"Dead-Alive"

 "The Slayer"

The only thing I really remember about “The Slayer” is a scene of horrible pitchfork violence, where a woman gets it right in the back, and it goes right through her. I have to admit, I was fairly intoxicated when I sat down to this one, so it's mostly a blur. I believe I remember there being a monster that looked, and acted a lot like Freddy Krueger from the “Nightmare on Elm Street ” movies, but “The Slayer” was released far before the Wes Craven movie, so it wasn't just a cheap rip-off. If anything, Craven was ripping this movie off. I wonder if that says something about its quality.

"Snuff"

The story behind "Snuff" is more interesting than the movie itself, as it shows what an inventive marketing campaign can do for a worthless film, like "Snuff." Roberta and Michael Findlay had originally filmed "Snuff", under the title "Slaughter", and it was a loose retelling of the Manson murders of 1969. As it stood, "Slaughter" was a complete flop, making no money during it's original theatrical release. A few years later, however, Al Shackleton had the idea to tack on a different ending, one that was to be marketed as the actual murder of a young woman. The ending was reshot, and the film was released without credits, in order to create the feel of a genuine snuff movie. The new title was to be, of course, "Snuff." He then provoked a group of protesters, thus creating sufficient publicity, and the film became incredibly profitable. People believed that the ending was genuine, and that they had been witness to a legitimate snuff film. That could never happen in todays society, and given the quality of effects on display during "Snuff," even they should have known better. "Snuff" is garbage through and through, and is only significant within the history of significant advertising campaigns. Don't waste your time.

"SS Experiment Camp"

This is another Nazisploitation film, but this time the focus is not grim, bleak, or violent. Taking a page from the notoriety of “The Night Porter,” “S.S. Experiment Camp” is on the fun end of sexual exploitation. It is as though the filmmakers saw a way to cash in on being tasteless, and they went through with it. The ban was eventually revoked, as it is another one of those movies that the D.P.P. rejected based on its cover art. They later stated that there was no real reason to ban the movie from adult's eyes (as far as the film's content goes), other than the blatant tastelessness displayed in its mild eroticism. Actual quote from the film: After a Lieutenant realizes that his testicles have been cut off, right before he is about to have sex with a POW; “Hey, what are you doing with my balls?” Yeah, it's sleazy like that.

"Tenebrae"

Tenebrae is, in my opinion, Dario Argento's best film. It is the strongest film he made within the giallo genre, which he helped establish. It is also filled with some impressive camerawork and visual trickery - something which is sorely missing from his recent works. While not a horror film, there certainly is enough violence and gore on display to please anyone looking for a little red stuff, including a number of murders by razor and perhaps the most violent axe murder ever put to film. After a trip to Rome promoting his new novel "Tenebrae", a series of murders, seemingly inspired by those in the novel, begin to occur. The film has a more carefully constructed narrative than most of Argento's work, and enough sub-contextual attacks against his critics to solidify it as one of his greatest works. It all builds to the most satisfying ending of any Argento film. While there is much that can be said about the film, I will reserve most of my comments for a full review. Needless to say, Tenebrae begs to be seen by any fan of the giallo/thriller genre.

"Terror Eyes"

The violence on display in Terror Eyes, as is the trend with a lot of these films, is not particularly explicit. There are a number of beheadings, however most occur offscreen. The tone of the film is quite nasty during the violent sequences, it is here that the film takes itself dead-seriously, creating some uncomfortable scenes of not so graphic violence. The film plays for laughs almost as much as it does for shocks, which is quite strange. More often than the intentional laughs are those which are unintentional. Often an inept line of dialogue will result in fits of uncontrollable laughter for the viewer. Overall, a very enjoyable experience, if somewhat unfocused. The twist ending is one of the worst I've ever seen, however.

"The Toolbox Murders"

I like it when a filmmaker uses cheap gimmicks such as this. Yeah sure, it is just another slasher movie, with a regular boring old villain. But, this time, his murder weapons are regular, everyday household tools. This of course, brings about the possibility of a power drill death, the nail gun, and the ever-famous wrong-side-of-the-hammer death. In the end, the movie decided it wanted to go with a cheesy twist and a plot that didn't make any sense (but thought it did), and it ruined what could have been a relatively entertaining experience. I don't know what (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) director Tobe Hooper saw in it, but he saw enough to remake it in 2002. I have yet to see the Hooper version from beginning to end.

"Unhinged"

Another completely undeserving entry on the list. 79 minutes of really boring footage involving three young women who, after driving their car off a backwoods road, find themselves stranded in a somewhat creepy nearby house, in which a woman and her wheelchair bound mother are the only occupants. There is nothing, absolutely nothing that would implement this film as a 'Nasty'. It's boring throughout, completely devoid of violence, completely amateurish on all levels, and just plain bad. The ending is a step in the right direction, but it's far too little, far too late.

