasty in
August 1984. It stayed on the list throughout the panic and so became one of
the collectable DPP39s Current UK status: No UK Release US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Bloody Moon is a 1981 Spanish/German slasher by Jess Franco. With Olivia Pascal, Christoph Moosbrugger and Nadja Gerganoff.
A chainsaw killing is amongst the methods for the killing of staff and students at a language school. Summary Review: Dumb Victims This movie is basically the infamous Jess Franco having a go at the American-style slasher films that were big in the early 80's, and what's most remarkable about it is how unremarkable it is. It's pretty violent, but except for one nasty knife exit wound there's nothing here that hasn't been done in hundreds of American slasher movies. It's set at an adult Spanish-language school which seems to cater exclusively to incredibly dumb and slutty German and Scandinavian women. The girls are being stalked by two of the reddest herrings imaginable. One is a burnt youth in a Mickey Mouse mask. The other is a gardener who is always laughing maniacally and coincidentally wielding the exact same implement that has just been used to kill the latest victim. The best thing I can say about this movie it is it is so over-the-top with its dumb victims, obvious red herrings, and ridiculously gory murders that it might have actually meant to be a parody of the slasher film. |
Cut by 1:38s when submitted for a cinema release in 1982
Re-released after 1:20s of BBFC cuts (Vipco) in 1993 The BBFC waived their cuts for UK 2008 Severin R0 DVD Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 for strong violence and gore with previous cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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The Boogey Man is a 1980 US horror by Ulli Lommel with Susanna Love and Ron
James. With Suzanna Love, John Carradine and Ron James.
Various killings precipitated by domestic objects aided by the power of the occult. Summery Review: One of the better nasties Through the reflection in the mirror, a girl witnesses her mother's boyfriend's murder. I was surprised that this movie got such a low rating, to me it's one of the better horror films I've seen in some time. Ulli Lommel allows the horror in this story to gradually build until it erupts in very frightening and disturbing and occasionally blackly comic ways. The boogeyman's appearances in the film are effectively kept very brief, he doesn't become a silly charactor of the Freddy/Jason mould. Ulli lommel keeps the location barren and banal and uses them in inventive ways. The scenes in which the disturbed deaf brother paints over every mirror in the house is brilliant and foreshadows a lot of scenes in clean-shaven. |
The 1980 cinema release was uncut. Released on video in November 1981 by Vipco. The video was listed as video nasty in October 1983 but was dropped from the list in July 1985 Re-released after 44s of BBFC cuts in 1992 (Vipco) Re-released uncut in 2000 with an 18 certificate An extended version was again passed uncut in 2004 Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with previous cuts waived for:
Netherlands: Uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Burning
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The Burning is a 1981 US/Canada slasher by Tony Maylam With Brian Matthews and Leah Ayres.
Camp caretaker gets horribly burnt as a result of a prank. Five years later he exacts revenge at a summer camp with the help of a pair of shears. Heads and fingers roll. Summary Review: Must Have A 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.
I personally love the killer in the woods slashers the
best and this is the perfect premise. This film starts as a flashback "of
course"... The kids at a summer camp play a trick that goes terribly wrong
on Cropsy the mean spirited grounds keeper and he is burned beyond
recognition, This is a MUST HAVE for slasher fans. |
Passed X (18) after 10s of BBFC cuts for 1981
cinema release
Re-released after 19s of BBFC cuts in 1992 by Thorn/EMI Cuts waived for the 2002 Vipco R2 DVD Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: uncut and MPAA Unrated (but labelled R Rated) for:
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Cannibal Apocalypse is a 1980 Italian/Spanish horror by Anthony M Dawson.
With John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner and Giovanni Lombardo Radice.
Cannibalism has become a disease brought back to the US by soldiers returning from Indo-China. French kissing becomes inadvisable as the plague spreads. Summary Review: Horror and action Vietman vets bring back contagious virus that turn people into cannibals when bitten. Interesting and disgusting mix of horror and action from the director of Castle of Blood Antonio Margheriti. What makes it work is that there is some nasty gore scenes like the infamous shotgun wound scene and eating chunks out of human flesh, a cool if cheesy funk soundtrack with a war theme that almost sounds like the theme to "G.I. Joe", a grisly twist in the end and the film is also a metaphore on how the horrors of vietnam can affect a soldier and this is one of Quentin Taratino's personal faves. |
The uncut video was released by Replay in July
1982. It was an early casualty of the press panic and was added to the DPP
list of banned videos in July 1983. It remained on the list until the end of
the scare so became one of the collectible DPP 39s Passed 18 with 2s of cuts for animal cruelty for the 2005 Cinema Club DVD and 2010 Optimum DVD Current UK status: Passed 18 with 2s of cuts US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Cannibal Ferox is a 1981 Italian adventure by Umberto Lenzi. With Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Lorraine De Selle and Danilo Mattei.
Drug dealers run amok amongst cannibal tribes who eventually gain the upper hand with grim results. The girlfriend gets hung up by her breasts and the guy suffers various amputations before being deep throated in a rather one way manner. Summary Review: Delivers the Goods Three friends out to disprove cannibalism meet two men on the run who tortured and enslaved a cannibal tribe to find emeralds, and now the tribe is out for revenge. Not a patch on Deodato's excellent Cannibal Holocaust, which is just as gory and a hell of a lot more realistic, with believable actors and an intelligent script. In comparison, Ferox seems like just an exploitative rip-off. But taken in its own terms, Cannibal Ferox does deliver the goods (I'm talking gore-wise) with hard-to-watch sexual violence accompanying genuine animal deaths. The music is cheesy, and again not up to the standards of Holocaust, but it grows on you. |
This 18 version pre-cut by 6:51s was submitted to the BBFC in 2000 who insisted on another 6s of cuts for animal cruelty. Current UK status: Passed 18 with extensive cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Cannibal Holocaust is a 1979 Italian adventure by Ruggero Deodato. With Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi and Perry Pirkanen.
Film crew sent into the jungle captures some pretty gruesome local customs and then go on to indulge in a little raping and killing themselves. The natives strike back and the film crew are beaten, castrated, stripped down to their skeletons and eaten. This film suffered repeated outrageous claims of being a snuff movie by the ever-ludicrous gutter press. This can only be a testament to the quality of the film as the TV film crew's demise is presented solely from news footage that they have supposedly shot. Summary Review: Very well written plot A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes. Cannibal Holocaust was, first and foremost, a disgusting movie with more violence than I have ever seen. Despite this, it is also one of my favorite movies. It gives a feeling of Blair Witch done right, even though there are some very obviously contrived scenes in which nobody is holding the camera, but despite some small cosmetic problems this is the best horror movie I have ever seen. |
Passed 18 with 5:44s of cuts in 2001 Passed 18 after 15s of BBFC cuts for UK 2011 Shameless video with all violence restored along with most of the animal violence The pre-cut Ruggero Deodato's New Edit was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts UK 2011 Shameless video. This version restores all human violence but was edited by the director to reduce the animal violenceCurrent UK status: Passed 18 after 15s of BBFC cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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The Cannibal Man
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The Cannibal Man is a 1972 Spanish thriller by Eloy de la Iglesia. With Vicente Parra, Emma Cohen and Eusebio Poncela.
Alienated slaughter house worker kills cabby on Monday, fiancée on Tuesday, brother on Wednesday, brother's wife on Thursday, Father on Friday and then takes Saturday off. Summary Review: Pseudo-sleazy Real slaughterhouse footage and scenes of dirty urban slums set the tone for this stark and obsessive Spanish thriller. A young man, working as a butcher, accidentally kills a taxi driver. His girlfriend wants to go to the police so he has to kill her too. A slaughterhouse employee named Marcos gets attacked by a cabdriver who takes objection when he and his girlfriend are making out in the back seat, and Marcos kills him. This sets in motion a week of killing, first to cover up the cabdriver's death, and afterward to keep the bodies piling up in his bedroom a secret. Weird, pseudo-sleazy film that works even though it doesn't even attempt to live up to its title - there's *no cannibalism*. The dubbing is pretty bad and there's not much gore (most of the nastiness happens off-screen), but there's plenty of atmosphere and a sense of desperation builds in Marco's apartment. |
Released by Intervision uncut in November 1981. It
was banned as a video nasty in July 1983. It stayed on the list throughout
the panic and became one of the collectable DPP39s. The cover was a flimsy
slip case that didn't last long so adding to the rarity of a mint condition
cover. Re-released after 3s BBFC cuts in 1993 (Redemption) Current UK status: Passed 18 with 3s cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Cannibal Terror is a 1981 Spain/France adventure horror by Allan W Steeve. With Silvia Solar, Gérard Lemaire and Pamela Stanford.
Criminals kidnap rich kid and unfortunately hole up in a cannibal infested jungle. The kid is adopted by the cannibals but the kidnappers donate their intestines for a tug-of-war match. Summary Review: Fails Miserably After 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. Cannibal Terror fails miserably on all accounts. Cannibal films aren't known for great plots this film literally has no plot. Some lowlife criminals kidnap a girl and run into Cannibals in a jungle. Almost the entire film is filler with pointless, boring dialogue. There is only two gore scenes but nothing viewers haven't seen in this genre before and better. The worst aspect of the film is the cannibal tribe itself as they don't even look like jungle tribal members. It's a bunch of extras from all different races and hairdos. Some of the tribal members are fat, middle aged white men and there is even one tribal member with 70's style sideburns! |
Released on video by Modern Films in October
1981. Banned as a video nasty in July 1983, probably down to the title.
Removed from the DPP list in September 1985 Passed 18 uncut in 2003 Current UK status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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contamination is a 1980 Italian horror by Luigi Cozzi With Ian McCulloch, Louise Marleau and Marino Masé.
