“I HAD no idea what a ‘video nasty’ was,” admits 21-year-old Justin Daniels Anene when we visit him on location in Co Tyrone during the filming of the BBC’s new 1980s-set ‘deadly, deadpan comedy‘ series.
“Before my audition, I went on YouTube and watched 30 seconds of one - and I was like, ‘OK, I’m not watching any more of that'.
“It was just so horrifying.”
Like Prano Bailey-Bond’s acclaimed 2021 horror Censor, Video Nasty has its roots in the real life ’moral panic’ which stemmed from gruesome horror movies bypassing UK cinema censors for release on VHS in the early 1980s.
Before my audition, I went on YouTube and watched 30 seconds of one video nasty - and I was like, ‘OK, I’m not watching any more of that'
— Justin Daniels Anene
These often gratuitously graphic horror films were dubbed ‘video nasties’ by high profile moral guardian Mary Whitehouse, a term propagated by the British tabloids which soon called for them to be banned.
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By late 1983, the UK government had banned 72 movies from the shelves of video shops, including family favourites like Zombie Flesh Eaters, Cannibal Holocaust and The Driller Killer, with the Video Recordings Act of 1984 requiring all future UK home video releases to be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification.
Naturally, the banned ‘pre-certification’ tapes immediately became highly coveted collectibles for hardcore horror film fans.
Written and created by Hugh Travers (Red Rock), Video Nasty centres on three “mostly-normal-but-kind-of-weird teenagers” - Irish school chums Billy and Con (Cal O’Driscoll) and Con’s older sister, Zoe (Leia Murphy) - who embark on an unauthorised quest to England in order to locate one final VHS needed to complete the boys' coveted collection of ‘video nasties’.
Con and Zoe’s parents Maureen (Valerie O’Connor) and Frank (Declan Rogers) and Billy’s single father dad, Abe (Emmanuel Ighodaro), are soon in hot pursuit when the kids' adventure takes a dark turn and they end up becoming the chief suspects in a high profile murder investigation.
“I’m a massive fan of horror movies,” admits Dublin-born Justin, who is also a professional wrestler, of how he shares a love of scary movies with his video nerd character in the new six-part BBC series.
“Horror is my favourite genre. I watch a lot of the more modern, psychological stuff like Hereditary, Midsommar and all of Ari Aster’s work - but then sometimes I also just like to watch gore.
“I know that sounds terrible, but modern gore like Evil Dead Rise is still graphic without being as bad as the video nasties from the 1980s.”
One chiller which Justin hasn’t seen yet is 1973 classic The Wicker Man: a pity, given our interview is taking place in the shadow of an imposing wooden tower topped with a bird-like head, built specially for the show in the grounds of Caledon House and giving off serious folk-horror vibes.
Rumour has it that this wonderfully creepy construction will be set ablaze the following day during filming - but which characters will end up inside it?
You’ll have to wait until next week to find out, when Video Nasty - which was shot entirely on location in Co Monaghan, Cavan and Tyrone - arrives on the BBC on January 8.
“We’re following Billy, Con and Zoe and then we’re also following the parents,” explains Justin of Video Nasty’s structure.
“It’s almost as if you’re watching two completely different shows at the exact same time because both [sets of characters] are in the same places but on two completely different journeys - and both are confronted by completely different issues.
“I think that’s what will make the show so interesting to watch.”
Another parallel Video Nasty shares with real life is that Justin really is friends with co-star Cal O’Driscoll, who plays his on-screen bestie and fellow gorehound, Con.
“We’ve been best friends for years before this,” he enthuses of the series, which is directed by Christopher Smith (Creep, Triangle, Severance) and Megan K Fox (Too Good to be True).
“In fact, when I got the part of Billy, I rang Cal to tell him - but in my excitement I got the character’s name wrong and I accidentally told him I’d been given the role of Con.
“He was heartbroken!”
“Con’s an affable people pleaser,” offers Castleknock-born Cal (21) of his character.
“He knows how to get his way with teachers and parents, so he can be charming - but overall he’s just a shy and awkward teenager.
“He kind of just follows in Billy’s footsteps, at the start of the series anyway.”
“Con’s a wet wipe,” quips Dublin actor Leia Murphy (21) of her on-screen younger brother, eliciting chuckles from her co-stars.
The former Fair City star plays Zoe, who effectively takes over the boys’ mission to locate the final video nasty as a means of distracting herself from her own troubles - chiefly the unsettling family secret she’s recently stumbled upon.
“I really think Zoe wears the trousers,” she offers of the teen trio’s dynamic.
“This whole journey has been Billy’s idea and plan for a long time, and she just kind of jumps on his coat-tails goes, ‘No, this is a better way to go’.
“She’s constantly trying to trump him, and he’s always trying to one-up her. I just love that about their relationship.
“Zoe’s popular at school and Billy and Con are at the other end of that spectrum, but I think she’s actually quite jealous of their friendship, because she doesn’t have anything like that for herself.”
Standing between the kids and their unholy VHS grail is self-appointed moral guardian Ethel Greaves (Simone Kirby) and her weirdo son, Topher (Oliver Finnegan), the former a “terrifying” (according to the other cast members) Mary Whitehouse-esque figure who’s not as squeaky clean as she’d have others believe.
“Ethel would be a much younger version of Mary Whitehouse, obviously,” chuckles Co Clare-born Simone (48).
“She’s quite fervent in her beliefs, like Mary. There’s also a little bit of [US conservative agitator and Equal Rights Amendment opponent] Phyllis Schlafly about her as well.
“She’s someone who talks out of both sides of her mouth - she puts up a front of being this pure person, but really, really isn’t.”
Indeed, every good horror vehicle needs a good Big Bad to strike terror into viewers’ hearts, and it seems Simone relished the chance to ‘go large’ with her performance as Ethel.
“Because this family are leaning into almost ‘slasher movie’ territory, you can go that little bit further,” she explains.
“You don’t have to pull back as much. You can find the little natural moments, but really you have to kind of just go for it - which we have.”
Find out who will survive, and what will be left of them, next Wednesday night...
Video Nasty will screen every Wednesday on BBC One Northern Ireland from January 8 with two episodes per night at 10.40pm. The full series will be available as a box set on BBC iPlayer from January 8
