20 Most Insanely Depraved Movie Moments From The Video Nasty Era

To avoid moral panic keep repeating: “They were only movies, only movies…”

By Jesse Gumbarge /

Video Nasty: a colloquial term in the UK used to refer to a number of schlocky, low-budget films distributed on video cassette during the '80s, that were heavily criticized for their violent content by the press, social commentators and various religious organizations. Censorship efforts resulted in these films being labeled as “Video Nasties”, and unavailable to all but the most resourceful viewers.

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While the films overall are generally hit or miss in terms of nastiness, the debauchery of the scenes here includes stone-dildos, monkey brain consumption, and the longest rape/torture scene in the history of cinema. Be warned – the following images, videos and descriptions are not for the faint of heart. For those of you who wish to continue on, remember to keep some Pepto-Bismol close by, and enjoy.

20. Donny And His Torture Shack - Don’t Go In The House (1979)

Don’t Go In The House is the first (alphabetically) in a line of “Don’t” warnings on the Video Nasty list. In the film, Donny Kohler (Dan Grimaldi) is a loner, living with his mother in a grand yet creepy mansion.

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One day Donny comes home to find his mother has passed away, but instead of calling the hospital or getting the body removed, he celebrates, as you do, by constructing an indoor furnace/torture chamber. He then proceeds to lure unsuspecting young women over to his place to roast them alive.

Donny's first victim is a florist named Kathy (Johanna Brushay). Befriending the harmless-looking man, Kathy escorts Donny back to his mother's house, where he knocks her unconscious, strips her naked, and chains her arms and legs to the ceiling and floor of his makeshift steel room. Ignoring Kathy's screaming pleas for mercy, he burns her to death with a flamethrower. And it's not a pretty sight.  

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