Explore the Section 3 Nasties (non-prosecuted films)

Other Films Banned in the UK

Banned by the BBFC but not classed as a video nasty

• Curfew
• Maniac
• Mother’s Day
• The New York Ripper
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2
• Straw Dogs

Films Seized by the police, but not classed as Section 3 video nasties

• Basket Case
• Blood for Dracula
• City of the Living Dead
• Macabre
• Madman
• Night of the Seagulls
• Terror Express

Withdrawn or Unreleased in the UK

A Clockwork Orange – Sometimes mistakenly believed to have been banned by the BBFC, it was actually Stanley Kubrick himself who withdrew the film from exhibition in the UK in 1973 on police advice after receiving death threats toward himself and his family, as well as disliking reports found in the British Press that the film was responsible for copycat violence.

After Kubrick’s death, the film was re-released uncut at cinemas in the UK in 2000, and thereafter on both VHS and DVD.

Child’s Play 3 – The film became notorious in the United Kingdom when it was suggested it might have inspired the real-life murder of British child James Bulger (a suggestion rejected by officers investigating the case) and the murder of Suzanne Capper.

The Exorcist – Although never officially cut or classed as one of the 72 video nasties, several attempts to release the film on video were thwarted by BBFC censor James Ferman, who cited both the age of the possessed girl (as she was under 12, the film might have had significant appeal to underaged viewers) and reports of incidents of hysteria involving young women (leading to concerns that the film might cause severe emotional problems for those who believed in demonic possession) as obstacles to a home release.

Following a successful theatrical re-release in 1998 and Ferman’s retirement as censor in January 1999, the film was submitted for home video release for the first time in February 1999, and was passed uncut with an “18” certificate. The film had previously been released on video in 1981, uncertified, by Warner Home Video.

Last House on Dead End Street – Also known as The Fun House, this film was probably the intended target when the BBFC added the similarly-entitled The Funhouse to the list. Passed uncut with an “18” certificate in 2006.

Scum – The original TV film was made by the BBC, but they later decided not to broadcast it owing to the violence and suicides in the film. It was quickly remade by most of the original production team and released in cinemas, and was released on VHS at the height of the Video Nasty media frenzy, quickly becoming associated with them in the media.

Mikey – The film was withdrawn from release in the United Kingdom following the James Bulger murder in Liverpool in 1993. The decision was made by the BBFC which refused to issue it with a UK release certificate in 1996. It remains prohibited in the UK.