nasalizaion.html -
noun (Lifestyle and
Leisure ) (People and Society) Colloquially, a horror film, especially one on video; a video
film depicting scenes of violence, cruelty, or killing (known more fully as a video nasty). Etymology: A specialized use of nasty,
which had existed as a noun meaning 'a nasty person or thing' since the thirties. History and Usage: The problem of nasties (the word is
often used in the plural to describe the genre as a whole) was discussed a good deal in the newspapers in the early and mid eighties--at the beginning of the video rental boom in the UK--when large numbers of these films first became widely available and proved worryingly popular. In particular, there was public concern over the potential
influence of the more violent nasties on the behaviour of those
who watched them. Three videos,
part of the
current crop of 'nasties' available in thousands of High Street rental shops, have been sent to the DPP. Sunday Times 6 June 1982, p.
3 With its tougher law on videocassettes, West Germany hopes to keep its youth away from the nasties.
Christian Science Monitor 3 May 1985, p.
30 See also slasher and snuff