“What was the effect of the DPP list?” presentation script!

“What was the effect of the DPP list?”

By Oliver Hunt

Introduction

‘What was the effect of the DPP list?’ The DPP list is a list made by the BBFC and consisted of seventy four films which in the late seventies and early eighties where deemed too dangerous to be shown across the UK. Several films where added and taken off at one point or another and the list was first made public in June 1983.

It is unclear where the term Video Nasty came from however most people believe it first started in a British newspaper.

Some of the most popular and well known are Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead [Item 2] and Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left [Item 1] however other slightly well know films such as Cannibal Holocaust, are well known between horror fans.

Video Nasties that never made the DPP list

There also where some films on the DPP list which where never caught up in the ‘Video Nasty’ scare.

The more notable films where The Exorcist and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I believe that because The Exorcist was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 1973 it was not counted as a ‘Video Nasties’ because they had a reputation for being low-budget horror and with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre it’s hard to speculate. [Item 20]

Both however have been released on DVD uncut in the past decade almost thirty years after their release.

Who are the BBFC?

The BBFC are the British Board of Film Certification and have been running since 1912 as an “Independent body to bring a degree of uniformity to the classification of film”.

The BBFC classify every film that comes into the UK. A film needs a certificate by the BBFC otherwise it can not be distributed legally.

The Obscene Publications Act, 1959 and 1964

Then the Obscene Publications Act, 1959 and 1964 (OPA) made it illegal to publish any work which is obscene. In the late seventies early eighties, if a video managed to ‘deprave and corrupt’ an audience then it is deemed obscene. [Item 14]

For a film to ‘deprave and corrupt’ an audience it means that a film must be morally bad. For a film to be uncertificated by the BBFC because of the OPA, the film must be taken as a whole and not to be judged based on one or two scenes. [Item 16]

My focus Nasties

For my study on what the effect of the DPP list was, I looked at three well known video nasties. Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left, Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and Meir Zachi‘s I Spit on Your Grave. Each film, like so many other video nasties have only recently been released on DVD and uncut DVD’s in the UK.

Controversially behind The Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left has had the most coverage because of persistent fans wanting the film to be released uncut. The film was first rejected for a certificate by the BBFC in July 1974 because of it’s extreme images of rape and murder.

In 2000 the film was represented to the BBFC but was turned down once again. Then in 2002 the distributors: Blue Underground Limited, made an appeal with the Video Appeals Committee so they could get the BBFC to give the film a certificate. They lost in the appeal because the BBFC wanted them to cut a total of sixteen seconds of sexual and violent images so the film could receive an 18 certificate which they weren’t prepared to do. So they brought in film critic Mark Kermode (who I will be mentioning through out because of his knowledge of video nasties) as a horror expert to produce a report on the films historical importance. After the BBFC read the report they changed the cuts from sixteen seconds up to thirty one. [Item 13, Item 20]

The cuts where made and the film was given the 18 certificate allowing it to be released. In July 2002, twenty eight years after it was first rejected, the film was finally released on DVD. It wasn’t until March 2008 when the film was first released uncut by the BBFC.

Controversially behind the other Nasties

With The Evil Dead and I Spit on your Grave the story of their releases where less complicated.

For The Evil Dead the BBFC insisted on cutting a long list of things. One scene involved a pencil being stabbed into a young woman’s ankle and twisted which the BBFC had cut down. [SHOW CLIP – THE EVIL DEAD - PENCIL SCENE] [Item 12]

With The Evil Dead the board of the BBFC at the time where split on whether the film was ‘over the top’ or ‘nauseating’. I think that The Evil Dead is a prime example that most (if not all) ‘Video Nasties’ are over the top. [Item 18]

For I Spit of your Grave the BBFC wanted to cut seven minutes of rape scenes watch became just 41 seconds of the heroine being raped over a rock. [Item 12]

Was the BBFC biased against The Last House on the Left?

In an article with Sight & Sound magazine, Mark Kermode argued that maybe the BBFC where more strict on English speaking films and The Last House on the Left in particular. He stated that with foreign films such a Saló and Baise-moi which involved more scenes that could ‘deprave and corrupt’ it’s audiences, but they where given a certificate by the BBFC. Because of this many people believe that the BBFC where biased against Last House on the Left. This isn’t hard to believe because of the amount of times the film got rejected. [Item 15]

Is there any point of a remake?

This year The Last House on the Left was remade by director Dennis Iliadis who is fresh into the business and with Wes Craven as the producer. This isn’t surprising seeing how he also produced the remake of his second film The Hills Have Eyes back in 2006. [SHOW CLIPS - The Last House on the Left (1972) - Trailer and The Last House on the Left (2009) - OFFICIAL TV SPOT 1]

The 1974 original was really a test on how far the horror genre and cinema can be taken. The film was made in response to the images coming out of Vietnam and Wes Craven himself walked out of the Reservoir Dogs premiere because he said it was just violence for entertainment but after this remake of one of cinema’s grittiest films, it seems like either he’s gone back on his words or is cashing in. [Item 11, Item 13]

I think that the remake doesn’t have any meaning or themes behind it (even if Dennis Iliadis has some war experiences). The original film is even a remake of a 1960 Swedish film called Virgin Springs.

