10 Infamous Video Nasties
1. I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
This unflinching movie follows Jennifer Hills as she is brutally raped, beaten and left for dead by a gang of rednecks. Miraculously surviving, Jennifer sets about getting her revenge.
Originally titled Day of the Woman, the movie was denied a British cinema release in 1979 and subsequently showed up for VHS rental with a new lurid title.
With a brutal 30 minute stretch, wherein star Camille Keaton is mercilessly assaulted by each man, it is little wonder that I Spit on Your Grave caused shock waves. However, it takes the top spot here as it is the only entry to be linked to real life crime.
Director Meir Zarchi flew to UK shores to defend his film in September 1983. He appeared on TV with a distraught mother, who claimed that her son Martin was driven to commit crimes against women after watching "an unhealthy diet of violent videos every day." I Spit on Your Grave was named the primary offender and was the film to spearhead the Video Nasties panic.
Receiving bans in the UK, Germany and Australia, it was even heavily censored in its native US. Subsequent UK submissions have ordered up to 7 minutes of cuts and today, it is still censored by 80 seconds.
Although it has gotten a remake and a sequel, I Spit on Your Grave's controversial shadow still looms larger than any other film on this list.
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