The history of the 'video nasties' has been recounted many times and the
films that caused so much offence have themselves been endlessly
examined. However, the industry that gave rise to the category has
received scant little attention. Earlier histories have tended to
foreground issues of censorship, and as such, offer only glimpses of an
under explored industrial history of British video. This book focuses
explicitly on an industry that is still portrayed in heavily caricatured
terms, that is frequently presented as immoral or corrupt, and that
continues to be understood through the rhetoric of the tabloid press, as
'merchants of menace'.