I feel that this film was made for nothing more then for money. The original was banned because of it extreme nature and this remake is trying to ride on the films reputation.

In the Empire Magazine review for the remake; Kim Newson commented that original horror remakes are necessary but I think that simply can’t be the case with The Last House on the Left because the film was so horrible and grotesque that it shouldn’t be repeated. [Item 11]

Did the Video Nasties have an effect?

Now on too what was the effect of ‘Video Nasties’ on society. If films that where banned under the Obscene Publication’s Act where banned because they would ‘corrupt & deprave’ audiences then it must have some effect on it’s audiences? [Item 6]

In 1998 two months before the Columbine High School Massacre there was another high school shootings. According to newspapers the two teenage killers where addicted to ‘pizza and Video Nasties’ and that it was in fact the Video Nasties which led them to kill five people. [Item 9]

However this wouldn’t be the first time in the past decade that Video Nasties could have corrupted young minds. A few years back and a little closer to home; the James Bulger killing was reported in mainly newspapers to have ‘Chilling Connections’ between the murder act and the movie Child’s Play 3 (which was called a Video Nasty even though it was released in 1991). It was said that the killers mimicked what they saw in the film. [Item 4]

This leads to what Karen Newson said in her report; THE NEWSON REPORT: A case study in ‘common sense’. She said that maybe the killers from the High School massacre and even James Bulger’s child killers, emotionally connected to not the protagonist but the antagonist, in this case Chucky. [Item 4]

But is the DPP list something to point blame at? What about the families they came from? Or what their mental state was at the time? And how about the music they where listening to? I think it’s unfair to say that films on the DPP list are manufacturing killers. I even think that it’s not the fault of the movies because thousands of horror fans and non-horror fans watch ‘Video Nasties’ and do not go out a kill people. I believe it is their mental state which had ‘depraved & corrupted’ them from regular social behaviour.

Modern Video Nasties

After researching why some of the films where banned I began to look at films that would today be branded ‘Video Nasties’.

The first films I’m going to mention is David Cronenberg’s Crash which came out in 1996. When the film came out it was badly received and banned because of it’s controversial subject matter and was argued in a British newspaper, that is was morally bad.

More films which people will recognise are the Saw and Hostel franchises, which feel a lot like ‘Video Nasties’ and possible even Se7en.

The film I feel is most like a Video Nasty and likely to ‘deprave & corrupt’ is Lars von Trier’s Antichrist which has been released uncut in the UK. [Item 17]

In a video blog, Mark Kermode commented on what a newspaper said about Antichrist, the newspaper said: “Antichrist ticks off every box for it to be obscene with real sex scenes and genital mutilation and should be seen as morally repugnant.”

What his argument was, was that a film shouldn’t be judged as obscene because of what it does to it’s audiences but what it did to the production team.

I agree with his statement because how can the BBFC say what effect it will have on audiences. He even mentioned that Antichrist and The Evil Dead are similar in that they “both are set in a cabin in the woods, they are both about evil and they are both spam in a cabin horror movies” which also is a fair comment.

Conclusion

So to sum up everything and what I feel the effect of the DPP list was. I believe that a lot of the films from the DPP where graphic and disturbing, which possible led troubled and unsafe minds to commit murderous acts. However I believe it wasn’t just cinema alone which ‘depraves & corrupted’ them. I think that it was their own sanity which did it and films from the DPP list where an easy target for newspapers to point blame at. I also agree with Mark Kermode’s statement that a film shouldn’t be judged on a whether it will ‘deprave & corrupt’ audiences but if it had any effect on the production team. I Think the BBFC can’t say what effect art will have on it’s audiences. [Item 13]

I think that remakes of classic Video Nasties are only being produced because of the controversy and popularity that surrounds them whilst also believing that stories about rape, murdered and other gruesome acts shouldn’t constitute for a remake.

Really modern horror cinema has been formed out of the films from the DDP list. Films like Saw might not have come about if films like Driller Killer hadn’t be made or shocked audiences and modem horror films have a lot to thank for those films which where demeaned to ‘deprave & corrupt’ audiences. [Item 19]

Oliver Hunt

Clips for the presentation

Here’s two trailers I found on YouTube and am adding to my presentation (in the ‘Is there any point of the remake?’ slide). The two clips are trailers for The Last House on the Left the first being the original (1:17) and the second being the trailer for the new (pointless) remake (31seconds).

