With the recent airing of Video Nasty in January 2025, I was treating myself to listening to the original song “Nasty” by The Damned. The original song was written for The Young Ones in 1984, and made its way to the B-Side of their single “Thanks for the Night.”
I’ve listened to it, and it sounds really short and incomplete. Sure, all punk songs are only a minute, but perhaps it was written to be brief, since The Young Ones was only going to use portions of the song. All that really matters is a ‘killer’ chorus, and they absolutely ‘killed’ it with their lyrics:
Catch, catch the horror taxi
I fell in love with the video nasty
Catch, catch the horror train
Freeze frame, gonna drive you insane
As much as I like loud, punk music, I felt the message was better delivered as a soft, pleasant version by Lisa Loeb and Steve Reynolds with their approach and production. Just my opinion, but I felt the Loeb version was a better version. You juxtapose Loeb’s sweet innocent voice with gruesome lyrics drench in blood. It’s pretty swell.
As for the lyrics, it does make some references to some Video Nasty banned films. I have not seen all the Nasties, but I’ve seen a good amount. The walls are red could reference several movies… so if you know the exact reference, let me know. Here are the ones I was that I matched with a movie. Some of them, I’ll admit, is a bit of a stretch! Please post your suggestions or email me, and I’ll add them as a postscript.
The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)
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“Catch the tide at the flood”
The Witch Who Came from the Sea is a 1976 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Matt Cimber and starring Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Feury, Rick Jason, George Buck Flower, and Roberta Collins. The film centers on an emotionally scarred woman who goes on a killing spree after taking a job as a waitress in a seaside bar.
The film was classified as a “video nasty” by the United Kingdom Department of Public Prosecutions and was considered prosecutable for violating obscenity laws, but the prosecution proved unsuccessful.
The Video Dead (1987)
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“My TV screen is seeking blood”
The Video Dead, a 1987 American horror film written and directed by Robert Scott and starring Roxanna Augesen, is actually not on the Video Nasty list - not for the lack of trying! The filmmakers added grisly scenes and gruesome artwork… but unfortunately did not make the Nasty list.
Still, with the plot involving a television set that produces zombies to murder and eat humans… I thought I’d use the film on this Nasty list.
Don't Go in the House (1980)
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“My walls, my floors, are red too”
Don't Go in the House is a 1980 American slasher film written and directed by Joseph Ellison, written by Ellen Hammill and Joe Masefield, and starring Dan Grimaldi. Its plot follows a disturbed man who, after suffering an abusive childhood in which his mother punished him with burning, becomes a pyromaniac and serial killer who kidnaps and burns alive any women who resemble her.
Since the line, walls and floors, I thought a movie about a house might fit the bill for these lyrics.
Night School (1981)
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“The night is coming after you”
Night School or aka
Terror Eyes is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Rachel Ward, in her film debut, Leonard Mann, and Drew Snyder. The plot revolves around a series of brutal murders in Boston, Massachusetts. Alfred Sole was the film's original director, but he passed on the project. Hughes was ultimately brought in to direct, and
Night School was his final film.
Originally passed with cuts for cinema. Released with 1 minute 16 seconds cut in 1987.
Scream for Vengeance (1980)
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“I only hear the silver screams of pain ”
Scream for Vengeance or
Vengeance is a 1980 film about four criminals who murder a jeweler and his family before kidnapping a senator's granddaughter. She and her boyfriend fight back, killing the gang one by one until her final confrontation with the last member.
The film was directed by Bob Bliss and stars
Sally Lockett, Nicholas Jacquez, Bob Elliot, and Walter Addison.
Escape from Hell (1980)
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“He's coming for you again and again
There’s no escape, there’s no way out”
Escape from Hell, aka
Hell Prison,
I'm Coming Your Way and
Femmine infernali, is a 1980 Italian exploitation film distributed by Variety Distribution. The film belongs to the women in prison subgenre.
While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film (titled
Hell Prison) was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
The Last Horror Film (1982)
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“Catch, catch the horror taxi ”
The Last Horror Film, aka
Fanatic, is a 1982 American horror comedy film produced by Judd Hamilton directed by David Winters and starring Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro. Its plot follows a delusional middle-aged New York City taxi driver who, fixated on the idea of being a film director, visits the Cannes Film Festival where he begins stalking an actress he is obsessed with.
The Last Horror Film is praised for its unique blend of self-reflexive horror, humor, and inventive filmmaking. Critics highlight its avant-garde approach, using the Cannes Film Festival as a backdrop for a slasher plot that cleverly reflects on the film industry.
Night Train Murders (1975)
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“Catch, catch the horror train”
Night Train Murders, aka
Last Stop on the Night Train and
Late Night Trains, is a 1975 Italian revenge horror film directed by Aldo Lado and starring Flavio Bucci, Macha Méril, and Irene Miracle.
