Searching for Nasties

[Francos_Zoom]

I was 10 when the nasties got banned, but managed to persaude my Dad (RIP:-)) to rent out Zombie Flesh Eaters [STRONG UNCUT VERSION!] for me. The next month or so and they were all banned.

Thus I spent many years trawling through flea markets looking for any sign of a nasty - back streets stores in Manchester, a small market stall that had bins filled with cheap movies (Including Al Adamson stuff!) and the occasional dodgy under the counter copy of Cannibal movies that were unwatchable.

During the late 1980s a local off license in the town I lived in (Nelson in Lancs) had a small selection of videos. They got them from a store in the town that used to hire them out to corner shops and stuff. Imagine my surprise when my Dad came back from a trip to the offy with a copy of "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue". Zombie heaven! Over the next few weeks the same offy had a load of Fulci films also available - the video store had changed ownership and the new owner had no idea that he was sending out nasties to local businesses!!!!

All the fun went out of it when DVD came in and you could order them all from Amazon.com... And now most of them have been unbanned and you wonder what the fuss was about!

Still, it was "fun" for a teenager who'd just learn to drive - "let's go into Manchester and search for video nasties!"

[siccoyote]

I think the internet has been a good and bad thing.

Good as in if you want a movie that's been released and are willing to pay it's usually available at the touch of a button, if you want a movie that hasn't been released, it's usually available at the touch of a button from someone who's copied the tape.

but bad, for exactly the same reason.

Whereas in the old days you had to hunt round everywhere to find copies of any film. I remember searching for a long time for Bride of Re-Animator, before finally finding it in another world in Southampton along with a copy of The Deadly Spawn.

[vipco]

Very true.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yeah a lot of the fun was tracking down these most desired nasties on vhs before the days of the internet and dvd.....

[vipco]

Most of the time the haunt was more fun than the film you found.

[NossB]

I took me years to collect a sizable collection of video nasties on VHS, now it just takes a slow at work to get most of the DVDs from sellers on Amazon Marketplace.

[jacksmith1983]

Things were slightly different for me as (due to my age) I didn't actually become aware of the Nasties and start collecting properly until well into the nineties. By that time trhey were of course long gone and I remember many a fruitless search of local markt stalls and iffy second hand shops of a weekend. I would sometimes come across rare pre certs and some of the more marginal Video Nasties such as Unhinged, Inferno, The Toolbox Murders, etc.

To be honest I look back on the days of rooting through boxes of tatty old ex-rentals in search of hidden treasure with mixed emotions. Yes it was satisfying when I turned up a rarity but by and large it was frustrating and I'm personally quite thankful I can catch up with all of these titles on DVD ordered at the touch of a button online.

[Daemonia]

Throughout the 90's I used to trawl shops and the like looking for gems on VHS. Do I miss it? Not in the least - I was glad to see the back of the clunky VHS, if I'm completely honest. I like the free availability of titles I now have access to.

[cloud]

I have fond memories of trawling the market stalls for Pre-Certs long before I started using the internet and it was great to come away with rare films (especially if they were Video Nasties) but I'm happier now because I have so much freedom. eBay is a fairly good way of recapturing that old feeling, especially as I use them as rarity special. But to have these films restored, mostly uncut, with special features and that now is priceless. I don't think it's ever been a better time to be a film collector.

[mark meakin]

There used to be a Fox's Music & Record store near me in Alfreton.When the shop/s had to remove all their uncertificated stock , picked up TERROR EYES (Guild),DELIRIUM (VTC),THE WITCH WHO CAME IN FROM THE SEA (VTC)THE TOOLBOX MURDERS (Hokushi),DEAD & BURIED (Thorn EMI) & UNHINGED (Avatar) for a fiver each.Great for me but when you think rental tapes were up to £60.00 each,I wonder how many of these did not make their money back for the shops before they were removed from shelves ?.