☠ Video Nasties, The Complete 72 Banned Titles List with Details and Anecdotes

Absurd – released theatrically with 2 minutes 32 seconds cut in 1983. The video was uncut but was withdrawn post VRA, and has never been re-submitted for classification. It has a release in the United States uncut under the title Horrible.

This movie was prosecuted.

Originally released in both a cut and uncut version with identical sleeve design by Medusa Home Video in 1981. The original tape is a sought after and is an expensive collectable among fans.

Passed with 56 seconds cut in 1996; released uncut in 2006.

This movie was prosecuted.

In the United States, the film was marketed as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, and was presented in the Space-Vision 3D process in premiere engagements. It was rated X by the MPAA, due to its explicit sexuality and violence. A 3-D version also played in Australia in 1986, along with Blood for Dracula, its obvious pairing. In the '70s, a 3-D version played in Stockholm, Sweden and in London, England. In subsequent US DVD releases, the film was retitled Flesh for Frankenstein, while the original title was used in other regions.

The gruesomeness of the action was intensified in the original release by the use of 3-D, with several dismbowelments being shot from a perspective such that the internal organs are thrust towards the camera.

Released with approximately 2 minutes of pre-cuts as The Grim Reaper in 2002. It has a release in the United States uncut under the title Antropophagus: The Grim Reaper.

This movie was prosecuted.

Anthropophagous: The Beast was released in the United Kingdom in 1980 uncut by VFP. It soon became one of the infamous titles to feature on the government's Department of Public Prosecutions list (DPP), better known to the tabloid press as the "Video Nasty" list. It was later successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act in 1984. Anthropophagous: The Beast also saw another release in the UK, prior to its banning from a very small video company known as Videoshack. This release, although cut, is highly collectible among fans today due to its extremely scarce existence. The film would be released theatrically in America as The Grim Reaper around fall of 1981 from former independent distribution company Film Ventures International. In a heavily edited version to get an R rating and dubbed.

Released with 23 seconds cut in 2001; re-released uncut in 2005.

This movie was prosecuted.

Blood Feast immediately became notorious for its explicit gore and violence. It is the oldest film to have appeared on the UK video nasty list. It is also often cited erroneously as one of the first films to show people dying with their eyes open (earlier examples include D. W. Griffith's 1909 film The Country Doctor, the 1931 film The Public Enemy and the 1960 film Psycho)

No UK re-release. This movie was prosecuted.

Bloody Moon - released with 1 minute 20 seconds cut in 1993; released uncut November 2008.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film was made available on DVD for the first time in the United States by Severin Films in 2008. This version restores all of the gore scenes, including the infamous circular saw, beheading scene.

Released with 19 seconds cut in 1992; re-released uncut in 2001.

This movie was prosecuted.

United Kingdom

The Burning found itself at the center of some controversy in the early 1980s when the uncut version of the film was released on videotape by the British video label Thorn-EMI; the company was supposed to release the slightly trimmed version passed by the British Board of Film Classification. The tapes were impounded under the Obscene Publications Act, and The Burning was added to the video nasties list. The two major scenes of contention were Cropsy's frantic mass-murder spree in the raft massacre sequence and the sight of a pair of scissors piercing a woman's flesh in the post-title sequence.

Vipco released a truncated version in the early 1990s, missing about thirty seconds' worth of Savini's gore effects, but by 2001 the censor board was ready to pass the uncut version.

United States

The Burning was released on DVD in North America for the first time ever on 11 September 2007 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The DVD contains several extras, including a commentary by director Tony Maylam, a featurette covering Savini's make-up effects, a stills gallery and the theatrical trailer. Despite the DVD cover displaying the 'R' rating, the print used is the full uncut version. Shout! Factory announced they would be releasing The Burning on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on May 21, 2013 under their sub-label Scream Factory

Cannibal Apocalypse - released with 2 seconds cut in 2005.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film was available uncut on UK video back in the early 1980s, but found its way onto the government's "Video Nasties" list, and the distributors were successfully prosecuted for obscenity. The film was finally re-released in the UK in 2005, but cut out a brief 2 second shot during the 'sewer shootout' in which some a rat gets splattered with burning napalm, as the BBFC felt this was in breach of the "Cruelty to Animals" act.

Released with approximately 6 minutes of pre-cuts plus 6 seconds of additional cuts in 2000.

This movie was prosecuted.

