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NASTIES

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The end of the 70's can be looked upon with fond memories, music had been diverse and given us Glam, Disco and Punk. The Computer game industry was blossoming with the launch of Pong and Space Invaders and a new medium for watching film was becoming popular ,Video was here.

The rapid success of video, meant that in just over two years, from 1979-1982, video had become a massive industry, so big in fact that the UK had more video players per household than any other country in the world. Hundreds of titles were produced, and video rental stores would help feed the frenzy of customers eager to sample this technological revolution.

There was one slight problem, Video was unregulated and uncensored. Neither film censors or the police had any control over what was released and shown to the public. The British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) controlled theatrical releases, but films released on video were not under their jurisdiction. Video recordings were not included in the outdated Obscene Publications Act either, so there simply was no control.

However, it was not long before tabloid newspapers ran stories about the young and innocent being corrupted by video content which included cannibalism, nazi atrocities, extreme violence and rape. This hysteria was fuelled by others including Mary Whitehouse, and when MP's started asking questions the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) started confiscating certain video titles, SS Experiment Camp was followed by The Driller Killer and I Spit on Your Grave. These videos were labelled "Nasties" and would be joined by more unsavoury items during the early 80's. The furore surrounding these films would culminate in Tory MP Graham Bright introducing a private members bill to control and censor video the Bright Bill, this would be followed on the 12th July 1984 by the Video Recordings Act. Thanks to their timely intervention the innocent were saved from corruption and Britain was once again a safe and decent place to live in.

"Statement from the DPP March 1987"

Following the Attorney General's statement in the House of Commons on 23rd July 1984, a list of titles of video cassettes of the horror variety which have been the subject of prosecution under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act, 1959 or advised as suitable for such projection is as follows:

In the early 1980's all the above films were deemed sick and violent in the extreme, people needed to be protected from such stimuli, and from those that wanted to watch such scenes who were depraved or mentally ill. Some people believed this to be true, and many still do today.

These films were meant to shock, what is more disturbing and shocking however is the change in attitude undergone by society in the last two decades. What was deemed offensive and unwatchable 20 years ago, is now becoming acceptable to many people. This begs the question what will we be allowed to watch in 20 years time, and should it be banned now, you decide.

The digital age has given us the DVD and Internet, people now have access to film more extreme than ever before. Clockwork Orange, Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox all previously banned in the UK are now readily available on DVD. The digital channel Film Four has recently shown The Driller Killer and TeneBrae on Satellite TV and many more extreme films are now legally being shown in the UK. Long may it continue!!!!