Exploding alien pods ripen and burst, any unfortunate humans in the vicinity join a chain reaction of a slow motion offal explosion. Summary Review: Odd and cheesy A 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. This was a very odd and cheesy Italian gore flick, it was a mix of horror and science fiction and it was directed by Luigi Cozzi. While Contamination was a decent film I just didn't think it was that good, the first half was very promising as we get to see some impressive gore scenes with the exploding stomachs but then the second half kind of loses steam and becomes slightly boring. The green alien eggs were a knock off from Alien and you could tell that this film was trying to cash in on its success which was typical of Italian horror films at the time, some of these films were of course great cause you can't take them too seriously and they were usually gorier than the original films. Contamination has some pretty bad acting and the direction from Luigi Cozzi was rather low-key with some scenes looking a bit too dark, the pacing was a bit uneven despite having a great opening sequence which had some great suspense and the film also has a weak plot, but if your a gore hound then you won't mind since there were plenty of great gore scenes. |
A short version was released after
2:40s of
unofficial BBFC cuts on 1982 ViP VHS and 1985 European Creative Films VHS.
The video was banned as
a video nasty in October 1983. It was dropped from the list in January 1985
though. The DVD was passed 15 uncut in 2004 Current UK status: Passed 15 uncut UK: Passed 15 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R rated for:
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Dead and Buried is a 1981 US horror by Gary A Sherman. With James Farentino, Melody Anderson and Jack Albertson. See IMDb Main stream horror film with Melody Anderson in which yokels set a photographer alight. He survives long enough to get a hypodermic in the eye and anyone investigating too closely ends up dead. Summary review: Bravo
In the sea of forgettable Friday the 13th sequels and
clones came this little creative and disturbing gem from the early 80's wave
of gruesome horror. |
The X rated cinema release of 1981 was uncut The subsequent uncut Thorn EMI video was listed as a video nasty in November 1983 but was dropped in January 1985 The Video Collection release of 1990 was cut by 30s to get an 18 rating Re-released in 1999 by Polygram with all cuts waived for an 18 rating Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Death Trap is a 1976 US horror by Tobe Hooper. With Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer and Carolyn Jones. See IMDb Deranged motel proprietor feeds people to his pet crocodile. The crocodile eventually ensures justice by eating its master. Summary Review: Messed Up Delirious, surreal, and savage, Tobe Hooper's follow-up to his landmark debut Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is one of a kind while bearing the same signature stamp he left with his predecessor. A sheer unrelenting onslaught of pure madness, macabre and dark humor. Although not as entirely successful as Chainsaw, Eaten Alive is one messed up little drive in flick with good performances particularly by Brand as the psycho Inn keeper of "Starlight Hotel". Mumbling incoherently through most of his screen time and sputtering gibberish when audible, Neville Brand is eerily convincing. The beginning of this picture owes to Psycho in that you meet a character that you are led to believe is the (no pun intended) titular heroine but is quickly dispatched and we are left with the equally sleazy and\or oddball residents of the locale like ole' country boy Buck (Englund, who's a hoot) or that oddball couple who's dog gets chomped by the gator that lives in the swamp behind the hotel. It's that kind of movie folks so be aware what you're getting into. Creepy, oddball fun. |
The 1978 cinema release was cut by the BBFC The first pre-cert video rental release was in 1980 on the VCL label and featured the cut cinema version. Then Vipco released an uncut version in July 1982. This got listed as a video nasty in July 1983. But after several unsuccessful prosecutions it was dropped from the list in December 1985 The first BBFC certified video version from Vipco in 1992 fell foul of the the post Video Nasties scare and suffered 25s of cuts for an 18 certificate. Passed 18 uncut in 2000 for a 2001 Vipco VHS and a 2003 Vipco DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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1972 Italian cannibal film by Umberto Lenzi (Derann).
See
IMDb Forerunner of Cannibal Ferox set in South East Asian cannibal infested jungles. Tongue amputations are the order of the day after snacking on traditionally served monkey brains. Review from imdb: Not much gore I liked this one strictly for its exoticness. Me Me Lay looks great dressed or naked. She has a great face. I have the Prism edition video. That one is missing a brief cannibal scene that later showed up in Lenzi's Eaten Alive by the Cannibals. The cinematography was well done and I may catch some heat for this but I actually liked the music. The love scene in the river came very close to XXX. A well placed bush (no pun intended) kept it soft-core. Not much gore, so jungle flick fans should like it. I know I did. |
Rejected for a cinema release
in 1975 as The Man from Deep River Derann released the uncut version on video in November 1982. It was listed as a video nasty in March 1984 but it was dropped from the list in September 1985 Re-released in 2003 after 3:45s cuts for animal cruelty for an 18 certificate Current UK Status: Passed 18 with 3:45s cuts The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1979 US drama by Peter Maris (VTC) A kangaroo court of right wing nuts hires Vietnam veteran to clean the scum off the streets. The vet turns out to be an impotent psycho who summarily executes nubile girls who remind him of his deficiency. See review from IMDb: A Strange and Atypical Nasty This is one of the strangest and definitely one of the most atypical titles to be found in the whole list of infamous Video Nasties. There's a maniac at large who slaughters his women relentlessly and grotesque. The maniac – Charlie – gets killed after a failed attempt to make another victim. Then suddenly and completely unexpected, Delirium becomes a post-Vietnam war drama. It is revealed that Charlie was a member of a secret network of vigilantes that exists entirely out of bloodthirsty Vietnam veterans and they are hired by a board of eminent & businessmen in order to keep the streets crime-free. Charlie just went a little berserk and started killing women randomly, that's all! The concept of Delirium undoubtedly shows potential, but the elaboration is overly confusion and dull and reverts all too easily to dreadful clichés. The first slasher half is rather exciting, with a couple of truly nasty murder sequences and the most laughably inept police investigation ever, but the second half is painfully tedious and derivative of much better films. I can't really bring myself to recommend Delirium to anyone, but I suppose it holds some interest if you're a cult movie freak. |
The video was released in July 1982 by Video Tape Centre (VTC). The video was added to the DPP list of nasties in November 1983 but was later dropped in May 1985 The BBFC passed the 1987 Global Sales video 18 after cuts. This release was titled Psycho Puppet . Current UK Status: Passed 18 after cuts |
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The Devil Hunter
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1980 Italian/Spanish/West German adventure by Jess Franco. With Ursula Buchfellner, Al Cliver and Antonio Mayans. See IMDb Set amongst jungle tribes that live in fear of the devil. Chained maidens are offered in supplication and the devil demonstrates eating pussy in a grossly excessive literal manner. Summary Review: Plods Along A Vietnam veteran heads to an island inhabited by cannibals to save a kidnapped model not only from her kidnappers, but also from the cannibals' lurking Devil god. Devil Hunter gained notoriety for the fact that it's on the DPP 'Video Nasty' list, but it really needn't have been. There isn't a lot here that warrants banning...which is a shame because I never would have sat through it where it not for the fact that it's on 'the shopping list'. The plot actually gives the film a decent base - or at least more of a decent base than most cannibal films - and it follows an actress who is kidnapped and dragged off into the Amazon jungle. A hunter is then hired to find her, but along the way he has to brave the natives, lead by a man who calls himself The Devil (hence the title). The film basically just plods along and there really aren't many scenes of interest. It's a real shame that Jess Franco ended up making films like this because the man clearly has talent; but unfortunately his good films are just gems amongst heaps of crap and Devil Hunter is very much a part of the crap. |
A pre-cut short version was released on the Cinehollywood label in November 1981
The BBFC passed the full length 2008 Severin DVD 18 uncut under the title El Canibal but it got released as The Devil Hunter Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: The Complete Spanish Version was passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Don't Go in the House is a 1979 US horror film by Joseph Ellison. With Dan Grimaldi, Robert Osth and Ruth Dardick.
A man tortured by his mum as a child returns the compliment by killing and roasting her. He keeps her charred corpse around to witness further burnings of bimbos and bitches Summary Review: A Bit Lacklustre A slasher film about a victim of
child abuse (Dan Grimaldi) who grows up to become a maniacal construction
worker. He stalks women at discos, takes them home, then hangs them
upside-down in a special steel-walled room and sets them on fire. |
The BBFC cut the 1980 cinema release Arcade released the video in May 1982, cut as per the BBFC approved cinema release. Arcade then released the uncut version on video. The video then got listed as a nasty in July 1983 but was dropped in March 1984 after promises that only the BBFC approved version would be sold Re-released after 3:05s BBFC cuts in 1987 Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for the 2012 Arrow DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with all previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Don't Go in the Woods...Alone!
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1980 US slasher by James Bryan with Jack McClelland and
Mary Gail Artz.
See
IMDb Victims are garrotted, stabbed, impaled and have various limbs lopped off Summary Review: Movie for a laugh I rented this movie, hoping to find a good movie. It was... if you're into comedy! This movie had deadpan acting, no storyline at ALL (a maniac roaming around, killing people for no reason, which may not be THAT bad), and a stupid looking killer (when he's being stabbed at the end, it looks as though his chest is made of brick, or is that CARDBOARD?). The gore was supplemental, however, and I always recommend this movie for a laugh (in fact, I rented it again just to show my friend how bad it was!). This movie gets a definite 2 out of 10 since it kept me laughing. |
Released uncut on the Video Releasing Organisation label in March 1982
Passed 15 uncut in February 2007 Current UK Status: Passed 15 uncut Passed 15 uncut in 2007 for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
Film poster at UK Amazon |
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Don't Go Near the Park is a 1979 USA horror by Lawrence
David Foldes. With Aldo Ray, Meeno Peluce and Tamara Taylor. See IMDb Vampire cavemen sentenced to eternal life for blood drinking, incest & cannibalism are rejuvenated in the modern day. Summary Review: Wonderfully Bad Two members of a superhuman and pre-historic tribe abuse the treasured secret of eternal youth. They are cursed to an eternity of old age with no chance to ever die. Now, in present day Los Angeles, their only hope to recapture eternal youth is the ritualistic sacrifice of a 16-year-old female virgin. Their existence is discovered by an investigative reporter and a young runaway child and this leads to an unexplained and terrifying confrontation.
Everything about this film goes way beyond amateur, from the 'old person'
make up, to the Persian rug cavemen clothes, to the dissolve shot ageing FX.
The lighting is abysmal; spot lights are shone straight into the set giving
each shot an early silent film style ring of shadow around the edge of the
shot. The acting is appalling, especially from the grimacing Crackers Phinn.