Cannibal Ferox was released uncut on video in the United Kingdom circa 1982 by Replay, but the film's transgressive imagery and scenes of unjustifiable (real) animal torture and slaughter resulted in the film promptly being banned under the Obscene Publications Act, finding itself languishing for years on the video nasties list. The most complete version currently available on DVD in the UK is missing around six minutes of footage (chiefly of animal cruelty), which was pre-cut before being given to the BBFC for a rating.

In the United States, Cannibal Ferox (aka Make them Die Slowly) "original, uncensored director's cut" was released by Grindhouse Releasing in the late 1990s. Grindhouse Releasing is still the sole official licensed distributor of the film in North America.

Released in 2001 with 5 minutes 44 seconds cut to remove most animal cruelty and rape scenes; new version approved with 15 seconds cut in 2011.

This movie was prosecuted.

Cannibal Holocaust achieved notoriety as its graphic violence aroused a great deal of controversy. After its premiere in Italy, it was seized by a local magistrate, and Deodato was arrested on obscenity charges. He was charged with making a snuff film due to rumors that claimed some actors were killed on camera. Although Deodato was later cleared, the film was banned in Italy, Australia, and several other countries due to its disturbing portrayal of graphic brutality, sexual assault, and animal violence. Some nations have since revoked the ban, but the film is still banned in several countries. Critics have suggested that the film is a commentary about civilized versus uncivilized society.

Since its original release, Cannibal Holocaust has been the target of censorship by moral and animal activists. Other than graphic gore, the film contains several scenes of sexual violence and genuine cruelty to animals, issues which find Cannibal Holocaust in the midst of controversy to this day. Due to this notoriety, Cannibal Holocaust has been marketed as having been banned in over 50 countries. In 2006, Entertainment Weekly magazine named Cannibal Holocaust as the 20th most controversial film of all-time.

Cannibal Holocaust also faced censorship issues in countries around the world. In 1981, video releases were not required to pass before the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for certification in the UK. Cannibal Holocaust was released straight-to-video there, thus circumventing the possible banning of the film. In 1983, the Department of Public Prosecutions compiled a list of 72 video releases that were not brought before the BBFC for certification and declared them prosecutable for obscenity. This list of "video nasties" included Cannibal Holocaust, which was successfully prosecuted and banned. The film was also banned in Australia, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and several other countries in 1984. In 2005, the Office of Film and Literature Classification in Australia revoked the ban, passing Cannibal Holocaust with an R18+ rating (with the consumer advice "High level sexual violence, high level violence, animal cruelty") for the uncut print. In 2006, the film was banned in its entirety by the OFLC in New Zealand. Cuts to retain an R18 classification were offered by the Office, but they were eventually refused. In 2011, after numerous versions with extensive mandated cuts had been released in years prior, the BBFC waived all but one of their previous edits, passing Cannibal Holocaust with 15 seconds of cuts. It was determined that the only scene that breached the BBFC's guidelines was the killing of a coatimundi, and the BBFC acknowledged that previous cuts were reactionary to the film's reputation. The film is still forbidden in other countries. For example, The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia banned the film outright in Malaysia due to "Extremely high impact violence and offensive depictions of cruelty" and is still banned. The film was later rejected in Singapore due to "very high impact violence and offensive depictions of animal cruelty that may cause controversy in Singapore". In 1992, The film was banned outright in Iceland due to "very high impact violence and offensive depictions of both human and animal cruelty". As of 2012, the film is still banned in Malaysia, Singapore, Iceland, Germany, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Iran and New Zealand.

The Cannibal Man - released with 3 seconds cut in 1993.

This movie was prosecuted.

The early 80s UK video made the DPP's list and was successfully prosecuted, but only made the list due to it's 'cannibal' title. Apart from some slaughterhouse footage, this is not a very violent film, and would almost certainly be released uncut in the UK if it was submitted now.

Devil Hunter - passed uncut in November 2008.

This movie was prosecuted.

Released uncut in 2007 with a 15 rating.

This movie was prosecuted.

In the 1980s, the film was deemed as a video nasty in the United Kingdom, and subsequently banned by issuance of the Video Recordings Act. Aside from an early rare video release, it was not available for rent or sale since then in the UK until 2007 when it was released uncut on DVD with a 15 certificate.

It was released on DVD by Code Red in 2006, with a director supervised transfer, two audio commentaries, a one hour featurette, and many more extras.

It was classified as R18 in New Zealand for its violence.

Released with 54 seconds of pre-cuts in 1999; re-released uncut in 2002; now considered to be in public domain.

This movie was prosecuted.

Many cut versions of the movie still exist, which show scenes of drilling into heads and abdomens blacked-out. The uncut version of the movie does show certain parts blanked out using the colour red, most notably the final scene.

