Let’s Get The Banned Back Together

Let’s Get The Banned Back Together
Podcast Description
Why did 72 of the goriest, most gruesome and grotesque horror movies suddenly…disappear? How did cult thrillers, shockers, slashers and horrors go from “available now!” to renters and owners winding up in UK prisons? And what happened in the early 80s that got priests, parents and politicians on the march to “Ban This Filth!” But more importantly…where can I get these movies?!
A hilarious deep dive into the forgotten world of banned VHS horror movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s that fell foul of the British censors during the ”Video Nasty” moral panic. Comedian, novelist and pub-quiz host Richard Asplin takes you through spoilerific plot details, kill by kill, looking at the often comedic carnage that lurks between the credits in some of the most infamous banned horrors of the era.
Novelist, broadcaster and comedian Richard Asplin has appeared on Radio 5 Live & LBC as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Explores themes of censorship and moral panic through discussions on cult horror films, with episodes analyzing titles like Blood Feast and The Ghastly Ones. The show delves into societal reactions to horror, examines specific scenes of violence, and reveals the often overlooked comedic elements embedded within these gore-filled narratives.

Why did 72 of the goriest, most gruesome and grotesque horror movies suddenly…disappear? How did cult thrillers, shockers, slashers and horrors go from “available now!” to renters and owners winding up in UK prisons? And what happened in the early 80s that got priests, parents and politicians on the march to “Ban This Filth!” But more importantly…where can I get these movies?!
A hilarious deep dive into the forgotten world of banned VHS horror movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s that fell foul of the British censors during the ”Video Nasty” moral panic. Comedian, novelist and pub-quiz host Richard Asplin takes you through spoilerific plot details, kill by kill, looking at the often comedic carnage that lurks between the credits in some of the most infamous banned horrors of the era.
Novelist, broadcaster and comedian Richard Asplin has appeared on Radio 5 Live & LBC, guested on ’Smershpod’ as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.
“Entertaining, sometimes brilliantly funny…” Chortle.co.uk
“I will not have any violence against this house…” And so says Dustin Hoffman as he defends his troublesome wife Susan George and an injured David Warner against the onslaught of a local town driven to mayhem with rage and homebrew.
Oh if only the author of the book “The Siege Of Trencher’s Farm” had been quite so staunch in his defence of his novel before director Peckinpah tore it to pieces, making the writer vow never to work with Americans again…
Add a broken arm, some hired escorts, legal action, furious landowners, Grouty from Porridge and a director giving orders from a London drying-out clinic…plus a panicky BBFC chairman who hid the VHS in a drawer and hoped to retire before anyone realised…and you have the second episode of our feature length two-parter!
Follow the misadventures of a very troublesome picture indeed and how it went from the creator of Get Smart to the desk of Harold Pinter to a walk-out at the first screening…
Richard Asplin is an award nominated novelist, comedian, pub quiz host and has appeared on Smershpod, LBC and Radio 5 as well as writing for The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph.

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