I’m adding them to my presentation to show how they have changed between generations and to support my theory that a dark film like The Last House- didn’t need a remake. This also might show what Kim Newson was saying in her Empire magazine review for the remake (she commented on how old 70’s and 80’s horrors often need a remake to polish off a good concept).

The Last House On The Left (1972) Trailer

The Last House on the Left (2009) - OFFICIAL TV SPOT 1

FM3 Film Blog Catalogue complete

Focus Films

Item 1: Focus Film - Last House on the Left (1972) Wes Craven - I picked this film because it is and will all ways be the definitive Video Nasty. It’s the most well known film from the DPP list (along side The Evil Dead) and includes the majority of things I talk about; rape-revenge, gore, recent remake.

Item 2: The Evil Dead (1982) Sam Raimi - The Evil Dead is second on my list of films is because it was one of the most well known video nasties thus it has a big fan base which might help support some of my evidence. It’s a good film to have because it shows how video nasties are just horror goofy amateur films and not necessarily to be taken seriously.

Item 3: I Spit on Your Grave (or Day of the Woman, 1978) Meir Zachi – I added this last film because it shows how a lot of films from the DPP list where misogynistic. It also connects with Last House on the Left because they’re both rape-revenge films.

Books

Item 4 : THE NEWSON REPORT: A case study in ‘common sense’ – Martin Barker (Ill Effects: The Media/Violence debate – Second edition, published by Routledge, edited Martin Barker and Julian Petley, 2001) – an interesting article in which Newson puts forward the idea that the audience (James Burlger’s killiers) related with the killer in Child’s Play 3: Chucky. The media said there was a ‘chilling connection’ between the film and the killers.

Item 5: I WAS A TEEN HORROR FAN – Or, ‘How I learned to stop worrying and love’ – Mark Kermode, page 131 - (Ill Effects: The Media/Violence debate – Second edition, published by Routledge, edited Martin Barker and Julian Petley, 2001) - I found a great article about what The Evil Dead meant to fans. And as Mark Kermode has said in the past; there is a fine line between us and them when it comes to horror (the ‘us’ being horror fans, myself included and the ‘them’ being everyone else).

Item 6: Media and Violence by Karen Boyle, 5 - 6 (Ill Effects: The Media/Violence debate – Second edition, published by Routledge, edited Martin Barker and Julian Petley, 2001) This article which I titled ‘Do Video Nasties cause High School shootings’ on my blog talks about a report in a case where it was said that the two teenage killers at a high school massacre where both video nasties fans. And hints to point the finger at the films.

Item 7: ‘LOOKS LIKE IT HURTS’ Women’s responses to chocking entertainment by Annette Hill 146 (Ill Effects: The Media/Violence debate – Second edition, published by Routledge, edited Martin Barker and Julian Petley, 2001) – this chapter talks about it’s not only men who like the ultra violence of films from the early 90s and even through it doesn’t speak of and video nasties I believe that same principles are the same.

Item 8: Rape and Revenge, page 136 – 140 (MEDIA AND VIOLENCE, published by SAGE Publications, by Karen Boyle, 2005) – This book was great because it has a section on rape revenge movies and talks specifically about I Spit on your Grave. It also has some interesting quotes from one of America’s top movie critics; Rodger Ebert.

Item 9: The effects of violence on the media, pages 2 – 5 (MEDIA AND VIOLENCE, published by SAGE Publications, by Karen Boyle, 2005) – this talks about how teenage killers identify themselves with the killers in the films. And in a High School massacre case the two killers watched Video Nasties which desensitised them into killing.

Journals

Item 10: Sight & Sound magazine - July 09 – Last House on the Left remake review – This supports why the original was so gritty because with the remake it’s saying there’s more polish in it.

Item 11: Empire Magazine - July 09 - Last House on the Left remake review – A second review for the 2009 remake of Last House on the Left which argues that this version is a more polished one but still a nasty film because it’s central theme is “violence begets violence.”

Item 12: The Independent – Tue 27th Sep 05 - Night Of The Living Video Nasties – This is a great section from the newspaper The Independent about the Video Nasties. I’m going to use this in my presentation to show all the major Video Nasties. It also has the plot, what the critics and what was cut section for all the films.

Internet

Item 13: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2009/03/last_house_but_one.html - The Last House on the Left but one, in this Mark Kermode talks about why there shouldn’t be a remake and how it was done fore the money.

Item 14: http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/criminal_law - The Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964 - This site shows what the Obscene Publication’s Act was in a detailed way. With this and Mark Kermode’s blog it will help when talking about how my focus films and over video nasties where banned in shops.