The plot progresses at bizarre speeds, some scenes dragging on for way too
long and other plot points zooming past at top speed. |
Released by Home Video Productions in 1983.
Listed as a video nasty in November 1983 but was later dropped in July 1985. Passed 18 uncut when submitted for an Anchor Bay DVD in 2006. Broadcast on the Horror Channel in 2004. Missing some footage of entrails being removed, but the stomachs were still ripped open with gusto. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong violence for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Don't Look in the Basement is a 1973 US horror video by SF Brownrigg. With Bill McGhee, Jessie Lee Fulton and Robert Dracup. See IMDb Lunatics take over their asylum after beheading the doctor. The chief loon develops her own treatment regime that involves inflicting burns on her charges. This merely inspires the loons to start killing each other. Summary Review: A must-see for B horror fans A young psychiatric nurse goes to work at a lonesome asylum following a murder. There, she experiences varying degrees of torment from the patients.
Take an ensemble cast of good B grade actors, give
them a good script, a somewhat original premise, and unobtrusive directing,
and you may end up with a film that over-achieves as much as Don't Look
in the Basement did. |
The BBFC cut the 1977 cinema release Derann released an even shorter version of the film on its Crystal video label in February 1983. It is thought that this may have been a TV version. It was listed as a video nasty in August 1984 but was dropped from the list in December 1985 The BBFC waived its film cut for the 2005 Stax DVD which it passed 15 uncut Current UK Status: Passed 15 Uncut UK: Passed 15 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Driller Killer
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The Driller Killer is a 1979 USA crime horror by Abel
Ferrara. With Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz and Baybi Day. See IMDb Power tools only make a brief appearance in the film but the cover picture of a power drill boring into a guys forehead probably started the press baying for blood in the video nasties panic. Summary Review: Dour but Good An 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.
It has been said of Abel Ferrara that you will either
be turned on by his artistic vision, or be left cold by it. This one fits firmly in the 'like' side of the
equation.
The Driller Killer was originally banned as a "video nasty" because of the
notoriety it gained for it's cover art, as opposed to it's content. This can
be seen clearly by the fact that The Driller Killer isn't actually that
gory. The horror doesn't come as a result of the huge amounts of gore
spurting from the wounds, but rather from the noise that the drill makes
while being used, and the insanity of the main character. |
A
shortened
version missing a non violent scene was released by Vipco in February 1982. It was one of the
iconic early batch of
video nasties
banned
in July 1983. It stayed on the list throughout the panic so is one of the
collectable DPP 39s.
It remained banned in UK until 1999 when it was passed 18 with 54s of pre-cuts. It has been passed 18 uncut ever since the ILC Prime DVD of 2002. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong bloody violence for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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The Evil Dead
See trailer from youtube.com
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The Evil Dead is a 1981 USA horror by Sam Raimi.
With Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Richard DeManincor. See IMDb Teenagers battle and lose to the spirits unleashed from the Book of the Dead. Notable rape of girl by marauding tree roots. Summary Review: Raimi is already a legend Raimi is already a legend, because he created 'The Evil Dead', without a doubt one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Made on a shoe string budget as a labour of love, it still remains Raimi's best movie. He has subsequently worked on bigger projects with bigger names but it is arguable whether he has ever surpassed the invention, thrills, energy and sheer fun of this. And why Bruce Campbell never became a genuine movie star after his debut here, and not just a much loved cult figure, is a complete mystery to me. 'The Evil Dead' is a modern horror classic and absolutely ESSENTIAL viewing for any self-respecting movie buff! It doesn't get much better than this! |
The BBFC cut the 1983
cinema version
This cut cinema version was transferred to video by Palace. It was banned as a video nasty in October 1983, but was dropped from the banned list in September 1985. Video re-released after further 1:06s of BBFC cuts, now totalling 1:55s, in 1990 Passed uncut for the Anchor Bay DVD of 2001 Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with all previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1982 US horror horror by Eric Weston (Videospace). See IMDb Fun starts when an ancient tome is unearthed and used to summon up a pack of man eating pigs into an unfortunates girls bedroom. Decapitation, disembowelments and open heart surgery with a sword follow. The climax involves a nail launched from a crucifix flying into the baddies head. Review from UK Amazon: Stands Up Well
It's strange when you see a film for the first time in
twenty years, you expect it to have the same impact as it did when you first
saw it as a gore-hungry teenager. And of course it can't, but it does stand
up remarkably well. |
Released uncut on video (Videospace) in August 1983. The distributor later
replaced this with a pre-cut version
Re-released in 1987 after 3:34s BBFC cuts (Horror Classics) Cuts waived in 2004 for the Anchor Bay DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 Uncut The uncut region 2 DVD is available via UK Amazon |
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Exposé is a 1976 UK horror thriller by James Kenelm
Clarke. With Udo Kier, Linda Hayden, Fiona Richmond.
Unlikely British entry in list, a thriller with rape & murder. Summary Review: Sleazy and Gruesome Writer Paul Martin has scored a massive hit with his first novel and has retreated to a remote cottage in the heart of the English countryside to concentrate on his follow up. He's accompanied by his new secretary, Linda, a housekeeper and occasionally his lover Suzanne. However there is something strange about Linda and soon the bodies begin to pile up. Udo Kier is decent as a highly unlikeable writer and Linda Hayden is excellent as his secretary. She openly masturbates few times and has a great lesbian encounter with Fiona Richmond. The violence is quite tame except for the bathroom murder scene which is pretty nasty. The direction is lifeless, the characters are unpleasant and the film is slightly dull. Still I enjoyed it and you should too, if you like exploitation cinema. |
Passed X for a cinema release with ~3 minutes
of cuts in 1975
It was also notable in that this was the only UK video that achieved the DPP39 status. Re-released after 51s BBFC cuts in 1997 Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 51s of BBFC cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
France: Uncut titled House on Straw Hill The Australian VHS is also reported to be uncut. |
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1981 US documentary by Conan Le Cilaire
(Atlantis). See
IMDb Mixed bag of death scenes, badly acted surgical and autopsy scenes, monkey brain eating, phony video footage of death by alligator and bear, political assassinations etc. Summary Review: Quite a reputation Faces of Death has quite a reputation. Needless to say, there's no way the film will live up to its own hype. The narration is predictable, all the scenes involving human death are faked, and the final twenty minutes are basically newsreel footage, which we've all seen elsewhere. The film runs around 105 minutes, which is way too long for something of this nature. However, the film is now a cultural icon and it's most definitely worth seeing, provided you're a fan of horror movies, exploitation films, or bizarre fringe relics. The only real death you see is in the beginning where we see all sorts of animals slaughtered. It's not as bad as it sounds though. The animals weren't killed for the film, but rather as part of the routine slaughtering that happens everyday. |
A
video heavily cut by 32:36s was released by Atlantis Video Productions in
September 1982. This was listed as a video nasty in July 1983. It stayed
banned throughout the panic and so became one of the collectable DPP39s Re-released in 2003 after 2:19s of BBFC cuts for animal cruelty Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 2:19s of cuts The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1977 Canadian crime drama by Robert A Endelson.
With Robert Judd, Catherine Peppers and Lela Small. See IMDb Summary Review: Disturbing Scenes Strange entry in the list in that most of the video is taken up by talking about vengeance rather than getting on with the job.
Three escaped convicts seek refuge at the
home of a black minister and his family, there the family is humiliated and
beaten. When his daughter is violated the family begin to embark on some
vengeance. |
Banned from a cinema release in 1981
Current UK Status: still banned US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for
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1979 US horror by Chuck McCrann (Monte).
See
IMDb Zombies are created from hippies smoking weed that has been contaminated by pesticide. They then go on a flesh hunt. Summary Review: Cheesy Classic
This is one of those cheesy classics from the 70's. I
enjoyed it somewhat. Not one of the goriest nasties but does have a few violent set pieces. |
The November 1982 Monte video release is missing the
epilogue about FBI agent quitting his job but all the violence was intact
Current UK Status: Not released since The US release is uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Frozen Scream is a 1975 US video by Frank Roach. With Renee Harmon, Lynne Kocol and Wolf Muser. Very few nasty bits bar an injection into an eyeball. Summary Review: For bad movie fans
A pretty lame horror flick about a scientist's
attempts to make people immortal. This is a bad movie, featuring several
funny parts. I particularly liked the scene of two women in the hospital
talking, when out of nowhere the policeman narrator's voice is dubbed over
the conversation. It's just sloppily put together. |
Released on video in 1983 by
Home Video Productions. It was added to the
video nasty list in August 1984 but was soon dropped by October 1984 Current UK Status: Still banned Germany: It was released on DVD in Germany in 1997 with an English soundtrack for:
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The Funhouse
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The Funhouse is a 1981 US horror by Tobe Hooper With Elizabeth Berridge, Shawn Carson and Jeanne Austin.
Mainstream film about a murderous mutant on the loose in a fairground. It is not a particularly violent film and it has been suggested that the video appears on the list due to a confusion with another film Last House on Dead End Street that is also known as The Fun House. Summary Review: Underrated slasher Four teenage friends spent the night in a carnival funhouse and are stalked by a deformed man in a Frankenstein mask. This is an effectively underrated slasher entry. One of it's most impressive feats is that it gives us a nice carnival atmosphere with some interesting sights. The setting is the best thing about this, as great pains is taken to turn the early part into setup, and this does create a great atmosphere for later on in the film. This little gem has minimum bloodletting but its good, its better than good. It has a genuine sense of dread and a fear and paradoxically, an understanding of human vulnerability and mutation. |
The cinema release of 1981 was
X (18) uncut. A shortened version was released without censorship cuts by CIC in June 1983. It was shortened by deleting some uncontentious plot. Added to the DPP list of video nasties in September 1984 and was dropped in June 1985 A shortened version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts for the 1987 CIC VHS The complete version was passed 15 uncut in 2007 Current UK Status: Passed 15 uncut UK: Passed 15 uncut for moderate horror, sex, violence and threat for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for
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1977 Italian prison film by Cesare Canevari (Video Film Promotions). See
IMDb Bannable scenes include girls being dunked in quick-lime, girls fellating pistols and sodomising the commandant with the butt of a whip. Summary Review: Way Better than Expected Caligula Reincarnated as Hitler was way better than what I expected. The young blonde star of the film is gorgeous and someone both men and women would find attractive to sleep with.
