Blog Categories: Video NastiesVideo Shops Horror Movie Database
This section is dedicated to the history of video nasties, the films that shocked a nation, outraged the censors, and became cult classics in the process.
Table of Contents
Part 1:
The Home Video Boom
The history of video nasties started in the early 80s, a time which saw the Home Video Boom, a time when the UK high street changed forever. Videos were becoming the most popular form of home entertainment, and video rental shops popped up all around the UK.
Uncensored Films Flooding the Market
In the beginning there was no enforced film classification system like they had at the cinema. The video industry had just started and no real regulations were put into place regarding video releases of film material.
This saw the mass import of a new breed of horror film, sick and disturbing video material which became known as Video Nasties. Here’s where it all began!
Part 2:
Moral Panic & The Video Nasty Media Frenzy
The UK video nasty scare had begun, and they soon became public enemy number one!
A moral panic driven by the tabloid press, government and pressure groups fronted by Mary Whitehouse video, looked to blame the horrors of video on any collapse in society.
They were all baying for blood, accusing low-budget horror films, such as The Driller Killer and Cannibal Holocaust, of corrupting children and causing violence.
Part 3:
The Official Video Nasty Lists
Since the UK video nasty scare, the Video Retailers Association were alarmed by the video shop raids, and apparently random seizures and asked the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to provide a guideline for the UK video industry, so that stockists could be made aware of what was liable to be confiscated, and what they could legitimately keep on their shelves.
The DPP recognised that the current system, where the interpretation of obscenity was down to individual Chief Constables, was inconsistent and decided to publish an official nasties list that contained names of the films that had already resulted in successful prosecutions, or where the DPP had already filed charges against the video’s distributors.
Films Prosecuted by the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Dealers could be fined or jailed and the film itself would be declared obscene if the prosecution was successful, meaning it could not be distributed or sold in the UK until the obscenity was quashed. In total, 72 titles appeared on the official DPP list of video nasties at one time or another, but only 39 films were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act (OPA). Tapes prosecuted under the Act became known as The DPP 39. The remaining 33 films had unsuccessful prosecutions, and were dropped to the Section 3 Nasties List.
The Obscene Publications Act (OPA) defined obscenity as that which may “tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it” This definition was of course open to wide interpretation.
Part 4:
The Section 3 Nasties & Other Banned Films
The 33 films which had unsuccessful prosecutions were added to a supplementary list of 82 films, and formed the Section 3 Nasties List. Titles on the Section 3 list were considered obscene or offensive by authorities but were prosecuted under lesser charges compared to the main DPP prosecuted list.
Police used Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act to seize and confiscate these tapes, often from shops, without a full prosecution against the owner. There were some great horror films which fell foul of the Video Recordings Act 1984 and ended up on the Section 3 list. Horror classics such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Thing, and Friday the 13th were once banished from the shelves of UK video shops..
Part 4: The Section 3 Nasties →
Further Reading
12 Films That Defined the 1980s Video Nasty Panic
While 72 films made the list, a select few became the faces of the moral panic that gripped the UK. Explore the 12 films that defined the video nasties. These influential titles fuelled the headlines and forever changed the landscape of British film censorship.
Best 80s Horror Films You Could Rent on Video
Beyond the banned lists lay a golden era of practical effects and creative storytelling available at your local rental shop. Revisit the quintessential 80s horror classics that defined the home video boom and became staples of every collector’s shelf.
Surviving the Video Shop Raids During the Nasties Scare
For independent shop owners in the early 80s, a knock at the door could mean the end of their livelihood and the seizure of their entire stock. Step back into the era of the Video Nasty Police Raids, where the battle for physical media was fought in the aisles of local video libraries.
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