It has been a while since I have written a piece on Video Nasties so I am writing one again - just for the sheer joy of writing about these frequently crappy but always interesting films. This time, I have placed the most controversial films in order from the DPP list of banned films. Specifically, I have chosen to take the films from the 39 movies that were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act because presumably, these films are more controversial than the other films that were dropped from the list. There are some big names and heavy hitters in my list that people who aren't Video Nasties aficionados but maybe like strong horror movies will recognise. If you have ever been interested in controversial movies, you should enjoy it. If you are interested in issues of censorship, it should please you too.
20. Bloody Moon (1981)
The horrifically disfigured Miguel tries to get a girl in the sack by pretending to be someone else. When this fails, he hacks the girl to death and is sent to a mental institution for five years. Once he is released he lives with his elderly aunt and his sister who owns a language school. He tries to reignite their incestuous affair but Manuela tells him no, that it was the incest that initially drove him mad. There then follows a long list of gruesome killings: decapitation, skewering, being run over by car and attempted strangulation with hot tongs. Who the heck has committed these atrocities? Jess Franco does Slasher Films director duties in this oddly endearing little movie. He is a man more famed for his erotic and left field approach to horror film/exploitation movies so it is surprising to see that Bloody Moon plays like a relatively straightforward horror movie. Of course the acting is piss poor but there is a lot of bloody mayhem to suit gorehounds (who are the only people liable to watch such a film) - particularly the saw mill decapitation. Not without flaws, it is nevertheless rather entertaining if you like this sort of thing. Controversial because: it raises the issue of incest and there is heavy violence against women.