The film was released theatrically in America without controversy in 1979. In the United Kingdom, however, the reaction to the video release was very different. In 1982, the UK distributors of Driller Killer, Vipco (Video Instant Picture Company) took out full page advertisements in a number of movie magazines showing the video's violently explicit cover, depicting a man being drilled through the forehead by the Driller Killer. The tagline for the advertising and video box was : "There are those who kill violently."

The advertising resulted in a large number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency, and opposition to the film from the press and elsewhere; however, it seems that very few of the complainants ever actually saw the film but rather based their opinion on the poster and the shocking title of the film.

The film was lumped together with other "video nasties" released at the time and a vociferous campaign was launched by the press to ban them all. Driller Killer was added to the list of banned UK films on 4 July 1983, just a year after its release date. According to Mike Bor, the Principal Examiner at the British Board of Film Classification, "The Driller Killer was almost single-handedly responsible for the Video Recordings Act 1984" under which it and others of the "video nasties" released at the time were banned in the U.K. According to Brad Stevens, author of a biography on Abel Ferrara, the banning of the film was "almost entirely due to the cover of the video."

The movie was not officially released uncut in the UK until 2002.

Released with 3 minutes 34 seconds cut in 1987; released uncut in 2004.

This movie was prosecuted.

The movie was once cited as a video nasty in the UK following its release on the Videospace label. It remained banned for a number of years as part of the Video Recordings Act 1984, thanks to its gory climax and themes of satanism.

The film was reclassified and re-released in 1999 but with over three minutes of cuts which included the removal of most of the gore from the climax. It was then subsequently passed complete by the BBFC in 2004 and is now available in both an uncut form and a version re-edited by the distributors to tighten up the dialogue.

Anton LaVey, the late founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan, was a great fan of the film and considered it to be very Satanic.

Actor Clint Howard said that director Eric Weston's original version of the film that was submitted to the MPAA was longer, and contained more blood, gore, and nudity than the unrated version of the film. Especially during the shower/pig attack scene, and the final confrontation. To date this version of the film has never been released on Blu-Ray, DVD, or VHS.

Released with 51 seconds cut in 1997.

This movie was prosecuted.

The current UK version rated 18 has 3 cuts- most of a rape scene, all of Suzanne's death, and the shot of her dead in the shower (there was plenty of blood on her naked body so cuts were required). There is 51s cut in total.

In a documentary on the DVD of Blood on Satan's Claw Hayden says that this is the only movie she regrets making and was not the film she had made originally.

Released with 2 minutes 19 seconds cut in 2003.

This movie was prosecuted.

No UK re-release.

This movie was prosecuted.

Fight For Your Life was denied a British theatrical release in 1981, but a video release the following year allowed the public brief access to the film before it wound up on the video nasties list and was outlawed. It is notable for being the only 'video nasty' to appear on the list due to language, specifically the racism displayed by Sanderson's character.

Briefly available in the United Kingdom on the independent video label Vision On, released circa 1982, but outlawed with the advent of the Video Recordings Act (1984), Fight For Your Life was denied a British cinema release when it was rejected by the BBFC in October 1981. Fight For Your Life remains unavailable in the UK, in any form, but in the United States it was recently reissued by Blue Underground in a fully remastered DVD treatment.

Passed with over 4 minutes cut in 1988; re-released with 33 seconds cut in 2001; released uncut in 2009.

This movie was prosecuted.

In the United Kingdom, the film has had a history of problems with the BBFC over the years. The original cinema version was heavily cut with edits to the poker murder and the slashing of Ann's throat, and this print was later released on video prior to the UK's Video Recordings Act 1984 and subsequently banned as a video nasty. The film was made officially available in 1988, though the print had been pre-edited by 34 seconds (removing the cinema cuts) and then additionally cut by 4 minutes 11 seconds with further cuts to the opening stabbing, the bat attack, Norman's throat being torn out by Freudstein and tracking shots of mutilated bodies in the basement. The film was again released in 1992 though this print had been heavily pre-cut by the distributors and removed 7 minutes 27 seconds of footage, thus rendering much of the film unintelligible. The 2001 Vipco DVD issue restored nearly all of the film's prior edits but was cut by 33 secs by the BBFC with lesser edits made to the poker murder and a throat cutting. Although willing to release the movie uncut, the film had recently been prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act following the discovery of bootleg copies of the uncut version, leaving the BBFC no choice but to cut the film. All the cuts were finally waived for the 2009 Arrow DVD.

