Prepare to be corrupted and depraved once more as the wonderful Nucleus Films release the sequel to the definitive guide to the Video Nasties phenomenon – the most extraordinary and scandalous era in the history of British film.

Thats the press release info and its pretty accurate. I remember the days of the video nasties. I remember the time before the hate campaign and the sheer craziness as film fans grabbed the titles before the video stores were forced to hide them in cellars. Those were the glory days for horror films.

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2 is a three-disc collector’s edition box set, is being released on DVD on July 14^th 2014, to tie in with the 30th Anniversary of the Video Recordings Act 1984.

30 years. crikey I feel old. I was 13 years old when the video nasties roamed the Earth, newspapers blamed everything on those films and the world nearly came to an end.

For the first time ever on DVD, all 82 films that fell foul of the Director of Public Prosecutions “Section 3” list are trailer-featured with specially filmed intros for each title, alongside a brand new documentary – VIDEO NASTIES: DRACONIAN DAYS, directed by Jake West.

Whilst I was too young to watch any of these films, I very much remember the cover art for a lot of them, and remember seeing trailers like these on my screens whist watching VHS tapes of whatever films I happen to watch.

Very much looking forward to taking a freaky trip down memory lane with this release.

To celebrate the release, Film4 FrightFest is hosting a special event – the world exclusive London Premiere of the finalised unseen extended 97 minute cut of ‘Video Nasties Draconian Days’ at The Prince Charles Cinema on Thurs 3 July, 8.30pm. The screening will be followed by an extensive, Q & A debate, hosted by FrightFest’s Paul McEvoy, with director Jake West, producer Marc Morris, author/film critic Alan Jones plus  other special guests.. There will also be the chance to buy a signed copy of the numbered limited edition run.

Jake West commented: “I see ‘Draconian Days’ as a companion piece and a direct continuation of the fascinating history of Video Nasties, which I started in the last Documentary “Moral Panic, Video Nasties and Videotape”. This one picks up the story from the passing of the Video Recordings act 1984 and the effect it had on censorship under James Ferman’s  rule at the BBFC up until 1999. This and the further moral panic that ensued, together with the impact of the Michael Ryan Massacre, the Bulger Murder and David Alton’s notorious Amendment that would have banned all films above PG created a strange situation for the horror fan.

I was a teenager in the 80s, I grew-up with the Video Nasties – trying to get hold of them and watch them,” he recalls. “It could take us years and years to find a film that we were interested in, and certainly that created the whole underground horror scene and the camaradarie that was born. I was very influenced by Video Nasties in terms of wanting to make gory, fun horror movies, because we felt like there was some kind of danger or subversive feel to that material which we were growing up with”.

Producer Marc Morris, co-author of ‘Art of the Nasty’ and ‘Shock Horror: Astounding Artwork from the Video Nasty Era’ added::

“I too remember this time, and how renting horror videos was a frustrating experience. I became part of the underground tape trading network, and travelled abroad to import my own uncut horror videos. I attended film fairs, horror film festivals and have a lot of scary memories of those days. We feel this documentary pays tribute to those days. We’ve been working on this this amazing follow-up box set for over two years. We know collectors won’t want to miss it”

The documentary premiered at this year’s Glasgow Film Festival, as part of Film4 FrightFest, where it received critical acclaim.

Ironically, the documentary has come along at a time when the UK government, together with the Department for Culture Media and Sport are callling for much stricter regulation of home video by changing the BBFC’s “exemption” guidelines. UK On-Demand TV will also be coming under ATVOD regulation.

Nucleus Films have been at the forefront of tackling  the new exemption ruling head-on by setting up a meeting with the UK’s independent video labels and challenging the BBFC and British Video Association. A petition was set up on 38 Degrees which has seen almost 4,000 signatues and continues to grow daily.

Disc One: “Video Nasties: Draconian Days”

Nucleus Films’ critically acclaimed follow-up documentary to ‘VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE’ (2010) from director Jake West and producer Marc Morris who continue to uncover the shocking story of home entertainment following the introduction of the 1984 Video Recordings Act. The United Kingdom was plunged into a new Dark Age of the most restrictive censorship, where the horror movie became the bloody eviscerated victim of continuing dread created by self-aggrandizing moral guardians, and the film charts the consequences of this, including subversive social culture that sprung up around it. With fascinating interviews and more jaw dropping archive footage, get ready to reflect and rejoice on the passing of a turbulent time.

People you’ll see in this documentary include: Martin Barker, Sian Barber, James Ferman (Head of BBFC up to 1999), Sir Graham Bright, Lavinia Carey, Alex Chandon, Tony Clarke, Kate Egan, David Flint, John Hayward, Spencer Hickman, David Hyman (BBFC), Neil Keenan, C.P. Lee, Alan Jones, David Kerekes, Craig Lapper, Neil Marshall, Paul McEvoy, Marc Morris, Kim Newman, Julian Petley, Geoffrey Robertson QC, Christopher Smith, Stephen Thrower, Cathal Tohill, Carol Topolski & Nigel Wingrove.

