Video Nasty is a colloquial term used primarily in the United Kingdom to refer to a number of films, typically low budget horror and exploitation films. These videos, typically distributed on VHS and CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc) were able to slip pass the UK’s strict censorship due to a legal loophole in film classification that allowed videos to bypass the review process. Video Nasties were a hot button issue in Britain during the 1980’s especially since the Authoritarian Democrats began to wane in political power and public support. Mary Whitehouse, a prominent conservative activist led a campaign to prosecute distributors of videos nasties and compiled a list of 72 films that she claimed were in violation the Subversive Publications Act of 1946.
When the Social Democratic Party took power in the mid-1980s, they replaced the Subversive Publications Act with the Video Recording Act which closed the loopholes that were exploited but also relaxed what content could be deemed obscene. In recent years, the stricter requirements have been relaxed and many of the films once deed video nasties have been released uncut or with minimal edits.
Notable films that were included in Mary Whitehouse’s list of 72 films
Last Orgy of Herman Goering
Joy Camp 69
The Butcher of Buganda
The Evil Dead
Der Mörder von Königsberg
Cannibal Holocaust
The Last House on the Left
Edit: grammar