The Anchor Bay DVD version was later released uncut, containing all the gore and violence from the original version.

The film was released by Blue Underground on Blu-ray (as well as a new DVD edition) on 25 October 2011 with a new 2K transfer.

The House on the Edge of the Park - Released with 11 minutes 43 seconds cut in 2002; re-released with 42 seconds cut in 2011.

This movie was prosecuted.

The House on the Edge of the Park was initially rejected for a UK cinema certificate by the BBFC when first submitted in March 1981, and later found itself on the DPP list of "video nasties" when it was revealed that the uncut version was readily available on UK video. When it was eventually passed by the BBFC in July 2002, it was cut by 11 minutes and 43 secs, with almost all of the rape and violence either replaced or removed entirely. It was resubmitted in 2011 and received an almost uncut release, now only being cut at 37 seconds.

The USA Media Blasters release is completely uncut at 91 minutes.

Once during an interview about the making of the film, Ruggero Deodato was asked about his initial thoughts of the script when he first read it. He responded:

"I thought it was too violent. I make violent films, but softer ones. But this film was full of violence, and that made me uncomfortable. When I met David Hess, I thought that with my direction I could make him do anything. But when I first read it, I found it quite disturbing."

In 2006, the BBFC commissioned a group of academics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth to conduct research into people's responses to films that include scenes of sexual violence. The House on the Edge of the Park is one of the films included in their remit to examine.

I Spit on Your Grave - Released with 7 minutes 2 seconds cut in 2001; re-released with 3 minutes cut in 2010.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film received a limited release, with a wider release in 1980. Prominent film critics condemned the film for its graphic violence and lengthy depictions of gang rape, and the motion picture remains controversial to this day. The film was named in 2010 one of TIME's Top 10 Ridiculously Violent Movies.

Many nations, such as Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and West Germany, banned the film altogether, claiming that it "glorified violence against women". Canada initially banned the film, but in the 1990s decided to allow its individual provinces to decide whether to permit its release. Since 1998, some provinces (such as Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Québec) have released the film, with a rating that reflects its content.

The censored American version of the film was released in Australia in 1982 with an R 18+ rating. In 1987, the film survived an appeal to ban it. It continued to be sold until 1997, when another reclassification caused its ban in Australia. In 2004, the full uncut version was awarded an R 18+, lifting the seven-year ban. The Office of Film and Literature Classification justified this decision by reasoning that castration is not sexual violence (Australian censorship law forbids the release of films that depict scenes of sexual violence as acceptable or justified).

In the United Kingdom, the film was branded a "video nasty". It appeared on the Director of Public Prosecutions's list of prosecutable films until 2001, when a heavily-cut version of was released with an 18 certificate.

In New Zealand, the uncut version of the film (101 minutes) was classified in 1984 as R20 with the descriptive note "Contains graphic violence, content may disturb". Other versions with shorter running times (96 minutes) were also classified in 1984 and 1985, and received the same classification.

The Irish Film Board has again banned the film from sale. Having been banned for many years in the country, the new Blu-ray and DVD uncensored edition has been prohibited from purchase by retailers due to the nature of the film.

Island of Death - Refused a video certificate in 1987 as Psychic Killer II; released with 4m 9s cut in 2002; released uncut September 2010.

This movie was prosecuted.

The Beast in Heat, SS Hell Camp - no UK re-release.

This movie was prosecuted.

This is one of many so-called video nasties about fictionalized World War II Nazi POW camp atrocities. The film is currently banned in Australia due to offensive depictions of sexual violence and extreme impact violence throughout. The film is also currently banned in the UK as well.

The film continues to be re-issued in various formats (VHS, DVD). Due to the film's graphic nature, It has been banned from several countries and remains banned in some countries to this day. In 1992, the Australian Classification Board banned the film for "excessive sexual violence" and the film remains banned in Australia to this day. The film is banned elsewhere too, such as the United Kingdom where it was originally prosecuted as a Video Nasty.

The Werewolf and the Yeti, Night of the Howling Beast – no UK re-release.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film was banned in the UK by the BBFC under the Video Recordings Act of 1984 and was featured on the "Video Nasties" list. It has never been released in the UK.

Refused a video certificate and passed with 31 seconds cut in 2002; passed uncut on 17 March 2008.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film was censored in many countries, and was particularly controversial in the United Kingdom. The film was refused a certificate for cinema release by the BBFC in 1974 due to scenes of sadism and violence. During the early 1980s home video boom, the film was released uncut (save for an incidental, gore-free scene with the comedy cops, and the end credit roll) as a video that did not fall under their remit at the time. This changed when the "video nasty" scare which started in 1982 led to the Video Recordings Act 1984. This in turn banned the film as one of the Department of Public Prosecutions list of "video nasties."

