Contents:
Disc 1: Documentary - Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape
Disc 2: The Final 39
Disc 3: The Dropped 33 [introductions for all the films which at some point featured on the DPP list, plus trailers]

"To avoid moral panic keep repeating, they were only movies..."

In many respects, it's hard to believe the impact which VHS horror and the subsequent "video nasties" panic had on the UK during the 1980s. We’re rather spoiled by comparison these days: gruesome horror can make it to mainstream cinema and then onto high-profile DVD release, whilst much of the material we see now is shocking stuff indeed compared to even the worst excesses of the nasties era. We don't see DVDs being incinerated, or stockists jailed. However, the spectre of moral panic has never completely gone away. Nor will it - as horror always bears the brunt of strong-arm tactics whenever someone comes along who wants to protect (read: control) social order. What this documentary does fantastically well is to map the development of a horror-specific moral panic whilst taking great pleasure in stopping off at destinations along the way. Ultimately, viewers might come out of this better-informed and better-equipped to see how easily these things spiral out of control. They’ll also be hugely entertained by the affection and nostalgia provided by the horror enthusiasts interviewed here, as well as by a wealth of clips from news features, print media, advertisements and trailer reels.

Serious though its points indisputably are, this film has an energetic, quick-paced style. There’s a real sense of fun from the very beginning, kicking off with The Damned's Video Nasty and a beautifully-edited montage of clips: this is channelled via a retrospective on the birth of home video, and all of the failings of the medium which seems charming now though they were infuriating then…ah, for the days of endlessly adjusting the tracking, and for "popular" scenes in rental films being obscured by snow! All this leads to a good point though: a lot of the nasties actually benefitted by being seen on bad copies. They retained a lot more of their mystique when their shortcomings were masked by the cassette's flaws rather than their own. Yet, for all its faults, video was big business in the early 1980s and it presented an attractive proposition for entrepreneurs who (at the time) could rent out whatever they liked to whoever they wanted. The authorities were getting very uncomfortable, especially with the lurid horror cover-art of some of the more popular rental choices...

Luckily, the British tabloid press were on hand to engender a fair, temperate approach to this new medium, so that initial murmurings about the need for some restriction were turned into a clamour for an outright ban on what became known as "video nasties". Under pressure from the shrillest voices - and people who had their own agendas for getting involved - the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) started to draw up a certain list...

This film really does feel like the final word on the video nasties debacle so entitling this package "The Definitive Guide" is completely justified. It's exhaustively researched, with contributions from key players of the time as well as horror directors, writers and lecturers; this includes interviews with former MP Sir Graham Bright and Peter Kruger, formerly of the Obscene Publications Squad, both of whom were instrumental in pushing for an outright ban. A special mention must go to journalist Martin Baker for his involvement here: he was a lone voice of reason then, and his comments act as a lynch-pin for the point of the entire film now. If perhaps your foreknowledge of the work of the documentary's director and your feel for the tone of the documentary prevents you from seeing it as completely unbiased, I think you’ll still agree that a certain balance has been sought here. It feels like a fun, interactive history lesson with plenty of homage to the wacky, gruesome films themselves.

If you're a fan of the films (and if you aren't, man, did you end up in the wrong website!) then the remaining discs will give you an introduction, appraisal and trailer for every one of the films which did time on the banned list. Disc 2 focuses on the final 39 (those which stayed put) whilst Disc 3 takes a look at those dropped from the list because successful prosecutions were never brought against them. Look forward to rare TV spots, original trailers, press footage and some interesting titbits from horror aficionados as they introduce their own favourites or films which relate to them in some way. If you thought the general video nasties panic was hysterical, then these other discs will confirm that for you - so many of the films on this list were definitely swept up unfairly. Alongside intros to the usual suspects like Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Cannibal Holocaust, Zombie Creeping Flesh and The Burning we also get I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses, The Witch Who Came from the Sea and Killer Nun amongst a wealth of other lesser-known nasties, so it's easy to see that sleaze and even tangential art-house also bore the brunt of the DPP's paranoia.

Across all of the discs you can look forward to insider information from (amongst others) Stephen Thrower - whose books you need in your life - Kim Newman, Neil Marshall, Alan Jones, Christopher Smith, Allan Bryce and Dr Patricia McCormack. Actually, although by and large the interviewees here are insightful and keen, if I have one criticism of this package, it relates to the inclusion of actress and model Emily Booth. Ms Booth works with director West a hell of a lot and so it was sort-of a given that she'd figure in here; however, on this occasion, she seems out of her depth (rather nervously reading from an autocue and overcompensating with her gestures) - and as for the clip where she's attacked by videotape? Perhaps West thought that some eye candy was needed to provide a metaphorical break from all the talking heads; I didn't think so personally, as the use of clips and trailers alone made the film visual enough. (I was also surprised that Nigel Wingrove didn't feature here as he's a one-man anti-censorship campaign - but these are minor criticisms of a generally excellent selection of interviewees.)

