Watched this tonight as part of a late night double feature commemorating 40 years since the royal ascent of the ‘Video Recordings act’ of 1984…Essentially, the bill that gave birth to the ‘Video Nasties’ as a phenomenon.

I really love the first edition of this, I felt the pacing was razor, the storytelling was equally sharp and the use of archive footage and talking heads recounting the events as they happened impactful.

This edition pretty much picks up where the last one left off and covers everything from 1984 to 2000…and…it’s pretty much more of the same. Super sharp film making, great attention to detail, some really decent archive pulls and unique discussion points.

If I was being really REALLY picky. I’d say that I feel like this one *just* overstays its welcome by about 10 minutes or so. Theres a bit towards the end where the narrative shifts from telling the story of the nasties from the people who lived through it, to a bit more of an anecdotal intermission dealing with bootleggers, convention traders and film makers living under the nasties.

While I feel that segment DID add value, it also slowed things down quite a bit, and I think it maybe could have been a tiny bit tighter.

It also does feel in places a bit less like a new documentary and more a ‘We scraped this off the cutting room floor’ type affair.

These are however small quibbles, that ultimately didnt stop me really enjoying this one. I recommend both this AND volume 1 if you have ANY interest in the ‘Video Nasties’ as a period of film history. Its probably the most accessable and comprehensive pair of works on the subject that i’ve seen released to date.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/video-nasties-draconian-days/1/