10 Infamous Video Nasties
9. Anthropophagous: The Beast (1980)
Try saying this title three times fast!
Joe D'Amato's 1980 foray into gross-out gore tells of a group of vacationers stalked around a deserted island by a hungry cannibalistic killer.
Antropophagus was seemingly a film with a reputation when it arrived on both British and American screens. Prints presented to censors in both countries were cut to ensure a wide release. This version omits the shocking gore that had caused such a stir in the movie's native Italy.
Two scenes in particular plunged Antropophagus into immediate infamy. One details the killer ripping an unborn child from the womb whilst the other features the killer devouring his own entrails in his dying moments.
I know what you're thinking... If these scenes were cut for wide release, how and why is the movie on this list? Well, in the panic to stop the public consuming anything deemed "harmful," censors often recalled films based on poster art or title alone.
Such measures led to harmless films like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas being seized and considered for prosecution. Antropophagus fell victim to the law due its provocative poster art featuring the killer chomping on his own innards.
The movie was subsequently prosecuted and banned from UK shelves despite the fact that without the gore it is a relatively boring picture. However, if you're game enough to see the infamous scenes, subsequent US releases have been completely reinstated.