Banned films: The 72 'video nasty' horror films that were banned in the 1980s as Terrifier 3 shocks viewers

I think I was an odd child; at the age of 7 I recall sneaking downstairs while staying at my godparents house to watch a recording of A Nightmare On Elm Street from the TV.

That viewing would cement by appreciation of horror movies at an early age, and the odd child would find himself watching works from Sean S. Cunningham, Wes Cravenand John Carpenter. But there was one horror movie I was eager to check out - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The film had, and still does, such a lore to it, with those who “had” seen it while growing up telling me tales of extreme violence and general carnage; all of which, years later when it was unbanned by the BBFC, I learned wasn’t the case.

While not an “official” member of the DPP list (otherwise known as the “video nasties” list), it was rejected by the board of censors twice; once in 1975 for a theatrical release and then once again in the ‘80s for a home video release. It was around that time during its attempts at a VHS release that it fell foul to the newly instated Video Recordings Act.

That act was in response to the moral panic surrounding the unregulated VHS market that was blowing up in the 1980s, at a time when only films were classified by the BBFC. Makes you wonder if Terrifier 3 was released at that time whether it too would suffer the same effects as many that landed on the DPP list.

This is a history trip back to a time Mary Whitehouse was both celebrated for reinstated the moral fibre of Britain, how VHS tapes and their artwork led to a moral panic and why we should consider ourselves lucky perspectives changed - otherwise, that “video nasties” list would certainly get longer and longer the more extreme cinema has gotten since the ‘80s.

What are “video nasties?”

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the advent of the video cassette recorder revolutionised how people could consume media. Previously, films were regulated primarily in cinemas through the British Board of Film Censors.

However, with VCRs, people could now rent or buy films to watch at home, and this new format was largely unregulated. Independent distributors began to release films directly on video without needing BBFC certification. This allowed for the circulation of uncut, often highly graphic horror and exploitation films, many of which had previously been censored for cinema release.

As these films gained popularity, conservative groups began to fear the impact this unregulated content would have on society, especially on young people. The accessibility of extreme violence, gore, sexual content, and explicit horror in these films caused an uproar, leading the tabloid press to sensationalise the issue.

Headlines warned of the dangers posed by these "video nasties," claiming that they could encourage violent or deviant behaviour and pleaded with those in a position of power to “ban this filth.”

Enter Mary Whitehouse

One of the key figures in driving the "video nasties" panic was Mary Whitehouse, a prominent British morality campaigner who had already built a reputation as a champion of traditional values through her activism in media censorship. Whitehouse was the founder of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (now Mediawatch-UK), which campaigned for stricter controls on broadcast media and film content, particularly with respect to violence, sex, and bad language.

Whitehouse saw video nasties as a moral threat, akin to pornography, and feared that exposing children and teenagers to such films would corrupt their values. She referred to the influx of violent and horror films in the video market as evidence of a “moral vacuum” in society.

Her campaigning called for government action to regulate and censor these tapes. Whitehouse would frequently make appearances on television and in the press, describing the graphic nature of these films and highlighting her concern about their potential influence on the young.

In 1983, Whitehouse's campaigning culminated in her launching a private prosecution against the distributors ofNightmares in a Damaged Brain, a graphic horror film. Though her case was ultimately unsuccessful, it added fuel to the debate and placed further pressure on the government to take action.

The introduction of the Video Recordings Act 1984

As the public panic grew, the UK government came under increasing pressure to regulate the home video market. This culminated in the Video Recordings Act (VRA) of 1984, a legislative response to the outcry over video nasties.

The VRA was introduced by Conservative MP Graham Bright, who championed the cause of controlling video content, claiming that the government had a responsibility to protect children from the potentially harmful effects of these films. The Act came into force in September 1985 and had several key provisions:

The most significant impact of the VRA was that it required all video tapes intended for rental or sale in the UK to be submitted to the BBFC for classification. This effectively brought the home video market in line with the cinema market, ensuring that only films that met specific age guidelines could be legally distributed.

Distributors who sold or rented videos without a BBFC certificate could be prosecuted under the VRA. Furthermore, the act built upon existing obscenity laws, allowing the authorities to ban or censor material deemed harmful or obscene.

Video tapes were also required to carry age ratings, such as "18," "15," and "U," to control who could purchase or rent them. The BBFC was given the authority to make cuts or outright ban films that they considered too extreme.

What films were initially banned due to being “video nasties?”

