10 Best Video Nasties (And Why They Were Banned)

Dario Argento's Inferno is the second in a trilogy following Suspiria and preceding Mother of Tears. It's a delirious acid-trip homage to the Hansel and Gretel story, featuring Leigh McClosky and Irene Miracle as siblings threatened by supernatural terror after they uncover the existence of a secret coven of malevolent witches.

Argento's atmospheric film favours style and shocking set pieces over plot, although that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The movie plays out like a vivid nightmare on screen, with little explanation for the outlandish and disturbing imagery it conjures up, creating an unnerving sense that anything can happen.

While filming Argento was suffering with hepatitis and in what would be their last collaboration he often had to rely on mentor Mario Bava, director of another nasty: Bay of Blood. Due to the hard time he had making it, Argento cites this as his least favourite film. Inferno's eventual appearance on the nasties list probably didn't make him feel much better.

The BBFC's issues with Inferno resided solely in the film's treatment of animals. For the VHS release a shot of a cat eating a live mouse was excised along with a closeup of a very obvious cat puppet having its head crushed.

These cuts were maintained in all subsequent releases until Arrow's DVD in 2010.