There are some five star sexual
violence scenes that are unfortunately too brief. Beatings, whippings,
gang raping of women prisoners, dipping naked women into vats of lime,
hanging the young blonde star nude and upside down over a box of live
rats! I mean, hey you "sicko" Nazi fans, is this something or what? |
The video was released in 1983 by VFP with a
missing 10:48s scene of an Aryan fantasy and a feast of human flesh. The
video was re-released in 1984 by Video Shack
Current UK Status: Still banned in the UK The US release is uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The House by the Cemetery is a 1981 Italian horror film by Lucio Fulci With Catriona MacColl & Paolo Malco.
Apparently praised by the Sunday Times for its constraint but still includes decapitation, stabbing in the head, scalping, a throat ripping, a bat attack and more. The banned video had already been cut to remove the decapitation of the baby sitter and most of the violence committed with a poker. Summary Review: Dread and Fear This is the third in a loose trilogy of films by Italian master of the macabre Lucio Fulci set in New England that evoke the uncanny and cosmic terrors of H.P. Lovecraft. At times Fulci succeeds very well in creating an atmosphere of dread and fear, and the film is not without some subtle moments of terror, due mainly to an eerie soundtrack and a couple of creepy kids. But fans of Fulci and Italian horror cinema in general are not interested in the type of subtle scares one might find in ghost stories. Although this film is not without its moments (throats ripped out, maggot ridden bodies and decapitation), the violence seems quite muted compared to other Fulci films. |
The cinema release of 1982 was passed X after 1:26s of cuts
The 1988 Elephant video was passed 18 after 4:45s of cuts. The 1993 Vipco version suffered 7:27s of cuts. The 2001 DVD from Protected is missing 33s Passed 18 uncut after the BBFC waived their cuts for the UK 2009 Arrow R2 DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut after the BBFC waived their cuts for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1980 Italian horror thriller by Ruggero Deodato With David Hess and Annie Belle. See IMDb Class warfare, retards are invited to rich kids party for ritual humiliation, retards extract revenge by robbing, raping and pissing on the rich kids. Eventually the rich kids get the upper hand and the retards get it. Summary Review: Interesting yet Chilling
A couple of rapists Alex and Ricky who are invited to a rich person's party.
They decide to make
their own cruel and twisted kind of fun such as murder and rape. The acting isn't all that great but the music is good with a funky disco song, some gory violence with torture, nudity, and sleaze abound. |
The BBFC banned a 1981 cinema release.
The 2002 Protected/Vipco DVD was passed 18 with 11:43s of heavy cuts. Passed 18 after 43s of BBFC cuts for the UK 2011 Shameless DVD. Current UK status: Passed 18 after 43s of cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for
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Human Experiments is a 1980 US thriller by Gregory Goodell. With Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis and Ellen Travolta. See IMDb Woman in peril when falsely imprisoned in an asylum. The mandatory mad doctor is experimenting in catatonic shock induced by spiders and bugs. Summary Review: Women in Prison Country singer Rachel Foster (Linda Haynes) is undoubtedly the unluckiest person alive as she stumbles upon a young kid who has just slaughtered his family. She shoots the kid (he goes into a coma), resulting in a life sentence after the crooked Sheriff pins all the murders on her. But this is no ordinary prison as the Warden (Mercedes Shirley) and Dr. Kline (Geoffrey Lewis) are conducting bizarre behavioural experiments on their charges. There are some memorable bits in this and, on a whole, it is a pretty solid women in prison entry with a few nice twists. Lewis does a great job as the creepy doctor and their is a nice supporting role from Ellen Travolta. Haynes is an attractive lead and isn't afraid to deliver the genre required nudity. Director Gregory Goodell excels in the film's last third where Foster's nightmares come to life to haunt her. Sadly, he went on to Lifetime movies exclusively after this. |
The BBFC passed the 1979 cinema release without cuts. The video was released by Jaguar in 1981. It was listed as a video nasty in July 1983 but was soon dropped in March 1984. Current UK Status: Never re-released |
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1978 Canadian horror by Murray Markowitz. With Elke Sommer, Donald Pilon and Chuck Shamata. Summary Review: Unexceptional whodunit Stars Elke Sommer and features electrocution in a swimming pool and a paving slab being dropped on someone's head. A supposed dramatic account of a real life murder case, Canadian courtroom drama I Miss You Hugs And Kisses could be mistaken for the kind of mid-afternoon entertainment normally lapped up by bored housewives and easily pleased geriatrics: with its unexceptional whodunit plot crammed with intrigue, adultery, blackmail, and murder, one could be excused for thinking that Angela Lansbury or Dick Van Dyke might pop up in the final reel to solve the case. Viewers are treated to graphic killings (Sommers head is staved in and a young woman is stabbed in the stomach), nudity and sex, genuine slaughterhouse footage, and even a touch of necrophilia (one of the possible murderers, an escaped lunatic, enjoys raping his victims after he has killed them). Although not overly shocking by today's standards, these scenes seem so out of place in this otherwise routine thriller that they actually manage to be disturbing. |
The uncut Intercity pre-cert video was branded as a video
nasty in August 1984. It was soon dropped in October 1984. Re-released after 1:06s of BBFC cuts as Drop Dead Dearest for Heron in 1986 Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 1:06s of cuts |
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I Spit on Your Grave is a 1981 US revenge film by Meir Zarchi. With Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor and Richard Pace. See IMDb Perhaps one of the most famous of the video nasties probably because it is one of the better films on the list. It shows brutal and protracted scenes of the violation and humiliation of Camille Keaton. Armed with resolve and intelligence Keaton avenges herself by chopping up, hanging, drowning and castrating her tormentors. Summary Review: Brutal
The film is
evenly paced and unrelenting. One is forced to confront the brutality of
rape and violence. Without question, the rape scenes are some of the most disturbing moments in cinematic history. The castration scene is unparalleled. |
Released in January 1982 first under the Wizard
label and then labelled Astra (Astra were UK distributors for US based
Wizard). The video was one of the prime targets of the moral press and it
was listed as a video nasty in July 1983. It stayed on the list throughout
so is therefore one the collectable DPP39s International Trading gained a UK video certificate in 2001 after 7:02s of cuts to the rape scene. International Trading pre-cut their 2003 DVD to reframe the rape offscreen. The BBFC asked for 41s of additional cuts. It added up to the same cuts as in 2001 but these were more smoothly achieved. 101 Films released a DVD/Blu-ray version in September 2010 with the BBFC cuts reduced to 2:54s Current UK Status: Passed 18 with 2:54s cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1980 Italian horror by Dario Argento (20th
Century Fox).
See
IMDb Apartment is inhabited by an evil spirit that causes a number of deaths including, stabbing, guillotining, and drowning. Summary Review: My own favourite This is my own favourite Argento movie, but if you try and work out the plot it will drive you nuts. It's best viewed as a dark and incredibly gory fairytale and companion-piece to Suspiria. Irene Miracle becomes curious about the history of the old New York mansion block where she lives. Big mistake, but oh forget the logic. Just lap up the marvellous set-pieces: a swim through an underwater apartment (why is it flooded? don't even ask!), a witchy teenager and a cat who materialise during a music tutorial, a slasher murder set to the Slave's Chorus from Nabucco, a rat attack in Central Park. The soundtrack is an audacious blend of Verdi and Keith Emerson. Sheer bliss. |
The BBFC cut the 1981 cinema release. 20th Century Fox released the video which was listed as a video nasty in August 1984. It was dropped from he list in September 1985. The BBFC cut 28s from the 1987 Film & Video release The BBFC cut 20s from the 1993 Fox Video The BBFC waived their cuts for the 2010 Arrow DVD/Blu-ray Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Island of Death is a 1972 US/Greek horror by Nico Mastorakis. With Robert Behling, Jane Lyle and Jessica Dublin. See IMDb Saga of bestiality, incest & torture. Women and goats are raped, people are pissed on and nailed to the floor. Lesbians are torched and homosexuals are forced to drink paint. Summary Review: Rough Diamond Island of Perversion is a rough diamond from the deep seas of sickness, another gem from 1970s - the golden age of Grindhouse and exploitation! A film where you can still smell the dirt from the backyard and railway station cinemas it was shown in! But it's a great one, I enjoyed every second of it! The story is about two totally weird siblings who travel to Mykonos to free the peaceful Greek island from all those who are perverted scum in their eyes: gays, lesbians, nymphomaniacs, hippies... Unfortunately, the version that I watched was cut, so I didn't have the chance to see the notorious goat-rape! Even though the violence is not that graphic in this film, the director seemed to be possessed by the ambition to make one of the most depraved movies ever! Loved the bad surprise ending! |
Passed X
in 1976 with extensive cuts (14 mins) for cinema as
A Craving for Lust AVI released an uncut video in November 1982 as Island of Death.
