Author: Jonny T
Posted by: Root Rot
Video Nastie’s-Part2, Film Festival Raids
Well people,I’m back again as promised with the follow up on the good old UK tales of video nastie’s.
As Big Ugly Hairy Scary Says”Hey ho Lets goooooooooooo!”
THE FILM FAIRS
So,it was about a year or maybe 2 after the home raids of the police as mentioned in my last story and my video collecting had not wained in anyway,It was around the time of the start of DVD,So that was the big thing that everyone was kind of holding back on but keeping a very keen eye on.
The VHS’s were still the top priority of many collectors as well of course it was also a priority of the police.A good friend of mine and i had been to a few film fairs in England and saw that a lot of people wanted”Something weird”video titles,we’d see stuff such as”Horrors of spider island and many a Coffin Joe film go for good money around £20,so we decided to get a stall at a few fairs throughout the year,we imported nearly 300 titles from the Something weird label as well as many obscure titles that were unavailable in the UK such as films by Jodorowsky,Jess Franco,Ted v Mikels etc.Now with the exception of Santa Sangre by Jodorowsky i was not a fan of the other directors but boy did these titles sell well!
So we had our stall and stock all set up nicely,the first 2 or maybe 3 fairs went really well,we sold a lot of stuff but ended up spending it as quick as we made it,ah well you all know as collectors you can never resist a bargain!
Then it was time for our next film fair that was in a place called”Watford”in the UK right near good old London town,This was going to be a big fair with lots of people and many many stalls.All started well in the morning we arrived from Nottingham around 7.30am and said a few friendly hello’s to other stall holders an regular people we met there,The fair didn’t open until around 10am so we always used to have time for a scan around others stalls,it was about 9.45am and you could see the huge ques building up outside so we went back to our stall and waited for the doors to open and the masses to arrive.
10.15am,no doors opened,10.25am.still no doors open,we could see everyone outside and were all wondering what the hell was going off,then across the speaker system within the hall came an announcement”will all stall holder please stay inside the hall and stay at there own stalls”,we knew,it was a raid.
The doors opened and in they came,not the public who we could see looking in anxiously through the doors but about 15-20 policemen and council officials with clipboards and bin bags,oh shit.
The systematically went around every stall taking peoples stock and throwing them in the bags like trash,we watched as they went around the circular layout eventually making there way to our stall,we watched as they didn’t just look at what was out on display but went under peoples stalls behind peoples stalls and even in the dealers bags,everything and i mean everything was searched,so they made it to our stall,2 council officials and 3 big police officers,i always remember that one was just grinning like the Cheshire cat out of Alice in wonderland,he looked weirdly pleasured at his given task.
Then came the questions,
To me”Name”me”Harry potter”
To my Friend”Name”my friend”Kirk douglas”
(The names have been changed to protect our innocence!)
The questions kept on coming,Address,phone number,place of work,car registration,all taken down by the little council jerk with his clipboard,greasy balding hair and super thicked rimmed glasses.
As it transpires,we only lost about 20-30 tapes,i say only but it was still around £150 worth,as we sold mainly something weird titles we got off lightly,others who were selling such shocking and sick and twisted and evil films such as”The burning”"The exorcist”"Cannibal Ferox/Holocaust”had everything taken,we had titles such as and i kid you not”Reffer Madness”"U.S.A WW2 military scare films”"Mondo London-The truth behind the swinging 60′s”and many other such harmless titles that are now easily viewable through you tube all over the world(unless you live in China of course!)
So we gave our details as everyone did,then they left with a big haul and the grinning policeman obviously looking forward to seeing the films,The fair went on but there was a sour taste in the air all day and everyone was super anxious about every customer that asked about a title or if you could get them it.
Needless to say the film fairs eventually dwindled out,with the next one basically being stuff you could get from any shop etc.
As with my previous story we never heard anymore or received the tapes back so god only knows what happened to them,We also talked to many of the other stall holders at the next few fairs and they didn’t get any of there stuff back or get charged or locked up.a couple of guys did get a caution for selling un-certified material by the BBFC(MPAA in the States).
To this day the film fairs do continue and the laws since the lifting of the Video Nasties ban you can get pretty much everything at them,i no longer do a stall though,too much hassle,But with the event of the Internet i as well as everyone over here can get any film you want,is it the end for us UK fans as regards Censorship?well i hope so but over the last few months the Asian horror”Grotesque”has been banned,A Serbian film,I spit on your grave 2010 and a few others have started to be cut,so we shall just have to wait and see,
Thanks to RootRot,Big ugly hairy scary and Misfitboy for letting me be part of this blog and a big thanks to all you boys and girls for taking time to read my story,
Be back soon,
Jonny T. http://jonnyscultfilms.blogspot.com/
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