FrightFest 2010 Review: Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape
Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape (2010)
Director: Jake West
Starring: Martin Barker, Graham Bright, Peter Kruger, Julian Petley
Review by: Ben Bussey
They called them the Video Nasties. They were the new wave of horror films that took things to a whole new level of violence and viscera: rape, mutilation, disembowelment and cannibalism were the order of the day, all presented in lingering detail. Mostly low-budget affairs, such films might in earlier times have happily existed without too many people making a fuss. But on the new medium of videotape, these films were readily available to be viewed in the home, unregulated and unclassified, in boxes laden with lurid artwork promising repulsive content the likes of which the viewer had never seen before (even if the content of the films themselves often failed to live up to those claims). As a moral panic was whipped up by lobbyist groups and the tabloid press, the politicians and police force got involved, and soon enough the mere act of selling or owning a suspected video nasty became a truly dangerous business. The year was 1984. Oh, the irony.
Coming on the final day of the Frightfest that is destined to be remembered as the year that A Serbian Film didn’t get shown, this is a prescient release indeed. But this film isn’t just relevant to horror fans; this is a film that is relevant to every adult human being, particularly in Britain. It is a lesson and a warning about the nature of censorship, and the very real threats it presents to civil liberty. It is powerful, enlightening and profoundly important, without question the most important film to appear at Frighfest 2010.
Jake West may be most well known for directing the British schlock-horror movies Razor Blade Smile, Evil Aliens and Doghouse, but he also has a prolific concurrent career in promos and featurettes, having been responsible for many of the extras on the Region 2 DVDs of the likes of Hellraiser and The Evil Dead. As such, he’s on familiar ground getting people talking about their history in horror movies, and along with producer Marc Morris has brought together an ensemble of critics, academics and filmmakers, all of whom have a great deal to say about the Video Nasties, having either grown up in the shadow of the hysteria, or been directly involved in it.
The most remarkable, insightful and powerful contributions come from academic Martin Barker. An opponent of censorship and author of numerous books on the subject, he recalls in moving detail the widespread condemnation he recieved from the press and the moralist campaigners for being one of the few people to speak out against the panic. Even more notably, he illustrates the sheer magnitude of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright lies on which the campaign was built, all the way into its official government legislation. A member of the Frightfest audience during the post-screening Q&A declared Barker to be everyone’s new hero, an assertion with which I wholeheartedly concur. Not only are Barker’s arguments wholly convincing, but the palpable emotion he feels about these injustices make his statements all the more potent.
That the film has an anti-censorship bias is apparent from the get-go, and as such those who prefer documentaries to take a more neutral approach may take issue. At times West does come close to shooting himself in the foot with his taste for theatrics, notably a moment in which a video cassette literally jumps out of the VCR and kills Emily Booth by wrapping her up in tape, overstating a point which did not need to be so physically illustrated. However, such moments are rare, and the documentary can hardly be accused of one-sidedness given the amount of screentime dedicated to Graham Bright and Peter Kruger, respectively the Conservative MP and Scotland Yard police officer most directly involved in implementing and enforcing the ultimate ban of the blacklisted films. Both men are allowed to give their side of the story and explain their feelings on the matter; whether their arguments hold up is, of course, in the eye of the beholder…
Yes, this is indeed an intelligent and informative documentary, but happily it hasn’t forgotten about being entertaining too. It’s heartwarming to hear the likes of Neil Marshall and Christopher Smith recalling the lurid thrills the video nasties brought them in the days of their youth, and anecdotes highlighting the inconsitencies and absurdities of the campaign are often hilarious: witness the shocking evidence that video nasties have a detrimental effect not only on children, but also on dogs.
Far and away the best and most significant work Jake West has done to date – yes, even more socially relevant than Razor Blade Smile – Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship and Videotape is essential viewing. Once again, this isn’t just a documentary about horror movies for horror fans. This is a film about personal freedom and the lengths to which those in power will go to supress it, and as such it is a film that every grown man and woman should see. It will be available in the 3 disc DVD set Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide, set for release on the 11th of October, which – in case I haven’t made myself clear – I thoroughly recommend you buy.