The film remained banned throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s. However it had built a cult reputation in the UK, plus critics such as Mark Kermode began to laud the film as an important piece of work. In 2000, the film was again presented to the BBFC for certification and it was again refused. Blue Underground toured an uncut print around Britain without a BBFC certificate, with Southampton City Council granting the uncut version its own 18 certificate. It was granted a license for a one-off showing in Leicester in June 2000, after which the BBFC again declared that the film would not receive any form of certification.

In June 2002 the BBFC won against an appeal made to the Video Appeals Committee by video distributor Blue Underground Limited. The BBFC had required 16 seconds of cuts to scenes of sexual violence before the video could be given an ‘18’ certificate. Blue Underground Limited refused to make the cuts, and the BBFC therefore rejected the video. The distributor then appealed to the VAC, who upheld the BBFC's decision. During the appeal, film critic Mark Kermode was called in as a horror expert to make a case for the film's historical importance. However, after his report, the committee not only upheld the cuts but doubled them.

The film was eventually given an 18 certificate with 31 seconds of cuts on July 17, 2002 and was released in the UK on DVD in May 2003. The cut scenes were viewable as a slideshow extra on the disc, and there was a weblink to a website where the cut scenes could be viewed.

The BBFC classified the film uncut for video release on March 17, 2008. Rare or lost scenes

Some small cuts from the original, completely uncut, 91-minute film are still rare today and many different versions exists on both DVD and VHS releases with different cuts in many of them from different countries. To get a completely uncut version is difficult as even some cinema machinists themselves cut scenes out from the movie before showing it in theaters and drive-ins during the 1970s; many copies were cut or "hacked to pieces" and because of this some scenes have become rarities. According to Wes Craven, some people who were offended by the movie even stole copies of the original film and burned them.

Some incomplete scenes are:

"Lesbian rape scene" - One scene long-thought lost, except as a photographic still, is the two female victims forced to commit sexual acts on each other in the woods. This forced lesbian rape scene was found as an outtake with no sound to it on the Metrodome Three-Disc DVD Ultimate Edition as well as the 2011 Blu-ray release. "Mari in her room" - Photographic stills exists showing a nude Mari in her room in the beginning of the movie where she is reading birthday cards, the shot scenes of this no longer exist. "Mari raped by Sadie" - Short cuts showing Sadie committing sexual acts against Mari in the woods is often cut out, even from some DVDs that have been labeled as "uncut".

In the Krug and Company cut, Mari is still alive when her parents find her. She tells her parents what happened to her and Phyllis before dying in front of them.

No UK re-release.

This movie was prosecuted.

Axe, California Axe Massacre, The Axe Murders – Released with 19 seconds cut in 1999. Released uncut in 2005.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film gained notoriety in 1984 when it was designated a video nasty in the UK and appeared on the director of public prosecution's list of banned films. It remained unavailable until 2005.

Refused a certificate in 2002.

This movie was prosecuted.

It has been declined a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification and the New Zealand Office of Film & Literature Classification. It was originally banned in Australia, before passing several times in a modified version with an R18+ rating. It was finally passed uncut in 2005.

No UK re-release.

This movie was prosecuted.

The film was on the UK Government's list of Video Nasties in the 1980s and has not been resubmitted to the BBFC for a certificate since.

Night of the Bloody Apes. Released with approximately 3 minutes of pre-cuts in 1999; later released uncut in 2002.

This movie was prosecuted.

Released with 1 minute 41 seconds cut in 1994.

This movie was prosecuted.

Though hardly convincing, the violence is extremely graphic and helped to propel the film (released on video in the UK by Iver Film Services) onto the video nasties list. The film remained banned until 1993, when Vipco resubmitted it to the British Board of Film Classification, who agreed to pass it with an 18 certificate as long as one minute and forty-one seconds' worth of gory mayhem was deleted. Almost all of the violent scenes were trimmed, but the castration of the biker and the removal of a student's intestines (for use as a flail) were removed completely. If the film were submitted to the BBFC now, however, it would most likely be passed uncut.

Re-released with 3 minutes of pre-cuts in 2005.

This movie was prosecuted.

Nightmare gained instant notoriety among horror fans when it was banned in the UK as a video nasty and its distributor was sentenced to 18 months in prison for refusing to edit out a sequence lasting one second from the film.