Item 15: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/404 - Sight & Sound article -‘Left on the Shelf’- Mark Kermode questions the BBFC's 'new openness', this article talks about talks about other film like Romance, Ai no Corrida, Saló and Baise-moi and how there subject matter was delt by the BBFC in comparison to Last House on the Left. Also what Mark Kermode was trying to get at was; is the BBFC biased against not only English speaking films but more importantly The Last House on the Left?

Item 16: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2009/07/opa_280709.html - Obscene Publication’s Act - This Mark Kermode Uncut Film Blog is all about the Obscene Publication’s Act because of the recent controversial film Lar’s von Trier’s Antichrist. He talks about how the film Antichrist ticked off all the stuff which make it morally repugnant which technically makes it fall under the OBA.

Item 17: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jun/15/lars-von-trier-antichrist-uncut - Antichrist to be released uncut in the UK- This article from The Guardian newspaper talks about how the BBFC didn’t cut anything from Antichrist (example the self genital mutilation) because they said it wasn’t harmful for adults. And talks about how the tolerance the BBFC has gone down over the years.

Item 18: http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/The_Evil_Dead - this is great because it has a section about how the board of the BBFC where divided over where the with was ‘over the top’ or ‘nauseating’.

Item 19: http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/issues/horror - in this is talks about how Saw and Hostel (also Antichrist) and how they set the new bar for modern horror (and ‘torture porn movies’). This shows that along with Antichrist they could be seen as the new video nasties.

Item 20: http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/The_Last_House_On_The_Left - Details on The Last House on the Left and the controversy surrounding it. It also details the release details and the fight with the BBFC.

Catalogue completed 11th October 09.

Material Not Selected

I didn’t use was ‘I WAS A TEEN HORROR FAN – Or, How I learned to stop worrying and love’ (Item 5) because Mark Kermode picked up on some interesting points on the divide between horror fans and non-horror fans however I felt it wasn’t necessary in the piece because that divide is made apparent several times. I read a great article called ‘LOOKS LIKE IT HURTS’ Women’s responses to chocking entertainment’ (Item 7) about how women enjoy violent entertainment as much as men, however because it talked mainly about violent movies in the early 90s instead of violent horrors (and more specifically ‘Video Nasties’). The Sight and Sound review for Last House on the Left (remake, Item 10) was good to read but I felt wasn’t necessary to add it in.

Matrial Not Salected added 4th November 09

The BBFC on Antichrist: The Modern Video Nasty

If the film wasn’t shocking enough, what the BBFC said about Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist could have been even more shocking. however not for the same reasons. I saw Antichrist recently and it is the most shocking films I have ever seen (however I enjoyed it a hell of a lot) but something hit me. I was wondering why the BBFC hadn’t cut any of the ultra graphic scenes, for example the real sex scene or the self female genital mutilation. What is this? If something this disturbing has been approved for just an 18 certificate without any of it being cut then why did they single out Video Nasties in the late 70s.

Have they just given up with arguing with controversial directors? It took Last House on the Left about twenty years for it to get a release but a film this graphic can be shown. Even if the sauce of all this is from The Sun (probably the worst tabloid out there) it has a detailed what the BBFC said about the film and why it wasn’t banned. I believe that the film Antichrist is a modern Video Nasty but even though it’s as shocking as it’s basterd grandparents, it was let fly uncut. Amazing…

“BBFC director David Cooke said: (about Antichrist) “The film does not contain material which breaches the law or poses a significant harm risk to adults. The sexual imagery, while strong, is relatively brief, and since 1990 the Board has passed a number of works containing such images. “This reflects the principle, strongly endorsed in a number of public consultations, that adults should be free to decide for themselves what to watch or what not to watch, provided it is neither illegal nor harmful.” The sex in Antichrist is certainly too unpleasant to gratify most normal people. But the popularity of “torture porn” films such as Hostel and Saw suggests the BBFC are wrong. Even Von Trier admits that Antichrist — out here on July 24 — might be porn and that his “perversions” are reflected in the film. The Sneak is against banning films, but the BBFC has definitely become more liberal over the past couple of decades. Films that would have been rated 18 in the past are now 15 or 12A.”

Source

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964

I got this bit from the SBBFC site and added it because it shows what the Obscene Publication’s Act was in a detailed way. With this and Mark Kermode’s blog it will help when talking about how my focus films and over video nasties where banned in shops.

“It is illegal to publish a work which is obscene. The Obscene Publications Act (OPA) was extended to include films and videos in 1977. Prior to that the only legal test applied to films was the much vaguer test of common law indecency. Under the OPA a film may be deemed obscene when, taken as a whole, the work has a tendency to 'deprave and corrupt' ‘(ie make morally bad) in parentheses a significant proportion of those likely to see it. It is important to note that a film must be considered as a whole and that individual scenes must not be judged out of the wider context of the complete work. Even a film that would normally be considered obscene can be shown if 'it is in the interests of science, art, literature, or learning or of other objects of general concern'.”