Heavily cut video version named Psychic Killer 2 was rejected by the BBFC in 1987 DVD passed with heavy cuts of 4:09s in 2002. Distributed by Michael Lee/Vipco Passed 18 uncut after BBFC cuts waived in 2010. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 uncut after previous BBFC cuts waived for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Island of Death
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1976 Spain horror by Narciso Ibáñez
Serrador (Hokushin). See
IMDb Not an official video nasty. But there is a theory that a briefly listed Island of Death was in fact this title rather than the 'officially' assumed Nico Mastorakis' Island of Death A couple of English tourists arrive on an island where all the children have gone crazy and are murdering the adults. Review from UK Amazon: Very well made and very disturbing The plot involves a British couple on holiday in Spain who decide to visit a remote island for some peace and quiet, only to find the local kids have begun killing all the adults, faced with life threatening danger from the kids the couple have to ask themselves who can kill a child. Interestingly this predates Stephen King's Children of the Corn by 10 years and I wonder if King had ever caught this film. There are many reasons to recommend this film. The film itself is very well made and very disturbing, it has a great soundtrack and excellent performances all round! |
Passed X (18) uncut for the 1976 cinema release titled Death is Child's
Play Released on pre-cert VHS by Hokushin under the title of Island of Death. The title Island of Death appeared on the video nasty list in November 1983 but was dropped in the next issue. There is no way that the nastier Mastorakis Island of Death could ever have been dropped from the list. The authors of Shock Horror offer the theory that this 1983 entry on the list could have been Serrador's Island of Death. It could easily have been removed from the list once it was realised that it had received a BBFC certificate under a different title. The nastier Mastorakis Island of Death would appear on the list later and stay there until the end. Passed 18 uncut for the UK 2011 Eureka DVD titled Who Can Kill a Child. No release details as yet. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut |
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The Killer Nun
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1978 Italian horror by Giulio Berruti. With Anita Ekberg, Paola Morra and Alida Valli. See IMDb Patients are killed in a variety of exotic ways, perforated with pins, kicked to death, thrown out of window etc. These deaths resemble accounts of martyrdom often told by a drunkard, dopehead, lecherous old nun, Anita Ekberg. Also includes a bit of lesbian nun depravity. Summary Review: Well worth checking out Anyone familiar with nunsploitation will recognise this as a stand out film. There are some very atmospheric set pieces in the film Anita Ekberg's flashbacks and the giallo inspired murder of the old woman. The dubbing detracts from the power of the film by having cheesy actors do the overdubs. Some of the editing is a bit sloppy but Italian exploitation fans are well used to this. The gorgeous Paola Morra is worth the price of the film alone. Well worth checking out. |
Released on video by Techno Film. It was listed as a video
nasty in August 1984 but was dropped by July 1985 Redemption video passed 18 with 13s of cuts in 1993 2006 Argent (Shameless) DVD Passed 18 uncut Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut. Passed 18 uncut with cuts waived for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1972 US horror by Wes Craven. With Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham and David Hess. See IMDb Two girls are kidnapped by escaped prisoners and are subjected to sexual humiliation, razor torture, rape, disembowelments and shooting. The parents of one girl avenge their death by chainsaw, throat cutting and castration. Summary Review: Brutal Realist Tragedy While I think that people tend to get a bit hyperbolic when they talk about The Last House on the Left, I do think it's a fairly good film, especially given what the filmmakers were trying to do and considering their lack of experience, the era and the budget. Also, despite a filmic precursor, it just may be the earliest example of the horror subgenre of brutal, realist tragedy. However, it has flaws that would be difficult to overlook in a distanced assessment of the film. But again, focusing on that amounts to hype now, and shouldn't be taken too seriously, lest it lead to inflated expectations. Just as surprising on a first viewing is that The Last House on the Left has an intermittent goofy sense of humor and a groovy attitude that is firmly mired in the early 1970s. The two policemen are really comic relief characters (and very funny at that), but there is also a lot of humor surrounding the criminal quartet--this almost becomes a black comedy at times. These sensibilities even extend to the music, which has a frequent hillbilly edge and lyrics that supply ex-positional material. Surprisingly, Hess, who plays Krug, wrote the music. |
Banned by the BBFC for a cinema release in 1974.
A cinema release was banned again in 2000. However it achieved an cinema club circuit release in 2000. A subsequent DVD release was rejected in 2001 The DVD was again submitted in 2002 but this time the BBFC offered cuts. An appeal against the cuts proved unsuccessful and in fact resulted in additional cuts to those originally requested by the BBFC. The resulting Blue Underground video/DVD release of 2002 suffered 31s of censor cuts. Further 2003 video/DVD releases (including one titled Krug & Company) from Anchor Bay have been edited differently but maintained the previous BBFC 2002 cuts The DVD was finally passed 18 uncut by the BBFC in 2008 The Krug edit was also passed 18 uncut in 2009. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
US: uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Late Night Trains is a 1975 Italian horror by Aldo Lado. With Flavio Bucci, Macha Méril and Gianfranco De Grassi. See IMDb Drug crazed nutters mug a Father Christmas then move onto to terrorise and murder a couple of young girls on a train (Irene Miracle). The girls' parents inflict some retribution Summary Review: Decent Acting This film borrowed heavily from Last House on the Left, but Night Train Murders is the better of the two. Good production values, excellent cinematography, an Ennio Morricone score, decent acting and a tight script. The first third of the film introduces the main characters, most of whom seem to be prone to indulging in one perversion or another. The "defilement" section of the film is a gripping, harrowing affair that escalates in viciousness before climaxing in a very brutal fashion. The final act does not live up to the scenes that precede it. The director's desire to keep from glamorizing violence is probably why the ending feels somewhat restrained. |
The BBC rejected the cinema release in 1976
under the title Late Night Trains. Video Warehouse International released a cut video as Late Night Trains in 1981. Cinehollywood released an uncut video in November 1981 under the title Night Train Murders. This version was listed as a video nasty in July 1983. This was dropped from the list in March 1984 Passed 18 uncut in 2008 as Night Train Murders Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong scenes of sexual violence for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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1974 Italian/Spanish horror by Jorge Grau
(VIP). See
IMDb
Various members of the community are disembowelled and eaten. Then the heroes fight back. Summary Review: British Mini Watching this film was a real treat as it was devoid of the usual American teenage students being slaughtered and was even filmed here in the U.K. It's full of 1960's/70's kitsch and the hero's even drive a real British Mini. The picture quality is excellent so you can see the Zombies in all their lurid excellence. If you only ever buy one Zombie movie, make it this one! |
The BBFC cut 1:27s from the 1975 cinema release as The
Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue VIP released the uncut video in June 1992 titled The Living Dead. Meanwhile LVC released a video Don't Open the Window. This is a version censored for a US R rating. The Living Dead was listed as a video nasty in October 1983 but it was dropped from the list in April 1985 The 1:27s pre-cut cinema version was submitted for video in 1985 by Network Distribution. The BBFC demanded 26s of further cuts. This release was titled Living Dead at Manchester Morgue All BBFC cuts were waived for the 2002 Blue Underground DVD, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie/The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 with all BBFC cuts waived for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1968 US prison film by Lee Frost with Bob Cresse & Maria Lease. See IMDb Softcore goings on at a Nazi prison camp for girls. Summary Review: Don't Take Seriously The violence and sexploitation are best taken as tongue-in-cheek. By enjoying the exploits of the two WAC officers, Maria Lease and Kathy Williams, the movie is quite entertaining. Both Lease and Williams could pass as Playboy Playmates. Both girls have no less than four scenes each were their wares are sampled - talk about copping a feel, these horny Nazis devour these two toothsome actresses! |
Released by Market in 1983. The video was
listed as a video nasty in April 1985 and stayed on the list throughout the
panic and so became one of the collectible DPP39s Banned from a DVD release when submitted in 2002 Current UK Status: Still banned The UK bootleg release is uncut for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1981 US/Italian horror by Ovidio
G Assonitis with Trish Everly, Michael MacRae and Dennis Robertson. See IMDb A deranged woman escapes from the loony bin and gate-crashers her twin sister's birthday party. Guests are attacked by a big black Alsatian and/or a mystery maniac. The dog gets its come-uppance when lobotomised by a power drill. Summary Review: One of the Better Nasties "Madhouse" is one of the better films that was previously on the "banned" list of so-called video nasties in the UK. It didn't really deserve it's place on the list, but it's easy to spot the scene that probably put it there. This slasher stands above it's rivals due to some really good cinematography. The story tells of a young teacher named Julia (Trish Everly) who has lived under the shadow of her abusive sister Mary since childhood. News reaches her that Mary is in hospital suffering from a disfiguring disease and wants to see her. Julia's visit to the hospital is one among several scenes that stayed in my mind. Julia's life is turned upside down by this encounter with her cruel sibling, and in the days following the visit, people around her start dying. Although some of the time the action can get rather slow, the film features two pretty over-the top gore scenes that seem almost out of place in a movie that exercises restraint in most aspects. The most infamous sequence is the one that shows just how you can put down a dangerous attacking rottweiler with a handy power drill. The other is an axe attack that is so drawn out it becomes almost surreal. |
An
uncut version was published by Medusa in January 1983. A cut version was released later in 1983 by Medusa and was added to the DPP list of banned video nasties in November of the same year. It stayed on the list throughout the panic , so became one of the collectible DPP39's Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC for the 2004 Film 2000 DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 uncut for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Mardi
Gras Massacre is a 1978 US horror by Jack Weis. With Curt Dawson, Gwen Arment and William Metzo. See IMDb Serial killer picks on the most evil women he can find and tortures them by amputating hands, then feet, then the part that you use for evil Summary Review: Cheese and sleaze!
Not exactly a straight
slasher as many believe but it's surely as cheesy, and unintentionally funny
as any slasher from the 80's. |
Released on VHS in 1982 on the Goldstar label and
later on the Market label. Banned as a video nasty in November 1983 and
stayed on the list throughout the panic so became one of the collectable
DPP39s. Current UK status: Still banned US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Night of the Bloody Apes is a 1969 Mexican horror by Rene Cordona Jr. With José Elías Moreno, Carlos López Moctezuma and Armando Silvestre.
Ape to human organ transplants cause recipients to become beastlike and murderous. Cheesy gore effects include eye gouging and scalping. Summary Review: Pretty Grim A mad scientist attempts to cure his son's leukemia by doing the first ape-to-human heart transplant. He decides to put a gorilla's heart into the lad and orders his flunky to prepare the gorilla!. There is actual footage of a graphic open heart surgery inserted in the ape operation scenes. This of course causes the boy to turn into a big stinky man-ape... The film is a very cheap Mexican 'horror' and it is pretty grim. And really most of the film is so comic book and likeable, dammit, that you can forgive the rather shoddy idea of using said transplant footage as a main point of sale. People say that really bad films are funny to watch because they are so bad. I have only found this to be the case with one film before now, Death Wish 3, but now Night Of The Bloody Apes has become one of my pet films. A desert island treasure. |
The film was released in cinemas with
around a minute of
BBFC cuts in October 1974.
