Tag Archives: Video Nasties
This Place’ll Do Just Fine
Axe Review
Almost every true horror fan is aware of the early 80’s list of banned films in the United Kingdom known as the video nasties. Slowly but surely, over the years, the films began to see the light of day, with almost every single one of the original 72 films being readily available on home release today. Thanks to studios like Severin who themselves are huge fans of the golden years of horror, we not only get home releases of the violent films once banned outright, but we get them in amazing Blu-ray packages with tons of extra features. One of … Read More
We’re Living in Hell
Gestapo's Last Orgy Review
I recently reviewed a great documentary on the history of the video nasties list (see Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide). These films are seen as some of the most violent and obscene films ever created. Included on the list were films running the gamut of horror sub-genres, from slashers to cannibal flicks. One sub-genre that is also featured throughout the nasties is the rather obscure “Nazisploitation.” For my first foray into this Nazi exploitation realm, I chose Italian director Cesare Canevari’s Gestapo’s Last Orgy. Lise Cohen (Daniela Poggi) is one of many female death camp prisoners who is being subject … Read More
Always an Odd Feeling…
Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Review
The horror genre has faced much scrutiny over the years. None more perhaps than a group of about 72 or so films collectively deemed the ‘video nasties.’ These films consisted of extreme violence and brutality, which film boards, critics, and even judges and juries believed were too obscene for viewers, persecuting anyone involved with the making of such films. Jake West’s 2010 documentary, Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape, covers the advent of VHS tapes and what the new technology meant for filmmakers and studios. Because of the new medium, censorship was at a minimum because films could now … Read More