Source

I Was a Teenage Horror Fan...

I found a great article about what The Evil Dead meant to fans. And as Mark Kermode has said in the past; there is a fine line between us and them when it comes to horror (the ‘us’ being horror fans, myself included and the ‘them’ being everyone else). But what this also does is sort of justify what die hard fans see in video nasties (the majority and of course ruling out rape revenge films) and why we keep seeing more and more of these low budget films.

Item: I Was a Teenage Horror Fan or, ‘How I learned to stop worrying and love Linda Blair’ by Mark Kermode (age 36) – (Ill Effects: The Media/Violence debate – Second edition, edited Martin Barker and Julian Petley, 2001, page 131-132)

“The truth is simply that the experience horror fan understands the on-screen action in terms of a heritage of genre knowledge which absolutely precludes the possibility of sadistic titillation. Nowhere in The Evil Dead does the horror fan see the actual torture, mutilation or violence of the human form (as they would do in a John McNaughton’s solidly unfunny Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer). What they see is the playful trashing of a tradition of special effects work, in which the refining of various latex additives has opened up vistas of possibilities for enthusiastic armature film-makers everywhere. To the horroe fans, The Evil Dead is about as threatening as a pop group smashing up their guitars on stage – it’s stupid, but it’s huge fun none the less.”

Newson’s Report on Violence in films and it’s effect on the viewer

This section is from the book ‘Media And Violence’ by Karen Boyle. I’m adding it to my blog because it’s interesting what happened years ago when Childs Play 3 came out and how the Jame Bulger killing was (could have been) connected to the movie. This was interesting to me because even though it’s talking about Robert Thompson (one of James Bulger’s killer) could have identified with Chucky. I felt that the same terms could be true with Last House on the Left or even the protagonist in I Spit on Your Grave.

“Newson suggest that in films like Child’s Play 3 the viewer identifies with the perpetrator of violence – an interesting claim in light of the tabloid confusion over the ‘chilling links’ between original and copy and one that contradicts much of the research on identification processes. Nevertheless, the report received extensive media coverage, dissenting voices where barely heard and the pressure on the Conservative government to ‘do something’ increased. For those who accepted the link between the murder of James Bulger and Child’s Play 3, the ‘something’ to be done was in many ways obvious: these videos must be censored, contained and controlled. In this context of panic and misinformation, and amendment to the Video Recording Act was passed, stipulating that in awarding certificates to films on video, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) must consider the potential for harming to viewers (and to underage viewers in particular) watching in the home”
The Effects of Violence in the Media - page 5

Do Video Nasties cause High School shootings?

This is taken from the book ‘Media And Violence’ by Karen Boyle. It talks about how the killers of a high school killing prior to Columbine where fans of Video Nasties. However I feel that it wasn’t the video nasties that did it. The media also say that they where fans of video game and other violent mediums. But it’s still a good section.

“I want to turn to a report in The Sun a few months prior to the Columbine massacre. Sensationally Headlined ‘BOYS KILL FIVE THEN EAT PIZZA’ (2 December, 1998), the report described how two teenage boys, ‘massacred five people for kicks after watching video nasties’. Whilst the article goes on to suggest a causal link between ‘video nasties’ and murder, no one would seriously suggest that there is a casual link between murder and pizza eating. Rather, the juxtaposition of murder and pizza eating is supposed to tell us something on the killers (their lack of remorse, callousness and so on). Yet, on the basis of the evidence offered, the ‘murder causes pizza eating’ hypothesis is as plausible as the ‘viewing video nasties cause murder’ hypothesis. All we are told is that one event followed the other, just like killing followed bowling in the Columbine case. However, we are so used to video nasties being linked to murder that this lack of evidence is not glaringly obvious.”
The Effects of Violence in the Media Page 5-6

Quote From ‘The Horror Reader’ to sum up ‘Video Nasties’

“Reaching its heyday in the late 1960s and early 1970s and then lingering in the late 1980s in the form of ‘video nasties’, this kind of film often relished its marginal, derided position in the cultural field. Through its flaunting of ‘bad taste’, its low-level, gross-out special effects and lurid coloration, its gratuitous and exaggerated acts of violence and dismemberment and its willing embrace of exploitation and ‘sexploitation’ tags, modern low-budget, low brow horror cinema made sure it remained at the bottom end of the market and on fringes of cultural analysis.”
-The Horror Reader (page 311)

What convinced me about putting this up (apart from it summing up the video nasties perfectly) is how they mention the act of violence being over the top, which it is. Look at The Evil Dead for example, no one would take it seriously so why did the BBFC? Also I liked this paragraph because they mentioned that ‘video nasties’ where “willing to embrace… video nasties” which I totally agree with, To be honest there’s not a difference between ‘video nasties’ and exploitation films.