In 1993 there was a mysterious uncut Vipco version. It was nominally slated as pre-cut but somehow got a limited unsanctioned uncut release. It was withdrawn within days. In 1999 the video was released on the Satanica label, in a version that was obviously taken from Vipco's planned cut version (Vipco's logo remains). This time the distributor removed every single violent scene before submitting it to the censors. The same heavily pre-cut version was released on 2002 DVD by Film 2000. Passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived and distributor cuts restored for the UK 2012 Nucleus DVD Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong gore, violence, nudity and sexual violence, with previous BBFC cuts waived and distributor cuts restored for:
Netherlands: Uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Night of the Demon is a 1980 US horror by James C Wasson. With Michael Cutt, Joy Allen and Bob Collins.
Big Foot seeking expedition is tragically successful. Members get their throats cut, faces fried and get a good whipping with there own intestines. One poor guy accidentally pisses on the Big Foot hiding behind a bush and loses the tools required to piss again. Summary Review: Cheap Another film that is something like an urban legend: being banned in countries like Germany or Norway and also very hard to find. The reputation of Night of the Demon is much more interesting than the movie itself! The story is simple: a professor and some students travel to the dark forests to investigate some cruel murders which were caused by a Bigfoot-like monster that looks like Chewbacca from Star Wars. A feeble minded woman who lives in a lonely hut plays an important role in the solution of the mystery... Well, the acting is bad, the F/X are pretty cheesy and only the many murders featured in this flick will keep you away from falling asleep! These deaths however are pretty are gory and violent, so fans of splatter movies won't be disappointed! |
Released
by Vipco in June 1982. Banned as a video nasty in October 1983.
It stayed on the list throughout the panic and so became one of the
collectable DPP39's Re-released after 1:41s of BBFC cuts on video in 1994 by Vipco Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 1:41s cuts US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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1981 US horror by William Asher. With Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell and Bo Svenson. See IMDb Banned by the BBFC for:
Summery Review: Gripping An orphaned teenager finds himself being dominated by his aunt who's hell-bent on keeping him with her...at all costs. It seems rather strange that the the director of the I Love Lucy TV series could ever make something on the DPP's list of banned movies, but that's exactly what happened to William Asher's 1981 feature. Despite several undoubtedly shocking scenes this seems particularly unfair, as it is actually a gripping and well made horror thriller, which was even nominated for a Saturn Award as Best Low Budget Film of the Year. |
Released on the Atlantis label in April 1983.
The film made the list of banned video nasties by November of the same year.
It was dropped from the list in December 1985 It was submitted to the BBFC in 1987 with cuts as The Evil Protege but was banned Current UK Status: Still nominally banned
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1981 US horror by Romano Scavolini (Oppidan).
See
IMDb Brain damaged inmate is unwisely released from the asylum. After recalling how he killed his father and a floozy with an axe he goes on a tour of the local sex shows. This whips him up into a frenzy ready to get down to stalking his ex, son and ex's new flame. Summary Review: Great Slasher Movie An underrated and under recognized slasher film of the early 1980s. The plot is very interesting and is not at all a typical "slasher by numbers" flick, and is not predictable. There gore is pretty insane and gruesome, and Tom Savini was the make-up effects consultant. There is a tense, uneasy feeling throughout the film, and some very memorable scenes showing how disturbed the killer is, like the part at the peep show in NYC where he gets so aroused he has a seizure. Pretty crazy stuff. Highly recommended! |
The 1982
cinema release was cut by the BBFC and
passed X Oppidan released a cut video in May 1982. This version is said to be more complete than the cinema release with the restoration of about 1 minute of material
The cut R Rated version was passed without BBFC cuts for:
Current UK Status: Passed 18 in a cut R Rated version The US release is uncut and MPAA unrated for:
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Possession is a 1981 France/West Germany horror drama by
Andrzej Zulawski. With Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill and Margit Carstensen.
Set in the outbreak of world war 3, a couple, Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill, are undergoing a marital breakdown apparently mirroring the split of Berlin where they live. The wife cuts herself in the neck with an electric carving knife and partakes in an affair with an octopus creature. Summary Review: Art Horror Possession is totally extraordinary. Packed with symbolism, it can be read on so many possible levels of interpretation it's bewildering. Set in a European city (obviously cold war Berlin) in an alienating mixture of ultra modern buildings and decaying grandeur, visually it evokes a sense of dislocation. Thematically, it seems to be a study of a marriage in the last phase of destruction, with Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani. What follows is a nightmarish and surreal two hours of startling images, bizarre acting and frequent bloodletting. Possession is as challenging an art-horror as I've ever seen. |
The BBFC passed the 1981 cinema release X uncut VTC released the film on VHS in September 1982. It was banned as a video nasty in September 1983. In September 1984 it was cleared of obscenity in a jury trial and was removed from the list. VTC re-released the film with a toned down cover in December 1984. The BBFC passed the 1999 Visual Corporation video 18 uncut. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 uncut for:
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1982 US slasher by Jeff Obrow & Stephen Carpenter
(Canon). See
IMDb Teenage slasher movie with Daphne Zuniga set in a disused dorm. Includes the use of spiked clubs to the eyes, garrotting, amputation and even a human head turning up in the stew. See trailer from youtube.com Summary Review: Typical Slasher Stuff
Another 80's college film in which all the "students"
look older than expected. This is typical slasher stuff, with overly dramatic
music that sounds ripped off from Psycho. Don't expect anything
earth-shattering; you do get a cheapie, yet solid release for fans of 80's
slasher/horror. |
The R Rated Version was released uncut by Canon in June 1982. It was added to the DPP list of banned video nasties in October 1983. It was dropped from the list in September 1985 The R Rated Version was re-released after 10s BBFC cuts in 1992 Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 10s cuts The Directors Cut is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
See article from mcbastardsmausoleum.blogspot.com: Director's Cut If you think you've seen this film totally uncut... think again! Synapse Films is presents The Dorm that Dripped Blood in a never-before-seen alternate version containing additional scenes, extended gore sequences and a different sound mix. This transfer was created from the only existing 35mm answer print of the original Directors' Cut entitled Death Dorm, a version of the film thought to have been lost for over thirty years. |
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1978 Italian adventure by Sergio Martino With Ursula Andress and Stacey Keach. (Hokushin). See IMDb Explorer is held as a deity because his Geiger counter continues to tick as if his heart, even when his flesh has perished. This perished flesh gets daubed all over his wife, Ursula Andress. Summary Review: Very tasty little snack Another 70's cannibal flick that is much better than expected. You've got the hot, scantily-clad Ursula Andress and her crew on a quest through the jungles of New Guinea. They get ambushed by some blood thirsty savages of course. This tribe looks extremely heinous. Their masks are what really stood out for me in this movie. Freaky! When the maniacal tribe leader sees Ursula, he might develop a different kind of hunger. You've got all your basic cannibal flick essentials--blood, gore, decapitations, nudity, violence with animals. The acting and dialogue are good enough not to hamper the story. It may not be extremely original, but hey, if it ain't broke... |
Passed X for the cinema in 1978 with
extensive cuts to animal cruelty. Passed for titles Prisoner of the Cannibal God
& The Mountain of the Cannibal God The cinema cut version was released on pre-cert VHS by Hokushin in 1981, titled Prisoner of the Cannibal God This was banned and added to the DPP list in November 1983. It was removed from the DPP list in May 1985 Passed for the Protected video/DVD with 2:06s cuts for animal cruelty in 2001, titled The Mountain of the Cannibal God Current UK Status: Passed 18 with 2:06s cuts The US release featuring the Extended Version is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1983 US horror film by Bruce Star with Suzanna Love and
Ulli Lommel.
See
IMDb Rehash of the gore from The Bogey Man Summary Review: Re-hash The Boogeyman is a minor 80's classic. The story is pure hokum, but the film is full of absurdly grotesque murder sequences and extreme gore. Ulli Lommel and his buddies must have been so proud on their accomplishment that they decided to re-use all the best footage to fill up almost three quarters of the sequel. Boogeyman II is stuffed like a Christmas turkey with key footage of the original, and that's the main reason why it receives so many negative reviews around here. Boogeyman II is 50 minutes of stock footage and 25 minutes of non-stop new murders. The new massacres are very lame in comparison with those of the original, though. Death by electric toothbrush and suffocation in shaving gel, for example. The film still got included in the infamous list of video nasties, but only because of the stock footage of the original and not because of the ridiculous new murder set pieces. |
The Original Version was released on video by
VTC. It was banned as a video nasty in September 1984 but was removed from
the list in July 1985. The Redux Version/Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut for the 2003 Hollywood DVD. This is very different to the Original Version. Current UK Status: Different version passed 18 uncut The Redux Version/Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut for:
The US release featuring the Director's Cut is MPAA R Rated for:
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Shogun Assassin is a 1980 Japan/US action film by Robert Houston. With Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo and Minoru Oki.
