In the early 1980s, several public interest groups in Britain developed what became known as the video nasties. These movies usually fit into one of two categories. The first was movies with overtly sexual themes and the second was movies with intense violence, mostly in the horror genre. Many of these movies ended up banned, and criminal charges could be pressed against the filmmakers and distributors.
These new laws not only attacked new movies that hit in the early 1980s, but it also targeted movies from the past that lawmakers tried to eliminate from distribution. While the banning of films died down after the 1980s, the law stayed in effect until 2010. Now, many of the original video nasties reached a new level of appreciation, both in the realms of horror movies and as cult classics as well.
The Driller Killer (1979)
- Available for streaming on Hoopla.
The case of The Driller Killer is an interesting one. The movie itself is a psychological horror movie and is not that graphic. There is little in the movie that is worse than most R-rated movies. As a matter of fact, it was released in the United States in 1979 with an R-rating.
However, in 1982, the studio released an ad showing the VHS cover, which featured the Driller Killer driving the drill through a man's head. After numerous complaints, the movie was added to the video nasties list. Years later, Abel Ferrara's video nasty is a horror classic.
I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
- Available for streaming on Tubi.
Some movies deserved their spot on the video nasties list when it came out. Of these movies, I Spit on Your Grave checked most of the boxes when it came to what the law was trying to prevent. This was a revenge movie with a woman who was sexually abused returning to savagely kill the men responsible.
The movie also received poor reviews when released, with many critics calling it offensive. However, the movie received a critical appraisal in later years and has been elevated to a cult classic.
The Last House On The Left (1972)
- Available for streaming on Tubi.
Wes Craven broke into filmmaking with his 1972 horror movie The Last House on the Left. The movie was a revenge story that saw two girls attacked, sexually abused, and murdered in the woods. However, the attackers make the mistake of asking to stay at a home that ended up as the parents of one of the victims.
The Last House on the Left came out years before the video nasties but was thrown in with them when it received an uncut rerelease on VHS. The ratings board initially refused the movie a rating and it wasn't until 2002 that it finally got a rating with some edits.
The Evil Dead (1981)
- Available for streaming on HBO Max.
Arguably, the biggest cult classic to come out of the video nasties era was Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. The movie earned instant credibility with names like Stephen King promoted it and Raimi went on to create two more movies in the franchise and an eventual television show and remake.
However, it ended up as a non-prosecuted Video Nasty in 1981 when Raimi agreed to some further editing for cinema. Raimi made The Evil Dead as gruesome as he could originally and then cut enough to make it X-rated for its release.
Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
- Not available to stream at this time.
George Romero always had problems with the ratings board thanks to his love of making horrific zombies in his Night of the Living Dead franchise. However, the best of his zombie movies arrived in 1978 and ended up classified as a video nasty.
Dawn of the Dead was another un-prosecuted video nasty, and one that remains a landmark in zombie horror movies. When released in cinemas, Romero released it unrated rather than accept the X-rating. The movie was never released uncut until 2003.
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- Available for streaming on Hoopla.
After Wes Craven had problems with the ratings board and his debut movie Last House on the Left, he returned with another movie that ended up labeled a few years later as a video nasty. This was The Hills Have Eyes, a horror movie about a hapless family hunted my mutant cannibals who turned the tables and became the hunters.
While the movie made it to theaters with cuts to the violent scenes, it was still slammed by the video nasties movement when it hit video. Despite this, The Hills Have Eyes is a cult classic and made Michael Berryman a massive horror icon.
Phantasm (1979)
- Available for streaming on Prime Video.
Phantasm was another horror movie that the censors lashed out at. The movie featured a new horror villain in the Tall Man and his deadly spheres that killed several victims. The movie ended up released with cuts into theaters.
However, when it hit home video in 1981, it was a movie that wasn't readily accepted by the censors. It didn't get its official uncut home video release until 1989. Phantasm still launched a franchise and remains a horror movie classic to this day.
Scanners (1981)
- Available for streaming on HBO Max.
David Cronenberg always walked the line when it comes to censors, and with Scanners, he ended up with another video nasty. However, despite the backlash, it was a movie that was released uncut in theaters and on video, despite retaining the reputation.
There was a lot in this movie that warranted the title of a video nasty, not the least of which was the exploding head. However, the movie is considered a classical masterpiece, has a Criterion edition of its release, and is considered one of the best of Cronenberg's movies.
The Thing (1982)
- Available to rent on Prime Video and Vudu.
The Thing was John Carpenter's 1982 horror remake of the classic science fiction movie The Thing From Another World. The movie ended up as a flop, with critics dismissing the movie and it ended up failing at the box office. It also got added to the video nasties list.
However, while it was a video nasty, home video is also what made it a cult classic a decade later. It ended up getting reappraised and is now listed on several lists as one of the best horror movies of all time, with the effects work that made it a video nasty as one of the things fans love the most.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
- Available for streaming on Fubo.
One of the most influential horror movies of all time remains the 1974 movie, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The movie took the idea of the the serial killer and gave it an almost supernatural aspect with Leatherface, predating most of the slasher movies that would follow.
The movie was banned in Britain, and the word "chainsaw" was actually banned from movie titles there at the time. It took until 1998 for the movie to get its release there. Despite this, it spawned a franchise and is still considered a landmark of horror cinema.