Trading ‘Cannibal Apocalypse’ for ‘I Spit on You Grave’

I Spit on Your Grave trailer

I am going to be swapping Cannibal Apocalypse for the Meir Zarchi rape revenge flick I Spit on your Grave. The choice is coming about because I can’t find anything, literally nothing, on Cannibal Apocalypse but I seem to find a lot on I Spit on You Grave. Also it’s interesting because it shares some themes with the other two films which are mainly rape in movies and women in horror films being represented as weak in comparison to males (sexism) with the exception of I Spit on You Grave.

Sight & Sound Article 'Left On The Shelf'

Mark Kermode questions the BBFC's 'new openness'

This is an interesting article from Sight & Sound which as the title states, involves Mark Kermode questioning the BBFC on their ‘new openess’. He talks about other film like Romance, Ai no corrida, Saló and Baise-moi and how there subject matter was delt by the BBFC in comparison to Last House on the Left. All those foreign films dealt with rape scene in what seems like a harsher way (e.g. real penetration) whilst in Last House- the scene where cut because the Krug & Company where wielding knifes at the two girls and cut them.
So what Mark Kermode was trying to get at was; is the BBFC biased against not only English speaking films but more importantly the Last House on the Left?

Also I’d like to point out I do use a lot of Mark Kermode’s work because he seems to know a lot about the film and it’s history and was very important in it’s release in the UK.

Last House On The Left censorship info

'Last House on the Left uncut DVD release' Mark Kermode Uncut Blog

This is a nice introduction to the whole controversy which gave The Last House on the Left it’s bad reputation in the UK. It’s a Uncut Blog from Mark Kermode’s BBC page. I couldn’t get the video from the page so here’s the link.

First time Last House on the Left was banned by the BBFC

Because of the film’s cult success, the film was once again presented to have a certificate by the BBFC. It was British movie critics such as Mark Kermode stated that Wes Craven’s gory and messy debut film was an important piece of work and should be allowed to be seen by die hard horror fans. He’s even said that Last House on the Left should be in the collection of any true horror buff and if it’s cut then it’s no good, all or nothing.Back in 2000 the film was presented again to the BBFC to finally get a certificate so the film could be distributed to the horror fans. It had been nearly thirty ears since the films release and was banned everywhere through the 80’s and 90’s. The filmed was denied (BBFC report 11th February 2000) by the BBFC however there was a one off showing of the film in Leicester in June of the same year.Two years later in the same month it was shown in Leicester. The film was shown uncut along with Texas Chain Saw Massacre which was also also uncut (I believe) and it was Blue Underground, a DVD distributor of Video Nasties and exploitation films, which got the films shown. Last House on the Left could be shown uncut at a cinema screening because the BBFC do not have jurisdiction when it comes to cinema showings, thus the films where shown. Because of the success the film screening had, Blue Underground built up the confident to once again try and get the film distributed uncut.

When brought to The BBFC for the second time they won against the Video Appeals Committee*. The BBFC wanted just 16 seconds of the film to be cut for it to receive a 18 certificated. They even brought in Mark Kermode as an expert in the horror genre to write up a report about the films importance. When the BBFC looked through the report they doubled the 16 seconds worth of cuts to 31 seconds. The film was finally released thirty one years (May 2003) after the films release (BBFC report 17th July 02) with an obvious 18 certificate. On the DVD 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. So even though they where cut from the film the fans could still view them. It wasn’t untill March 17th 2008 that the film finally got released uncut (BBFC report March 17th 08) by the BBFC and since then different cuts where released of the film including the rare alternative cut called ‘Krug and Company’.

*The Video Appeals Committee was set up by the Video Recordings Act and was made because if any film or video game (‘Manhunt’ for example) is refused by the BBFC then it can be appealed to VAC which has the power to order the BBFC to reverse its decision and to grant a certificate to the disputed work.

Films banned by the BBFC but not classed as Video Nasties

Here is an interesting list of films banned by the BBFC but not classed as Video Nasties. I don't know why they aren't considered Video Nasties because I'd say Straw Dogs is and maybe Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I got this infomation from Wikipedia which I'm gonig to stop doing but found it interesting.

On a different note I am considering swaping Cannibal Apocalypse for I Spit On You Grave due to lack of info on Cannibal Apocalypse.The Exorcist (banned around the same period as video nasties but never classified as one, released uncut in 1999.)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (passed uncut with an 18 certificate in 1999)
Silent Night, Deadly Night (Refused a certificate, never re-submitted)
Straw Dogs (Again, like The Exorcist; the uncut version was banned around the video nasty period. It was re-released in 1995 partially cut with it finally being released uncut in 2002.)
The New York Ripper (Banned outright in 1982 until it was released with cuts in 1997)
Mikey (Still banned)
Maniac (Passed with cuts in 2003)
It is often mistaken that Stanley Kubrick's film adaption of A Clockwork Orange was banned by the BBFC. It was actually Kubrick himself who decided to withdraw the film from exhibition in the UK after reports of copycat behavior. The film was only released in the UK shortly after the death of Kubrick in 1999. The British film Scum has a tagline "The film they tried to ban".