Not an official video nasty. It was seized by police but was not prosecuted and wasn't listed as a nasty. Japanese executioner treks around with young son in tow looking for revenge on the men who killed his wife. Lots of stylish bloody sword play and blood spattering. Summary Review: A great film A great samurai warrior served his Shogun honorably. The Shogun however grew paranoid and sought to destroy all those who might stand to oppose his rule. He sent his ninja spies to the samurai's home. The ninjas failed to kill the samurai, but did kill his beloved wife. From then on, the samurai swore to seek out the Shogun and avenge the death of his love. The samurai roams the countryside with his toddler son taking on mercenary work for money until the final battle with the Shogun's three Masters of Death. Shogun Assassin is a great film. Much "controversy" has arisen over the years regarding this film having been cobbled together from two other films in the Lone Wolf series. I think that what has been achieved is an extremely entertaining, fast-paced piece of action. By eliminating non-essential story lines and including a voice over narration, the action moves at break neck speed. The amount of blood spilled is so over the top as to be cartoonish, which only adds to the uniqueness of the movie. If you have never seen Shogun Assassin or have seen it a thousand times, buy this DVD, it is well worth it. Shogun Assassin is actually an amalgam of two 1972 films titled Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx. The producer decided to join the best bits of these two films (using around 10 minutes of the first film as a pre-credits flashback sequence to introduce the characters). |
The BBFC cut the 1981
cinema release by 2s. Vipco released the video and it got caught up in the video nasties panic. Copies were seized and the distributors were prosecuted. But the prosecution failed and the videos were returned. Shogun Assassin was never officially listed as a video nasty by the DPP. The 1992 Vipco was pre-cut along the lines of the cinema version. No further BBFC cuts were required The 1999 Horror Video release was passed 18 uncut Current Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Shortened and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Slayer
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trailer from
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1981 US horror by JS Cardone. With Sarah Kendall, Frederick Flynn and Carol Kottenbrook. See IMDb Cheesy gore effects when a woman's childhood nightmares start coming true when she is stranded on a remote island. Summary Review: Minimal Gore Eric & his surreal artist sister Kay, her doctor husband David, her sister-in-law Brooke along with pilot Marsh become stranded on a rugged isle face off against a supernatural beast drawn to Kay who dreams of its killings. The film is quite good. two couples fly to a quiet island for a well-earned break, but Kay knows the horror that is waiting for them & sure enough they are killed off by this monster. Once the killings start & the storm comes, there's a good atmosphere . Unfortunately, the gore is way too minimal, with a decent pitchforking scene being its only saviour. |
Vipco released the uncut VHS in June 1982. It
appeared on the video nasties list in October 1983 but was dropped in April
1985 Re-released on VHS by Vipco after 14s of BBFC cuts in 1992 Finally passed uncut for the Vipco DVD of 2001 Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut Passed 18 uncut for:
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Snuff is a 1976 Argentina/US/Canada horror by Michael & Roberta Findlay. With Margarita Amuchástegui, Ana Carro and Liliana Fernández Blanco.
Summary Review: Publicity is more interesting than the film Like many films that appeared in the early 70s and raised a stink for one reason or another - the publicity surrounding the Findlay's film Snuff is more interesting than the film itself. In fact, this film - which supposedly depicted the actual dismembering of a young girl - caused such a fuss when it played in New York that the mayor demanded that the perpetrators be captured and prosecuted. That is, of course, until the producers admitted that the film was a fraud and produced the dead actress for all to see. This film is nothing more than a late 60s Hell's Angels biker movie with a tacked on ending in which the film's director disembowels a young blond girl. Not sexual, and hardly interesting - the snuff bit of the film is hardly impressive as far as either shock or special effects. Of course, you have to sit through a turgid tale of bikers and drug smuggling to even get to this bit - and it just isn't worth it. |
The
uncut VHS was set to be released by Astra in May 1982. The release was
cancelled but bootleg copies and Belgian imports filled the void. The video was added to the video nasties list in July 1983. It stayed on the list throughout the panic and so became one of the collectable DPP39's Passed 18 uncut in 2003 but never released Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut The US release is uncut and X/Unrated for:
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1976 Italian Nazi exploitation film by Sergio Garrone. With Mircha Carven, Paola Corazzi and Giorgio Cerioni. See IMDb Notoriety achieved from the bad taste poster rather than the video itself. The most outrageous experiment is that commandant commands the removal of the balls of the hunkiest soldier "OK you bastard what have you done with my balls" Passed uncut when submitted in 2005. The BBFC had few qualms in passing it uncut for sale in the UK with the following justification (reproduced from one of the newsgroups): The content of the film is in fact very mild and poorly executed. If anything, it was the title of the film and its original packaging that led to difficulties, rather than the content. The idea of the film may, of course, be offensive to some but that is not a good enough reason to cut or reject it. We would only cut or reject a film for adults if the content was illegal or harmful. SS Experiment Camp is neither illegal or harmful, just tasteless. Summary Review: Highly dubious taste This is a sleazy WW2 Nazi camp movie which plays more like a black comedy. In this film the poor female POW's get raped and groped by all and sundry at the camp. They are subjected to some inexplicable
experiments, which often seem to involve forced copulation with a group of
Nazi studs. The purpose
of the experiments is to find the best stud from this Aryan select and
transfer his balls onto the camp commandant who, as we discover, lost his
when a Russian woman he was raping bit his off. |
Video released uncut on the Go label in January 1982
under the title SS Experiment Camp
Passed 18 uncut in 2005 The uncut region 2 DVD should have been available in Feb 2006, BUT due to some unfortunate mistake in production, the film actually release was a 1981 soft porn film, Love Camp, starring Laura Gemser. Sorted by the reissue in April 2006. Current UK Status: Passed 18 Uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1982 Italian giallo by Dario Argento With Anthony Franciosa and Christian Borromeo See IMDb. Summary Review: Gore filled giallo An authors book is stuffed into the mouth of a murdered shop lifter (by razor). The author is bombarded by threats and pictures from other murders including razoring, axing, stabbing and garrotting. Tenebrae is a thriller about a writer of thrillers who, whilst on a promotional tour in Italy for his new book (...also called Tenebrae), finds himself the focus of a deranged serial killer, who is offing his victims according to the grisly murders found in the very same author's work. Argento has a great deal of fun in devising these bizarre scenes and scenarios, whilst simultaneously orchestrating this grandiose, gore-filled Giallo with a bold approach to cinematography, montage and music. As with a lot of Argento's work, the performances aren't all peerless, although, that said, there's some admirable moments, particularly from Anthony Franciosa as the author, Peter Neal, Argento's former muse Daria Nicolodi as his assistant Ann, and b-movie stalwart John Saxon as Neal's publisher. The ending of the film is a satisfying one that is sure to delight those familiar with his previous works. |
The BBFC cut the 1983 cinema
release by 4s
The BBFC cut the 1999 Nouveaux Pictures video by 5s. This is an extra cut of 1s over and above the previous cinema cuts to ensure that the BBFC were not passing a video that had recently been found to be 'obscene'. Passed 18 with all BBFC cuts waived for UK 2003 Anchor Bay R2 DVD but this release suffered some trivial print damage. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Terror Eyes is a 1981 US slasher by Ken Hughes. With Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward and Drew Snyder.
Rachel Ward as psycho killer dressed in full biker leathers and crash helmet. She beheads various women and leaves their heads in a bucket, a ditch, down the toilet and in a saucepan of Irish stew. Summary Review: Action over Suspense A Boston police detective investigates a series of gruesome decapitations of various college coeds committed by a helmeted, black-leather clad serial killer which leads him to suspect a well known anthropology professor as well as his female live-in assistant. A slasher flick with more action than horror. But the acting is above par as are the overall production values, and there isn't a lot of padding. There's also something of a story complete with characterization. One could certainly do (much) worse in picking a slasher film from this era. |
The BBFC cut the 1981 cinema release. The uncut Guild VHS was released in February 1983. It was banned as a video nasty in March 1984. It was dropped from the list in June 1985. The BBFC cut 1:16s from the 1987 Guild VHS release Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 1:16s of cuts US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Toolbox Murders
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trailer from
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1978 US horror by Dennis Donnelly With Cameron Mitchell and Pamelyn Ferdin. See IMDb Ski masked psycho preys on women in an apartment building who he considers are in need of a moral lesson. This is doled out with the contents of his toolbox, eg a nailgun is used to kill a wanton strumpet with shots to the head and belly. Summary Review: Grisly The Toolbox Murders starts out with 20 minutes or so of grisly and very well done kill scenes, all of which involve tools. If you like violence, then you'll love the introduction of this film. If you're a sucker for nudity in horror films, then you'll appreciate the introduction to this film for that as well. After the kills are complete, the middle portion of this movie is a lot of talk with little or no gore. However the dialog between the killer and the kidnapped girl is very interesting. If you have the attention span to sit through 'slower' moments of this film, then you'll find something to enjoy in it. |
The cinema release was extensively cut in 1979. A cut version was released on Pre-VRA video by Hokushin in November 1981 and made it onto the video nasties list in November 1983. It was removed from the list in May 1985 as it was a BBFC approved version. There are conflicting reports about versions released by Hokushin. The best theory seems to be that there were two versions released:
Re-released after a 1:45s of BBFC cuts in 2000 Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 1:45s of cuts US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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1982 US slasher by Don Gronquist
(Avatar). See
IMDb Unrecommended video following a bunch of runaway girls meeting a freaky family in the woods. Some of the girls become a hickory smoked dinner morsel. Review from UK Amazon: Check it out I must say I'm pretty confused as to why so many critics have slated this film in almost every review I've managed to feast my eyes upon - why? When I first viewed this little gem twenty-odd years ago before the dreaded Daily Mail had its wicked way with such classics, I was pleasantly impressed and even today the film hasn't lost any of its gusto. Of course the acting is second rate and mundane in places, of course the camera work is shoddy, of course the direction is somewhat inept and the script is tacky. But it was made on a tight budget for crying out loud. In fact, I'll gladly offer a billion quid to anyone who can name me just one perfectly directed slasher film. Nevertheless, there are more upsides than downsides to this movie: the violence can be quite shocking in places (especially the machette killing) which happens off screen but is still relentless and brutal. The synth music is eerily brilliant and the overall brooding atmosphere makes you think twice about visiting the toilet for a while. The shocking climax is also totally unexpected and will probably have most viewers leaving dents in the arms of their chairs...check it out - it's a really good horror film. |
Passed 18 uncut for:
Released uncut on pre-cert VHS by Avatar. This was banned as a video nasty in November 1983. It was dropped from the banned list in May 1985. Passed 18 uncut for:
The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut |
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Visiting Hours is a 1982 Canadian horror film by Jean-Claude Lord With Michael Ironside and Lee Grant. See IMDb William Shatner makes the DPP list along with Michael Ironside and Lee Grant. A psychotic hospital stalker beats up girls, stabs nurses and turns off life support machines. Summary Review: Not your everyday slasher A crazed, women-hating killer (Ironside) attacks journalist Deborah Ballin (Grant). When he discovers that his attack didn't kill Deborah, he comes to the hospital to finish what he started. The movie is really quite tense at times. The attack at Deborah's home is
frightening, especially the dumb waiter scene. And the climactic chase is
amazingly pulled off. The acting is alright and the music is also to note, and adds a lot of
atmosphere. |
The BBFC cut the
X rated 1982 cinema
release by 1:10s The cut cinema version was released by CBS/Fox. It was listed as a video nasty in September 1984 but was soon dropped from the list in November 1984. The cut cinema version was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts for the 1986 CBS/Fox VHS ITV broadcast the uncut version in 1989 and got rebuked by the authorities Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 1:10s of BBFC cuts The US release is uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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The Werewolf and the Yeti is a
1975 Spanish horror by Miguel Iglesias. With Paul Naschy, Mercedes Molina and Silvia Solar. On a yeti safari, a tragic heroic werewolf character has his way with vampire girls before staking them, rescues the sherpas from a tartar leader who likes flaying girls for an acne cure and finally wrestles the yeti. See review from IMDb: Monster Movie A team of scientists travel to Tibet to track down the Yeti. Among the group is Waldemar (Naschy) the werewolf who gets into a fight with the Yeti. This had an extremely low budget, which I think really helped the film because it's just like those B monster movies from the 1940's. The Yeti looks incredibly stupid but Naschy is quite good in his role and the werewolf look is nice. The Yeti is only used at the start and end of the film, which is a shame but the side plot dealing with Tibet rebels was nicely done. |
Released uncut on video by Canon in October 1982.
