VHS Nasty

Far too long and dull. Manages to make a fascinating subject utterly boring. Quite a feat.

People on YouTube produce better videos than this. All the people on this seemed camera shy and awkward. This really did bore the living daylights out of me. Also the editing is really annoying. Trying to be funny or clever by repeating Margaret Thatcher over and over again.

If you're really interested in video nasties, just go on YouTube and search "video nasties".. you'll.. find a bunch of great channels discussing them like "lampyman101" and many more.

The thing with this is the people. They're not good at making documentaries or communicating. A bunch of stiffs. Not interesting. Boring.

As a young American horror fan, I was vaguely aware of the "video nasty" craze as it happened, because it catapulted back across the pond, resulting in increasingly ridiculous censorship. So when I noticed this doc on a streaming service, I figured there were many things that I didn't know about the British video crackdown. I was right, but certainly didn't find answers here.

The only thing that I can say about "VHS Nasty" that hasn't already been said is the interviewees aren't uninteresting, and several make valid points. This footage could have worked if it had been framed properly as a documentary, giving a more historical context to the story. Unfortunately, as is, it's just random people giving their thoughts and opinions. And since the opinions are largely the same, it quickly devolves into tedious redundancy.

I had no intention of writing a review for this, but because I watched it a few weeks ago, the algorithm gods recommended a 2005 doc called "Ban the Sadist Videos!" That one does a much better job of presenting the same story, with the aid of clips, vintage interviews, and insights from various industry persons.

This was a documentary that I checked out while working. It was late in the day and I used these like podcasts. I'll listen to what the people interviewed are saying and look down if there is something interesting. This is covering an interesting concept of the 'Video Nasties' over in the United Kingdom. This isn't the most important one that is considered the definitive one. We are getting a lower budget take here.

Now if that little bit there came across harsh, that wasn't my intention. There is a two-part documentary that details this with primer names in film theory and critiques that broke down this section of UK history. What we're getting here though is how it affected the people that are interviewed. Now we do get a couple people from the UK who grew up in this era. It is interesting hearing their story. We also have one guy from Australia and then the rest from the United States. I personally didn't know much about the Video Nasties until getting into podcasts. There are films on the list that I saw growing up and then starting seeking out when I got into college. We have people here who are older than me who were into the 'tape trading' era who had to work harder to seek out these titles.

Let's discuss filmmaking aspects. This isn't working with a large budget. I do find the interviewees to be interesting, but I also don't know them well enough. Their stories don't hold as much weight for me. I'm not going to come down as hard as I'm seeing others though. They are saying the same thing for the most part which is a common complaint. Everyone here agrees that censorship is bad. This should fall to the parents, not the government or an appointed body. I agree. Other than that, I did appreciate the editing of clips to help show things that are being said. There are a couple of the interviews with sound issues. That doesn't ruin this though.

I can truly only recommend this if you are fans of the people that are in this or the filmmakers themselves. I'd direct you to docs that delve deeper into the history and explanation rather than just people who are sharing their experiences.

My Rating: 5 out of 10.

A bunch totally unknown guys talk about horror movies. The End. It's hard to imagine how a documentary can get more boring.