The film was made by the BBC, but they later decided not to broadcast it owing to the violence and suicides in the film. The BBC then attempted to obtain a legal ban on the film, but they were unsuccessful in this.

Censorship of the Movies + The Evil Dead Censorship Info

In this section I’ll be showing and talking about the scenes from each movie which where censored and why I thought they might have been cut out. Also I am adding other information on why the films where put on the DPP list and then became video nasties.

Evil Dead
Cut Scene – The scene where Linda is stabbed in the ankle but the then possessed Deadite Cheryl.

Why I think it was cut out
Personally I don’t think this should have be cut out because the blood doesn’t look believable thus it not so much ruins the illusion that this girl has been stabbed but that the film was made by early twenty something’s out to make a quick fright. Now the tree rape scene on the other hand is very disturbing in that it could have been avoided. But it begs the question; did Sam Raimi keep that scene in so people would talk and discuss rape in (at the time) modern cinema. With films like I Spit On Your Grave and more ironically Last House on the Left, showing rape scenes it coursed controversy with the media and lead to the films being edited down or even not distributed (which film makes obviously don’t want). But also films out side the horror genre scenes of rape where put in, for example Straw Dogs which was released the same year as A Clockwork Orange both involved rape and murder. Were film-makers bringing to attention the state of society in the 70’s and earily 80’s by showing rape as entertainment? Was the tree rape scene in Evil Dead put in to reflect those realistic rape scenes with an over the top one and make a sick joke out of it?

Info on Censorship
Because of its graphic violence, the original version of the movie was banned in several countries, including Finland, Germany, Iceland and Ireland. The "tree rape" scene in the movie was also described by some as being misogynistic. In Germany, the movie’s release was hindered by public authorities for almost 10 years. Original 1982 cinema and video releases of the movie had been seized, making the movie successful on the black market video circuit with pirated copies abounding. Several well-known horror enthusiasts publicly criticized the German ban on the movie, including author Stephen King (who gave it a rave review in the November 1982 issue of Twilight Zone). A heavily edited version was made available legally during 1992. During 2001 an uncut German DVD version was released, but the Berlin-Tiergarten Court ordered seizure of the DVD in April 2002 (Case Number 351 Gs 1749/02). In Finland, The Evil Dead was later released uncut on DVD by Future Film, and rated K-18. In the United Kingdom, the movie was one of the first to be abelled a video nasty during the mid-1980s and was finally released uncut in 2001.
-Wikipedia

Next blog 'DPP the List' then 'Last House on the Left Censorship Info' up soon…

[UPDATE] Mark Kermode on the Evil Dead cuts

Back in June 08, Mark Kermode released an Uncut Video Blog which detailed some on the cuts the BBFC watch Sam Raimi to do with his gore-com the Evil Dead. And In fact he didn’t mention the tree rape scene but he did mention the stabbing in ankle bit and specified that it wasn’t the stabbing they wanted band but how the Deadite twists the pencil. He also mentioned that’s the BBFC watch the bit where Shelly chews off her own hand (when she is holding the knife) to be reduced which he then went on to mocked. But to summaries he had the list of things the BBFC wanted Raimi to cut from the film so it could get a rating.

Source - Kermode Uncut Blog - With Gruesome Pleasure

Now this has interested me to find the hole list of what the BBFC wanted to cut from the Evil Dead and indeed Last House- and Cannibal Apocalypse. I’m going to do some searching and try find the lists which I will then post up here.

First Research! The DPP list...

DPP list-

"The DPP list of 'video nasties' was first made public in June 1983. The list was modified monthly as prosecutions failed or were dropped. In total, 74 separate films appeared on the list at one time or another. Thirty-nine films were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act but some of these films have been subsequently cut and then approved for release by the BBFC. The remaining 35 were either not prosecuted or had unsuccessful prosecutions.
A number of films spent a short time on this list because their prosecutions failed shortly after publication or because it was decided that prosecution was not worth pursuing. Ultimately, the list became obsolete when the Video Recordings Act came into force, and since 2001, several of the films have been released uncut. In the majority of cases below where cuts were made, they were scenes of real-life animal cruelty and/or excessive violence to women, both of which are still regarded with some degree of severity by the BBFC."

Breakdown of the list

Of these films:
37 have been released uncut
25 have been released cut
1 has been released with additional footage
10 are effectively banned in the UK to this day because they have not been resubmitted for classification by any distributors.
1 has since been rejected for classification.