My final verdict? - Get this package as soon as it's available and enjoy it. It has real warmth and verve, while making some genuinely important points about the nature of censorship which we'd all do well to remember.

As the earliest movie on the video nasty list (1963) Blood Feast (also known as Feast of Flesh and Egyptian Blood Feast) is also surprisingly one of the most worthy. Although the movie is old and the effects are very unconvincing compared to many others in the list, the gore is quite extreme and the... Read More "Blood Feast"

If you are a fan of unstylish German early-eighties retro slashers (and surely this is a dominant genetic trait nowadays) then you cannot possibly die until you have seen Jesus Franco's "almost" infamous video nasty Bloody Moon (Die Säge des Todes – "The Saw of Death") AKA Profonde Tenebre and The B... Read More "Bloody Moon"

Cannibal Apocalypse (Apocalypse domaini) is a creative cannibal addition to the DPP Video Nasty list that manages to shock without the need for jungle tribes, national geographic nakedness or cruelty to animals. What it delivers is a nice storyline about Vietnam veterans inflicted with a taste for f... Read More "Cannibal Apocalypse (Apocalypse Domaini)"

I found Cannibal Holocaust to be a seriously disturbing horror movie although I'm not sure what it was that disturbed me. It wasn't the gore, the movie was very gory but I've seen a lot worse. There was no fear element of the movie, so it wasn't that. It was very brutal but once again I've seen much... Read More "Cannibal Holocaust"

Originally titled The Forgotten, but better know by its reissue title of Don't Look in the Basement, this movie is a low-budget Video Nasty from acclaimed horror director S.F. Brownrigg. The low-budgetness of the movie is one of its defining qualities and the bad sound quality increases the terror b... Read More "Don't Look In The Basement"

Sam Raimi's 1981 horror movie Evil Dead manages to contain all of the essential elements from the whole horror genre including excessive gore, the supernatural, undead, dark humour, sex, violence and a chainsaw for bodily dismemberment. Due to these essentials the movie soon found itself on the UK's... Read More "Evil Dead"

Hell of the Living Dead is a bizarre zombie/cannibal movie crossed with a wildlife documentary also known as "Zombie Creeping Flesh", "Zombi 4", "Zombi 5" and "Virus" among other things, directed by Bruno Mattel. The story is set in the New Guinea jungle where a secret science facility called "Hope ... Read More "Hell Of The Living Dead AKA Zombie Creeping Flesh"

Inferno is the second part of Italian horror movie director Dario Argento's "Three Mothers Trilogy". Released in 1980, it follows on from Suspiria and concerns Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness/Shadows.The movie begins in New Your where a poetess, Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) discovers a book ... Read More "Inferno"

A noticeable gap in the Horror Extreme Video Nasty collection was the gap that can only be filled by a nunsploitation movie. Killer Nun (Suor Omicidi), also known as Deadly Habits, filled this gap nicely but the reason for its banishment to the video nasty list in the first place can only be assumed... Read More "Killer Nun (Suor Omicidi)"

Castration, dismemberment and disembowelment propelled Night of the Demon onto the UK's Video Nasty list and the movie remained banned there until 1993 when a cut version was released by Vipco. The movie is still banned in Norway and Germany and only a cut version exists in the UK. The movie became ... Read More "Night Of The Demon"

Compared to a number of non-shocking movies on the video nasty list Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (also known as just Nightmare and also known as Blood Splash and Schizo) is well deserved of it's designation of nasty. Not only is the movie superbly gory, sleazy and violent it is put together in a wa... Read More "Nightmares In A Damaged Brain"

"You bastard, what have you done with my balls?"...and that my friends is the kind of high quality dialogue you can expect from the dreadfully dire S.S. Experiment Love Camp.S.S. Experiment Love Camp (Lager SSadis Kastrat Kommandantur) is the everyday story of female prisoners of war who are brought... Read More "SS Experiment Love Camp"

Lucio Fulci has definitely created an Italian zombie movie classic with The Beyond. This movie is much more than your traditional slow moving zombie flick and at this moment in time I would rate it as Fulci's best zombie movie.The movie begins in Louisiana, 1927, when a group of vigilantes break int... Read More "The Beyond"

Abel Ferarra's The Driller Killer is the movie that started off the whole Video Nasty hysteria in the UK during the early eighties. Made in 1979, the majority of the controversy surrounding the low-budget movie was due to Vipco's marketing campaign which consisted of a number of full page advertisem... Read More "The Driller Killer"

The Last House on the Left is Wes Craven's first horror movie venture and with it he created one of the most influential exploitation movies that has shaped the genre and been mimicked so many times. Due to the realism and brutality of the movie it became an arduous task to finally get the movie rel... Read More "The Last House On The Left"