This film combines the plot of two other films:
The Virgin Spring and
The Last House on the Left. The film is about two girls riding a train on Christmas Eve, when they are brutalized by three criminals who eventually end up lodging in their parents’ home.
Originally refused a cinema certificate in 1976. Released uncut in 2008.
NOTE: This film’s title is often mistaken for
Terror Express… which was seized due to the similarity to
Night Train Murders.
Frozen Scream (1981)
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“Freeze frame, gonna drive you insane”
Frozen Scream is a 1981 American horror film directed by Frank Roach, produced by Renee Harmon, and starring Harmon, Lynne Kocol and Thomas McGowan. Harmon also co-wrote the story with Doug Ferrin. Its plot follows two scientists whose experiments in unlocking the secrets of immortality result instead in the creation of black-robed zombies who must be preserved at very low temperatures to continue functioning.
Principal photography of Frozen Scream began in Los Angeles in 1975. Although it did not receive a theatrical release, it was made its way to home video in 1983… where it was put on the Video Nasty list.
Axe (1974)
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“The axe is sharp, the blade is keen”
Axe, aka
Lisa, Lisa and
California Axe Massacre. Originally passed with cuts for cinema. Released with 19 seconds cut in 1999. Released uncut in 2005 with an 18 certificate.
Axe is a 1974 American independent horror film written and directed by Frederick R. Friedel and starring Leslie Lee. Its plot follows a trio of criminals who lodge at a rural farmhouse where a teenage girl resides with her disabled grandfather. After one of the men attempts to rape her, she enacts revenge.
Night of the Bloody Apes (1972)
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“Creature features, spirits on your screen”
Night of the Bloody Apes is the title of the 1972 English language version of the 1969 Mexican horror film
La Horripilante bestia humana ("The Horrible Man-Beast"), also known as
Horror y sexo ("Horror and Sex") and as
Gomar—The Human Gorilla. The film was directed by René Cardona and is a remake of his 1962 film
Las Luchadoras contra el medico asesino ("The Wrestling Women vs. the Killer Doctor"; U.S. title
Doctor of Doom), the first in a series of films blending elements of the lucha libre and horror genres.
The Black Room (1982)
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“You're not so safe, In the safety of your room”
The Black Room is a 1982 American horror film directed by Elly Kenner and written and co-directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane. It stars Stephen Knight, Cassandra Gava, Jimmy Stathis and Clara Perryman, and features Christopher McDonald and Linnea Quigley in small, early roles.
The plot concerns siblings who lure swingers to their Hollywood mansion, kill them, then - with long scenes of blood transfusions - drain their blood. Though there is no classical vampirism in the film—in the sense of supernatural beings or blood drinking—the plot's focus on draining blood to prolong life has led to many sources considering it a vampire film
The Killing Hour (1982)
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“All I want is to make a killing”
The Killing Hour, aka
The Clairvoyant is a 1982 American psychological horror film directed by Armand Mastroianni and starring Perry King, Norman Parker, and Elizabeth Kemp. The plot follows a New York City detective and his friend who pursue a mysterious "handcuff killer" with the aid of an artist who sees—and draws—the killer's crimes before they are committed.
While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.
The Driller Killer (1979)
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“To drill a killer might be really thrilling”
The Driller Killer, a 1979 black comedy slasher film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Ferrara (credited as Jimmy Laine), Carolyn Marz, Baybi Day, and Harry Schultz. The plot concerns Reno Miller, a struggling artist in New York City, turning insane from stress and killing derelicts with a power drill.
When the film was released on video cassette in 1982, its graphic packaging drew complaints which landed the release on a list of "video nasties" that were banned in the United Kingdom under the Video Recordings Act 1984.
The Driller Killer – Released with 54 seconds of pre-cuts in 1999. Re-released uncut in 2002.
The Headless Eyes (1971)
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“You can't be sure that you won't see me”
The Headless Eyes is a 1971 American exploitation horror film written and directed by Kent Bateman.
The film depicts an artist named Arthur Malcolm who sneaks into a woman's bedroom and tries to steal the money off her nightstand to pay his rent. Mistaking the thief for a rapist, the woman pushes his eye out with a spoon from her evening tea and knocks him out the second-story window. After being gawked at with his eye dangling from his head and the ultimate loss of his eye, Arthur becomes a serial killer and uses his victims' eyes in his artwork.
Absurd (1981)
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“Careful with that axe, you meanie”
Absurd, aka
Anthropophagus 2 and
Zombie 6: Monster Hunter is a 1981 English-language Italian slasher film directed, lensed and co-produced by Joe D'Amato and starring George Eastman, who also wrote the story and screenplay.
This film is wacky. Lots of gore, for those interested in this sort of thing. The ending of the film features a beheading using a medieval knight axe. When the cops arrive, they find the lead actress standing, covered in blood, and holding a severed head.
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