The BBC’s new comedy drama Video Nasty is a wonderfully nostalgic ode to an era of banned horror on VHS. Here’s our episode 1 review.
Remember the good old days of strolling into a video store and spending at least an hour picking a film? Or getting your big brother or an older friend to rent one of the classic horror films for you before you were old enough to do it yourself? It’s an era I often look back on and miss. Browsing on Netflix just isn’t the same, but BBC’s new 6-part comedy horror series Video Nasty lets us relive those good old days, with a side of murder mystery.
As you likely already know, several horror films – most of them brilliantly deranged and gory – were banned and/or branded as a video nasty in the 1980s in the UK. Naturally, illegal copies of these films quickly found their way to the black market and people were willing to pay good money to see some low-budget gore.
Billy and Con are two teenagers in Northern Ireland obsessed with video nasties and we first meet them as they’re haggling a black market dealer for a tape. He’s selling them from the back of his van and the lads are trying to play it cool and not overpay for the film. The whole scene unfolds like it’s class A drugs that are changing hands instead of VHS tapes. Then again, this tape might be more precious than drugs; the boys are trying to complete their collection of all the video nasties and eventually selling it would help them pay back a school bully.
The first episode of Video Nasty, which consists of six episodes in total, mostly just sets the scene for the series. It’s all pretty traditional stuff you’d see in any coming-of-age film or TV series; the “nerds” get bullied by the jocks, Con’s older sister Zoe is cool but secretly troubled, and Billy is harbouring a crush on an English pen pal who loves horror films just as much as he does. Not to mention that the boys want to move to London and work in the film industry – making “gory shit” – but Con isn’t quite as sure about leaving as Billy is.
Video Nasty certainly captures the mood and feel of the 1980s. It’s easy to go overboard with the neon colours and leg warmers, but Video Nasty keeps things simple and authentic. It might even make you miss the 80s. The series is filmed with a cheeky sense of humour, but something tells me there’s more to the series than just cheap thrills. Episode 1 doesn’t go too deep into what other themes might emerge, but there are hints here and there that Video Nasty might have something profound to say.
There are plenty of references to all your favourite horror films and we glimpse the covers of films like Cannibal Holocaust, The Driller Killer and The Thing. Director Christopher Smith, whose previous credits include Creep and Triangle, clearly has a deep love of not just the genre, but the whole concept of watching these films with your friends. There’s a special bond between friends who challenge each other to watch the goriest films ever made and Video Nasty captures that well.
The first episode of Video Nasty also offers us some more traditional horror movie tropes. Billy’s pen pal finds herself stalked by an unknown figure at home and there’s some decent tension here. It’s a slightly bizarre change to go from comedy to full-blown spooky horror, but I can’t fault Smith for lacking boldness.
Video Nasty airs on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer on 8th January and on BBC Three on 9th January.
