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BOX OF THE BANNED (2005) Directors: Sam Raimi, Abel Ferrara, Lucio Fulci, Romano Scavolini, Wes Craven, Meir Zarchi. Hacktors: Bruce Campbell, Ian McCulloch, David Hess, Camille Keaton. Rating/5: The lowdown: Most of us know the history of video nasties: if you don't, then check out my video nasties feature. Anchor Bay UK's nice-looking box-set gathers together six of the movies formerly pulled from British video shop shelves during the early '80s nasty witch-hunt. These films are Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Driller Killer, The Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave,The Evil Dead and Nightmares In A Damaged Brain. Then there are two documentaries about video nasties and censorship: Fear, Panic & Censorship which aired on Channel 4 in 2000 and the brand-new Ban The Sadist Videos. Good points: Zombie Flesh Eaters is finally uncut in this set (you can see an interview with the BBFC about this, here), although serious horror fans will have sought out the uncut Region 1 prints long ago. Still, great to have that splinter-in-the-eye scene intact on British soil! It's a great film, too - a little slower-paced than you might remember it, perhaps, but tremendous, splattery fun with cool-looking zombies. The Evil Dead is arguably the best film here, still a shining example of a true horror classic, packed with invention, intensity and plasticine gore. Despite the laughs and low budget, it never ceases to amaze me, too, how scary the film can be - a quality which I rather missed in the sequels.      The Last House On The Left also remains a gruelling experience to rival many of today's flicks, although its 'comedy' moments are more glaringly conspicuous than ever - Wes Craven's film is most definitely The Devil's Rejects' psycho grandpa. I'll always have a soft spot, too, for Nightmares In A Damaged Brain (originally titled Nightmare, then renamed for British distribution by a man who then served 18 months in jail for handling it) - it's just got such a sordid atmosphere. Still manages to disturb on occasion, too.     The two documentaries are very worthwhile additions to this set. The 40-minute Fear, Panic & Censorship is the lesser of the two, covering the general topic of films being fiddled about with and leaning a little too heavily on interview footage from a Fangoria convention in 1999. Clocking in at 47 minutes, Ban The Sadist Videos sticks to the video nasty era and handles its subject well, relating the story with some nice footage which recreates the era, as well as a host of interviews with people such as former Scotland Yard Superintendent Peter Kruger and Mediawatch UK director John Beyer who talks bollocks throughout both of these docs, as well as various distributors who were menaced by police at the time and the usual array of knowledgable onlookers. Bad points: As much as their original 'video nasty' boxes look great on my shelf, I Spit On Your Grave and The Driller Killer rarely make my playlists. The former is a little too rape-centric for me, although the revenge stuff is undeniably fun as Camille Keaton's molested victim turns the table on a gang of country boys. The Driller Killer, meanwhile, is fundamentally slow, arthouse fare, despite a nice lesbian shower scene!     Aside from the films themselves, there's still the lingering spectre of censorship. The Last House On The Left is sadly still missing a few seconds of intestine-yanking, thanks to the British Board of Film Classification. I Spit On Your Grave has been interfered with far more, being the same version as previously released by Screen Entertainment and featuring a lot of substitution work and such-like, during that prolonged rape sequence. Nightmares In A Damaged Brain also remains cut, although in this case the BBFC weren't presented with an uncut print - if they had been, there's a good chance it would have come through unscathed in 2005. Overall: Offering excellent value for money at £29.99, Box Of The Banned is especially suited for relative horror newcomers who want to see what all the fuss was about. Compared to a lot of today's horrors, some of this stuff will seem slow-paced and tame, but this Box still packs a fair bite. There's every possibility of a Part Two, as well, so look out... DVD Extras: Each film has its own menu system (Zombie Flesh Eaters enjoying a particularly nice new one), plus a sprinkling of fairly minor - but nevertheless appreciated - extras. TV and radio spots, director bios, poster and still galleries, theatrical trailers (or a 'trailor', as Zombie's menu will have it) and what-not. Fair enough for a box-set which already packs in two tasty docs. Release Date: Out in the UK on September 26, 2005. [Win A Box Of The Banned] [Check It Out At Amazon UK] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present