Current UK Status: No UK release since |
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1976 Italy horror by Rino di Silvestro (Cinehollywood). See
IMDb Not an official video nasty. However it did make a local police list of films banned in Manchester. A woman has dreams that she is a werewolf so she goes out and finds men. She proceeds to have sex with them and then rip their throats out with her teeth Review from US Amazon: Awesome This awesome Euro cult film is about Danielle (Annik Borel) who was traumatised in her youth and now, as a young woman, believes herself to be the reincarnation of a long dead werewolf ancestor. She has a phobia of men and sex, and when her sister (Dagmar Lassander) returns home from study overseas with her new husband, she kills him thus begining a decent into madness and murder. Despite the title, the only werewolf in the film appears in the opening scene in which Danielle is having a nightmare of her ancestor (also played by Annik Borel) dancing naked then transforming before being caught by a mob of pitch-fork brandishing and torch waving villages, who burn her at the state like a witch. The film has a great cinematic style with occasional spatterings of gore and generous helpings of nudity. Annik Borel is brilliant playing the werewolf woman as she manages to look genuinely detached and vulnerable then instantly snapping to a furious insane rage. In the hands of a lesser leading lady the film would probably fail. |
Passed X after BBFC cuts for the UK 1980 cinema release as
Werewolf Woman An uncensored version shortened by 5 minutes through print damage was released pre-cert for the UK 1981 Cinehollywood VHS and 1983 Cockney Rebels VHS titled Werewolf Woman. The film didn't make the national DPP list of official video nasties but was listed on Greater Manchester Police's list of films subject to seizure. A pre-cut version was passed 18 after a further 40s of BBFC cuts for: UK 1986 Sheptonhurst VHS titled Naked Werewolf Woman Current UK Status: Passed 18 after heavy cuts The US release is uncensored and MPAA Unrated for:
However the transfer was erroneously zoomed in for widescreen and it lost some of the sexy action. Released uncut for:
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The Witch who Came from the Sea
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The Witch who Came from the Sea is a 1976 US horror by Matt Cimber. With Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman and Vanessa Brown.
A sensationalist cover got this video into trouble "A young woman's nightmare of incest and castration... Molly has a way with razors!" The actual castration scene of course is well toned down. Summary Review: Odd little gem A disturbed woman is haunted by memories of childhood abuse, which culminates in a murder spree. Here is an odd little gem of a film that fortunately has resurfaced on DVD, boasting a pristine film transfer. Descriptions of the film, the title of the film, and even the DVD cover itself do little to relate, or even hint at what is, as it turns out, an altogether strange, unsettling, humorous, and entertaining cinematic treat. The off kilter acting styles, unnatural tone, and dark humor of the film shares a kinship to the works of David Lynch. Highly recommended. |
Released on VHS by VTC. It was banned as a
video nasty in
august 1984 but was dropped from the DPP list following unsuccessful
prosecutions in June 1985. Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC in 2006. Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for"
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Women Behind Bars is a 1975 French/Belgian sexploitation by Jess Franco. With Lina Romay, Martine Stedil and Nathalie Chape. Softcore goings on coupled with some sadistic treatment such as electric shocks administered to the breasts and genitals of Lina Romay. Summary Review: Naked Isn't a Problem A small-time hood atttracts 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. There's tons of nudity, a lesbian scene and a couple torture sequences but this is still fairly clear for a Franco WIP film. Romay has never been accused of being a good actress but she fits her role fine here and she's certainly cute so watching her naked isn't a problem. Franco himself plays a gangster in the film. |
The video was released on the Go label. It
briefly made the video nasty list in August 1984 but was dropped in October
1984 Current UK Status: No UK release US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Xtro is a 1982 UK alien film by Harry Bromley Davenport.
With Philip Sayer, Bernice Stegers and Danny Brainin.
Not an official video nasty. It was seized by police but was not prosecuted and wasn't listed as a nasty. A man is kidnapped by aliens and returns some years later in the form of a four legged crablike monster. He rapes a blonde and a fully grown human explodes from her womb the next day. Summary Review: Much to enjoy If you can overlook its obviously low budget and tolerate the BBC Radiophonic Workshop-like synthesizer on the soundtrack, there's much to enjoy in XTRO. It's a simple tale of a family man returning to Earth after three years in the company of aliens whose customs and ways of life he hasn't completely surrendered. Fans of the gross and outrageous will enjoy the sight of a fully-grown man being literally reborn and the several messy killings that further spice up this warped and somewhat disturbing British shocker. Although clearly inspired by Ridley Scott's Alien, XTRO actually bears more than a passing resemblance to Norman J.Warren's notorious Inseminoid, except things are much nastier here. |
The 1982 cinema release was
passed 18 uncut The pre-cert Spectrum video release was caught up in the video nasties scare as it was seized in Manchester, Birmingham & Newcastle. The BBFC pointed out that they had passed it uncut and the seized tapes were returned without getting listed on the official list Passed 18 uncut for Polygram VHS in 1987.Passed 15 uncut for Film 2000 DVD in 2007. Current UK Status: Passed 15 uncut UK: Passed 15 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
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Zombie Creeping Flesh is a 1980 Italy/Spain horror by Bruno Mattei. With Margit Evelyn Newton, Franco Garofalo and Selan Karay.
A zombie plague results from a chemical worker being attacked by a zombie rat. The version released in Britain by Merlin video was already cut including the loss of the scene where the stars eyeballs get pulled out though her mouth. Summary Review: Awful but lots of Fun A tough female reporter and her cameraman boyfriend team up with a four-man commando unit in the New Guinea jungle whom are fighting flesh-eating zombies. Sure it has an amazingly inept Ed Wood-ian sort of quality... ok yes, it IS in fact a terrible film, but it does have a lot going for it. The film remains totally enjoyable and even has a certain lovable quality. It's lots of fun and there's never a dull moment. There are some truly effective Zombie sequences. The scenes involving the zombie priest at the mission, the zombie kid coming to life in his fathers arms, the dead native coming to life after his funeral ceremony. Last but not least, the gore. As the producers said, without blood and entrails, a film like this would be pointless. This film will make your stomach turn. The use of real raw meat and pig guts definitely helped Hell of the Living Dead live up to the splatter genre and then some. The extreme close-ups of maggots crawling through rotting flesh and a native picking them off and eating them were absolutely nasty! Also there are some well done exploding zombie heads. |
A pre-cut version with about a minute of violent
scenes removed was passed X (18) without further BBFC cuts for the UK 1982 cinema release. However the distributors felt that the film was too long and decided not to release this version but to shorten it. The distributors cuts now totalled 14:32s minutes, especially the interminable SWAT team footage. This was then released without BBFC approval for the UK 1982 cinema release. The significantly shortened and pre-cut cinema version was release on VHS on the Merlin Label in October 1982. It was banned as a video nasty in July 1983 after being successfully prosecuted in Brighton. It was dropped from the list in July 1985 James Ferman refused to view a 1993 submission from Video Gems. This was during the Jamie Bulger moral panic and Ferman advised that it was not a good time to release a video nasty. Eventually it was passed 18 uncut for the UK 2002 Protected/Vipco VHS Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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Zombie Flesh Eaters is a 1979 Italian horror by Lucio Fulci With Tisa Farrow and Ian McCulloch.
Zombies are exuding from an old Spanish cemetery. The cut version loses eye skewering, profuse bleeding from ripped necks and the zombies feasting on intestines. Summary Review: Horror Classic Strangers looking for a woman's father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately searches for the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead. This is a horror classic of Lucio Fulci with a simple, but interesting screenplay. The unforgettable story begins like Nosferatu, with an empty boat arriving in a harbor with a zombie instead of a vampire; shows the naked body of two beautiful actresses, Auretta Gay and Olga Karlatos; is very gory, with a death that slightly recalls the famous scene of Buñuel in "Un Chien Andalou", when the zombie perforates the eye of Paola Menard; and has a very scary and impressive make-up, with zombies eating human flesh and biting and killing people. The sister of Mia Farrow, Tisa Farrow, has a good performance in this cult-movie. |
The cinema version was passed X by the BBFC in 1979 with 14 cuts
totalling 1:46s.
The heavily cut cinema version was passed 18 in 1992 & 1996. Vipco misleadingly tried to pass off their version as 'complete' Re-released on Diskline video in 1999 with most cuts restored but still 23s missing Finally passed uncut in 2005 and is released as part of the Box of the Banned set of DVDs from Anchor Bay Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong gory violence and horror after all cuts waived for:
Note that the 2012 Arrow Blu-Ray disc included in Steelbook and Special Editions erroneously omits 6s immediately after the opening credits when the zombie carrying boat first comes into view. Replacement disks are available by sending the faulty disk to Lisa Richards. P.R. PO Box 68474, London N16 1EH. See article from arrowfilms.co.uk US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
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