Unless noted otherwise, all films that have been released have been rated 18. Also note that a lot of these movies caused additional controversy with the cover art of the original big box releases seen in the video shops of the early 1980s.

-Wikipedia, Video Nasty (10/07/09)

This is just some simple internet research. I know Wikipedia isn't the most reliable of sources however it is an ok place to start. I can confirm the stuff through books and other sources of media.

I was looking at video Nasty’s on Wikipedia and saw this section with a list of banned films. This is some interesting information. I'm going to look into the Obscene Publications Act a bit more and why the films where in violation. I also want to look into the Mark Kommode Essay he did on the DPP list. Lastly I want to find out about how Video Nasty’s are seen these day (if they are seen as cult classics).

NEW TITLE! What was the effect of the DDP list?

Focus Films

Evil Dead (1981)
Last House on the Left (1972)

Cannible Apocolypse (1980)

What was the effect of the DDP list? The DDP list or Video Nasty, shocked audiences in the late 70's eairly 80's. But how are they recieved today? Are they cult classic's like Raimi's Evil Dead or are they mindless violence that should be left in the celler?

I have changed my focus films becuase my last subject was to long and question to something that I am now really looking foward to looking into.

How has American Horror changed over Time?

Focus Films
Night Of The Living Dead (Romero, 1968)
Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper, 1974)
Hostel: part I (Roth, 2005)

How has American horror changed change over time? Something has definitely changed between the spaces of Hitchcock’s Psycho being released and Roth’s Hostel part I and II. Final Girls come and go and the odd uncut edition of a video nasty comes out (Last House on the Left), but has anything really changed? Has the narrative become more complex like the Saw franchise? Are women still powerful characters since the days when Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie Strode in Carpenter’s Halloween? And how has the Special Effects changed? Is it getting less impressive with CG unlike the classic models which where used in films such as the remake of The Thing? In this research I aim to uncover all of the answers. With my focus films being Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968), Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper, 1974), Hostel: part I (Roth, 2005).

The reason why I chose to talk about the development in American Horror is because of it’s complexities. These days there are sub genre’s for horror and the technology and special effects have grown and grown until you can’t tell if someone is really being kill or if it’s only a model. There is such ground to cover with American horror as a genre that it would be very interesting to do. With the films I picked I can talk about zombie movies and George A. Romero with Night of the Living Dead, the slasher genre, franchises and the Final Girl archetype with Texas Chain Saw Massacre and modern horror, woman as evil characters, and grotesque torture scenes with Hostel: part I.

I have begun reading several book such as Men, Women and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover and The Horror Reader edited by Ken Gelder. These book will help me a lot with some aspects of the horror genre because in Men, Women and Chainsaws, Carol J. Clover details the Final Girl archetype. Then I’m also going to look to buy a copy of Fangoria which is the most famous Horror magazine around the world. I can also look into reviews for the films by magazines like Empire film mag and Total Film mag.

Finally, what interests me about this research subject is the subject matter. Learning about how American horror. I find the genre fascinating because of the sub text of the films and how they respond to what society feared at that point in time. I also love characters like Leather Face and Ash Williams of the Evil Dead series so this is an opportunity to study them. I myself am a big fan off horror especially Japanese and American horror so researching it and learning about it will be my number one priority because I’ll just keep looking and looking, watching and watching, listening to director’s commentary and listening to director’s commentary. All until I have found all I need to know.

More Ideas For Research Project

So I've been thinking alot about some ideas and here is a couple more I thought of. I want to of course, pick a subject that I'll find interesting to write about for the next couple of months.

The first one is from my last post but I changed some stuff around. This one is acturly appealing to me quite a lot. However I'm not to sure yet if I'll pick it...

* How has horror and it's audiences changed since the 1970’s?
* Auteur – Alfred Hitchcock
* Auteur – Jean-Luc Godard
* How French New Wave shaped modern cinema.
* JHorror and Western Audiences
* Video Nasties

* * *

These are some pretty interesting ideas however I can definitly guess that the Alfred Hitchcock one would be taken by someone else. I hope the French New Wave one isn't taken becuase it is either between that or something to do with the horror genre.

First Blog Entry & First Ideas

So this is my first blog entry since I made this blog (this being my third) and I thought that I should put down some ideas I have for the FM3 Small Scale Research Project. Note, these are only ideas that I am putting down…

*How has horror and gore-porn changed since the 1970’s.

*Auteur – Wes Craven
*Auteur – Kevin Smith
*Auteur – Eli Roth
*How is Studio Ghibli seen in Japan and around the world.
*How has Special Effects in horror changed since 1970.
*Auteur – Alfred Hitchcock
*The shocking affect of Video Nasty’s on modern cinema.
*Auteur - The Raimi Brothers: Sam, Ivan & Ted

That is all I have got for now. In the near future I might do a second blog on ideas for the project.