Video Nasties: Moral
Panic, Censorship and Videotape (2010)
Directed by Jake West
72 minutes
This is an interesting enough
documentary that showcases the 72 films on VHS censored and banned in Britain.
These titles were tagged a “Video Nasty”, due to excessive gore and violent
content. Although the enthusiasts in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and
Videotape believe these titles were wrongly accused. They never seem to tell us why.
Nasties evolved around the late
seventies-early eighties and like most moral panics it was elevated in the
media and regulated by the government. Video
Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape authenticate this through
real footage of the government and media. Conflicting them are the views of the lefty horror
enthusiasts such as Jake West, Neil Marshal (The Descent 2005) and a few token females. I assumed a feminist
perspective would have been accounted for during a discussion of the
rape/revenge film I Spit on your Grave (Meir Zarchi, 1978), but
the opportunity was missed.
Video
Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape, seems to fall in black and
white viewpoints. Majority of these talking heads is from a white male
background and perhaps would have been more nuanced, if not interesting to provide
other socioeconomically factors. It never delves deeper, nor are provided with any
new insight into these debates. The familiar scripts could be replaced with
comics or heavy metal anxieties. Whilst, its use of real footage also works
against it because it feels genuinely dated. For a 2010 documentary the
spectator is treated with little knowledge or needing to be convinced. This is
peculiar, as a viewer watching this they are probably aware or fans themselves.
At times, Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape can be charming.
Hearing the occasional bicker about I
Spit on Your Grave or The Last House on the Left (Wes Craven, 1972)
are now acceptable American remakes. Or the recollection of seeing the nasty
for the first time and being disappointed. This was enjoyable. If you want more of this personification, or cinematic
evaluations, you had to wait for the next section which provides the official
trailers and other trivia. This part was fun and a better case study to their criticisms.