That would be the DPP list- or for horror movie fans, the menu for extreme horror movies - which began in 1983 after the Director of Public Prosecutions compiled a list to guide police as to what video tapes could be considered obscene and subject to prosecution.

The DPP list became a crucial element in the broader video nasties moral panic, with many of the films on the list either being banned outright or heavily censored, with a number of films added to the list on the basis of their cover artwork (see: Driller Killer) or the name of the movie alone.

One of the biggest victims of the DPP list would be a little horror movie by Sam Raimi called The Evil Dead, despite its critical acclaim upon release, including Stephen King calling the film at the time one of the greatest horror movies in years.

DPP List - the films banned due to being “video nasties”

72 films made it onto the video nasties list - here’s the “menu” in full:

1. Absurd
2. Anthropophagous: The Beast
3. Axe!
4. The Beast in Heat
5. The Beyond
6. Blood Feast
7. Blood Rites
8. Bloody Moon
9. The Boogeyman
10. The Burning
11. Cannibal Apocalypse
12. Cannibal Ferox
13. Cannibal Holocaust
14. Cannibal Man
15. Cannibal Terror
16. Contamination
17. Dead & Buried
18. Death Trap
19. Deep River Savages
20. Delirium
21. Devil Hunter
22. Don’t Go in the House
23. Don’t Go in the Woods
24. Don’t Go Near the Park
25. Don’t Look in the Basement
26. The Dorm That Dripped Blood
27. The Driller Killer
28. The Evil Dead
29. Evilspeak
30. Exposé
31. Faces of Death
32. Fight For Your Life
33. Flesh for Frankenstein
34. Toxic Zombies
35. Frozen Scream
36. The Funhouse
37. Gestapo’s Last Orgy
38. The House by the Cemetery
39. House on the Edge of the Park
40. Human Experiments
41. I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
42. I Spit on Your Grave
43. Inferno
44. Island of Death
45. Killer Nun
46. The Last House on the Left
47. Late Night Trains
48. Living Dead At Manchester Morgue
49. Love Camp 7
50. There Was a Little Girl
51. Mardi Gras Massacre
52. Night of the Bloody Apes
53. Night of the Demon
54. Nightmare Maker
55. Nightmare in a Damaged Brain
56. Possession
57. Prisoner of the Cannibal God
58. Revenge of the Bogey Man
59. The Slayer
60. Snuff
61. SS Experiment Camp
62. Tenebrae
63. Terror Eyes
64. The Toolbox Murders
65. Twitch of the Death Nerve
66. Unhinged
67. Visiting Hours
68. The Werewolf and the Yeti
69. The Witch Who Came From the Sea
70. Women Behind Bars
71. Zombie Creeping Flesh
72. Zombie Flesh Eaters

What led to the easing of censorship over time?

As audiences became more exposed to graphic violence and horror in mainstream media, there was a gradual desensitisation to such content and as films transitioned from theatrical releases to home viewing, the arguments for strict regulation lessened.

Films that may have been seen as problematic in a public space were often viewed differently when consumed privately, and for many the changes instituted in the late ‘90s by then chief censor James Ferman have been praised for the handling of a change in perspectives regarding fictional horror.

Ferman emphasised the need to understand the context of films, moving away from a purely moralistic approach to classification. He believed that it was important to consider how a film represented violence, horror, and other contentious themes rather than simply banning content outright.

Under his direction, films that had been heavily censored or banned were granted new classifications, often with fewer cuts than before. For example, The Evil Dead was reclassified and released uncut in 2001 - as was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Exorcist, two films that were banned but not on the DPP list.

Ferman also recognized that public opinion was shifting, and he sought to engage with it. He acknowledged that the BBFC needed to adapt to societal changes, saying that the board should not act as a moral guardian but instead reflect the audience’s evolving tastes and sensibilities.

Are any of the films on the DPP list still banned today?

While the majority of the films on the DPP list were passed either uncut or with mandatory cuts that are still required by the BBFC to this day, a number of titles were never submitted back to the BBFC for consideration.

However, two that continue to get approved by the BBFC are from the fringy “nazisploitation” genre, in the form of Love Camp 7 and The Gestapo’s Last Orgy - as you can imagine, the amalgamation of the horrors of WWII and the “titillating” yet horrific situations the damsels in distress find themselves in are still considered to this day “wholly offensive.”

Did you grow up during the era of the video nasty and recall going to the video shop only to find a number of titles missing? Let us know your thoughts about censorship in modern times compared to the era of the VHS by leaving a comment down below.