Historically, the Board has often treated horror as a special case and in the late 1930s actually introduced an 'H' for 'Horror' certificate to warn the public of the likely content of such works. Indeed, 'horror' films were banned from distribution in the latter years of the Second World War (in case they damaged public morale), often not being released until several years later when their initial power to disturb had somewhat waned.

However, critical indifference or censorial intervention were the least of the genre's problems when it was claimed that the more extreme examples - particularly those which had never been submitted for theatrical certificates or may have required cuts - were seized by the police and often successfully prosecuted as obscene works when released on video in the early, unregulated 1980s.

Many of these films of the horror variety were subsequently labelled 'video nasties', a catch-all term later refined to mean works which had been successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act, 1959. Although many of these works were not legally available for many years in the UK, some have now been classified on video, although the content of some of them (eg Cannibal Holocaust, I Spit On Your Grave ) means that cuts are still necessary.

In the 1980s and 90s, the Friday 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream series and recent 21st century remakes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, (the original having been rejected on film in 1975 before finally being passed '18' uncut on film in 1999), and Dawn Of The Dead have proved hugely successful with newer, younger audiences, restablishing the horror genre as a top box office draw.

Horror elements in films, especially those aimed at younger audiences, are treated with great caution, examiners taking particular care to note the level of detail and frequency of such moments and their potential for disturbance. In 1993, the BBFC hosted a series of test screenings for the dinosaur movie, Jurassic Park, to which an audience of hundreds of children and their teachers were invited. After careful analysis of the reactions of these viewers, (the vast majority loved the experience), the Board opted to put the work out at 'PG' with the proviso that clear Consumer Advice was displayed on all posters – the first time that this had ever happened.

Since then, some notable recent blockbusters aimed at younger audiences have all had significant amounts of horror inlcuded in them: Spider-Man 2 ('PG'), Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring ('PG') and Harry Potter: The Chamber Of Secrets ('PG') whose Consumer Advice contained a warning about a scene featuring some 'scary spiders'!

Find out more:

Video Nasties

Cannibal Holocaust

I Spit On Your Grave

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