"Visiting Hours"

Finally! A Canadian film on the video nasty list. I'm a Canuck, so I like that we managed to make it on here at least once. Perhaps it shouldn't be so much of an honor to be on this list, but I'm sure that the directors that made it were happy that they did. “Visiting Hours” stars fellow Canadians, Michael Ironside, and William Shatner, and despite this, is actually fairly violent; probably not enough to warrant a country-wide ban, but what the hell. It has one particularly gut-wrenching scene which involves skin being cut by broken glass, so perhaps that was enough. Actually, I would have to say that it is perhaps the feel, the overall tone of the film that upset censors. Violence alone is one thing, but you use it to enhance a suspenseful atmosphere, and it becomes memorable.

"The Werewolf and the Yeti"

It's called “The Werewolf and the Yeti” and it is on the most notorious list of banned cinema of all time. How could it possibly live up to expectations? How could it possibly disappoint? Well, boys and girls, it does disappoint. Nothing really stands out about “The Werewolf and the Yeti” except perhaps the fact that if they had focused their efforts, even in the slightest, this could have turned into a good movie. But the film is all over the place, so disjointed in fact, that the viewer loses interest in the first few minutes of running time. On the plus side, there is a scene of cannibalism (very short, but maybe enough to set the D.P.P. off), some calculated sex, and a scene of (human torso) back-violence.

"The Witch Who Came from the Sea"

There was an incredible group of talent involved in the production of "Witch." Written by Robert Thom ("Death Race 2000"), some early cinematography from Dean Cundey ("Jurassic Park"), and starring academy award nominee Millie Perkins as Molly. Molly, after years of abuse from her father, begins to lose touch with reality, slipping into a state on insanity, resulting in murder. The film is more concerned with the development of the characters than it is with the graphic depiction of the murders that occur. The film takes a different approach to its material than most films on this list, resulting in a highly under-rated film, which feels like a much stronger production than it actually is. One of the most subtle entries on the list, not deserving of its inclusion.

"Women Behind Bars"

Video Nasty regular Jesus Franco was actually married at some point (he may still be, for all I know), and his wife actually stars this Franco movie, which is more Russ Meyer themed than anything else on this list. There may be some spattered violence here and there, but for the most part, the focus is on constant female nudity. Even when there is a relatively violent scene, it focuses on the naked woman more so than it does the violence. Example is when one of the women is tortured with electricity; she takes the shocks right in the sexy bits, which is an obvious effort to get the audience to focus their attention. And guess who the actress is who gets that treatment? You got it. Franco's wife.

"Xtro"

“X-Tro” is one of the few of the video nasties that belongs to the science fiction genre, and for that reason alone it is worth a look. Even though it may have a similar budget to those other movies, it still feels different because of its alien themes, and relentless strangeness. It may not make much sense, and it may also not truly deserve to be on the D.P.P. list (it was later removed), it is still more fun and more violent than most movies of its time. It isn't afraid to go a little overboard with its situations (including an action figure that comes to life… to KILL) and a backwards crab walking humanoid alien creature. “X-Tro” somehow managed to spawn two sequels, and while I have never seen them myself, they are rumored to have little to nothing to do with the original.

"Zombie Creeping Flesh"

Ah, Bruno Mattei. There are few directors who have so consistently shown such innept attempts at filmmaking. There is nothing here that would make sense to anyone watching it. Everything that occurs is completely devoid of logic. But, in all its terrible glory, "Zombie Creeping Flesh" is a great time. The gore's good, especially a scene in which a character's eyeballs are popped out of his head, by way of a zombies fingers going in his mouth and out his eyes. The film borrows from so many other American releases it's ridiculous, the film probably could have been written over the course of an hour, as there's nary an original idea to be found. But... it's still a good time.

"Zombie Flesh Eaters"

I saw this film as it was titled “Zombi 2,” as it was meant to be a direct sequel to George Romero's “Dawn of the Dead,” which was called “Zombie” in Europe. Personally, I like the redundancy of the title “Zombie Flesh Eaters” much better. This is Lucio Fulci's final movie on the video nasty list (“The Beyond” and “The House by the Cemetery”) and also his weakest of the three. Although it may like to think that it is a valid sequel to a Romero picture, it is nowhere near as good. One thing that should never happen when it comes to a zombie movie, is that it should never be boring, and “Zombie Flesh Eaters” is boring in spades. Not even Fulci's eye-gore or a zombie versus shark death-match can save it. I seem to be in the minority of opinion on this film, though, so perhaps you'll dig it anyway. You want to see great Fulci, and a great zombie movie? Get yourself a copy of “The Beyond.” You'll love it.

That's the entire list of films which the Department (or Director) of Public Prosecutions felt were too violent, sexual, or perhaps just too much for the general public to handle, without causing permanent damage to their mental well-being. We have done our best to summarize for you, what each film is all about. You can look forward to more in depth reviews of these films in the future, as many are worthy enough to be elaborated on just a little further. Whether they hold a certain significance in the history of exploitative film making ("Snuff"), or whether they are simply a film we love ("Tenebrae", "The Beyond"), there is much more to say about many of these films.

S.W., J.P.