Discs Two and Three: “The Section 3 List”

This presents the official additional 82 titles that were designated under “Section 3” of the Obscene Publications Act by the Director of Public Prosecutions. These titles were liable for seizure and forfeiture by the police, removed from sale or hire and then destroyed; although they were not ultimately prosecuted. This amazing list was discovered whilst researching legal paperwork for the original “VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE” and finally clears up why so many additional titles were historically considered to be “Video Nasties”.

Every shocking Section 3 title is presented with its original trailer and a newly filmed featurette that includes a wide range of notable genre journalists and acclaimed media academics that explore and uncover the sordid history of each release.

Introductions by: Evrim Ersoy, Julian Grainger, Justin Kerswell, Alan Jones, Patricia MacCormack, Marc Morris, Kim Newman, Karen Oughton, Stephen Thrower,

DVD Extras include a gallery of original video poster art and a fabulous peek back at Britain’s independent fanzine scene which sprung up during the 80s and 90s.

The 82 “DPP Section 3” Videos were:

Abducted (Don Jones, 1973)

Aftermath, The (Steve Barkett, 1980)

Black Room, The (Elly Kenner & Norman Thaddeus Vane, 1981)

Blood Lust (Marijan Vajda, 1976)

Blood Song (Alan J. Levi, 1974)

Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, The (Carlos Aured, 1973)

Brutes and Savages (Arthur Davis, 1977)

Cannibal (Ruggero Deodato, 1976)

Cannibals (Jess Franco, 1980)

Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, The (Fred Schepisi, 1978)

Child, The (Robert Voskanian, 1977)

Christmas Evil (Lewis Jackson, 1980)

Communion (Alfred Sole, 1976)

Dawn of the Mummy (Farouk Agrama as Frank Agrama, 1981)

Dead Kids (Michel Laughlin, 1981)

Death Weekend (William Fruet, 1976)

Deep Red (Dario Argento, 1975)

Demented (Arthur Jeffreys, 1980)

Demons, The (Jess Franco as Clifford Brown, 1972)

Don’t Answer the Phone! (Robert Hammer, 1979)

Eaten Alive (Umberto Lenzi, 1980)

Enter the Devil (Frank Q. Dobbs, 1972)

Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, The (Jess Franco, 1972)

Evil, The (Gus Trikonis, 1977)

Executioner, The (Dominico Miceli as Duke Mitchell, 1978)

Final Exam (Jimmy Huston, 1981)

Foxy Brown (Jack Hill, 1974)

Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980)

Friday the 13th 2 (Steve Miner, 1981)

G.B.H. (David Kent-Watson, 1983)

Graduation Day (Herb Freed, 1981)

Happy Birthday to Me (J. Lee-Thompson, 1980)

Headless Eyes (Kent Bateman, 1971)

Hell Prison (Eduardo Mulargia as Edward G. Muller, 1979)

Hills Have Eyes, The (Wes Craven, 1977)

Home Sweet Home (Nettie Peña, 1980)

Honeymoon Horror (Harry Preston, 1982)

Inseminoid (Norman J. Warren, 1980)

Invasion of the Blood Farmers (Ed Adlum, 1972)

Killing Hour, The (Armand Mastroianni, 1982)

Last Horror Film (David Winters, 1982)

Last Hunter (Antonio Margheriti as Anthony M. Dawson, 1980)

Love Butcher, The (Mikel Angel & Don Jones, 1975)

Mad Foxes (Paul Grau, 1981)

Mark of the Devil (Michael Armstrong, 1969)

Martin (George A. Romero, 1976)

Massacre Mansion (Michael Pataki, 1975)

Mausoleum (Michael Dugan, 1982)

Midnight (John Russo, 1980)

Naked Fist (Cirio H. Santiago, 1981)

Nesting, The (Armand Weston, 1980)

New Adventures of Snow White (Rolf Thiele, 1969)

Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)

NightBeast (Donald M. Dohler, 1982)

Nightmare City (Umberto Lenzi, 1980)

Oasis of the Zombies (Jess Franco, 1981)

Parasite (Charles Band, 1982)

Phantasm (Don Coscarelli, 1977)

Pigs (Marc Lawrence, 1972)

Prey (Norman J. Warren, 1977)

Prom Night (Paul Lynch, 1980)

Rabid (David Cronenberg, 1976)

Rosemary’s Killer (Joseph Zito, 1981)

Savage Terror (Sisworo Gautama Putra, 1979)

Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1980)

Scream for Vengeance (Bob Bliss, 1979)

Shogun Assassin (Robert Houston, 1972)

Street Killers (Sergio Grieco, 1977)

Suicide Cult (James Glickenhaus, 1977)

Superstition (James W. Roberson, 1982)

Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)

Terror (Norman J. Warren, 1978)

Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)

Thing, The (John Carpenter, 1982)

Tomb of the Living Dead (Gerardo De Leon & Eddie Romero, 1968)

Toy Box, The (Ron Garcia, 1970)

Werewolf Woman (Rino Di Silvestro, 1976)

Wrong Way (Ray Williams (as Ron Kelly, 1972)

Xtro (Harry Bromley Davenport, 1982)

Zombie Holocaust (Marino Girolami (as Frank Martin, 1980)

Zombies Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)

Zombies’ Lake (Jean Rollin & Julian de Laserna, 1980

VIDEO NASTIES: THE DEFINIVE GUIDE PART 2 is produced by Marc Morris & Jake West, Nucleus Films. RRP: £24.99   Cert: 18