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VIDEO NASTY ARCHIVE ENTRY

Axe

Original / alternate title: Lisa, Lisa; Axe
1974   |   USA   |   Horror / Revenge thriller

Three violent criminals invade a remote farmhouse where a withdrawn young woman lives with her disabled grandfather. When the men turn their cruelty toward her, the situation becomes a grim story of survival and revenge. Originally titled Lisa, Lisa, the film is an austere slice of 1970s regional American horror.

Film details

Original / alt titleLisa, Lisa; Axe
Year1974
DirectorFrederick R. Friedel
CountryUSA
RuntimeApprox. 67 min
Main castLeslie Lee, Jack Canon, Ray Green, Frederick R. Friedel

UK status

DPP 39 — PROSECUTED

One of the 39 titles successfully prosecuted during the UK Video Nasty era.

Current UK position:
Still best known in Britain as one of the core prosecuted nasties, with later cult releases restoring its reputation as an unusually bleak regional horror film.
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Why it caused controversy

Its unclassified pre-cert UK video became a target during the 1983–84 panic and the title was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. The controversy centred on its horror / revenge thriller content being available on cassette without the cinema-style classification controls that viewers were used to.

UK censorship / Video Nasties history

A quick status check first, followed by the film’s censorship timeline. A DPP prosecution was an obscenity case against a particular video publication — it was not automatically the same thing as a permanent nationwide “ban”.

DPP listYes — DPP 72
Prosecuted?Successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act 1959
Seized?DPP-listed title; police forces used the list during raids and seizures
Banned / cut / rejected?DPP era: Axe became one of the 39 successfully prosecuted titles.
Later BBFC certificateStill best known in Britain as one of the core prosecuted nasties, with later cult releases restoring its reputation as an unusually bleak regional horror film.
Now uncut / restored?Still best known in Britain as one of the core prosecuted nasties, with later cult releases restoring its reputation as an unusually bleak regional horror film.

Detailed censorship timeline & facts

1974Produced as an ultra-low-budget independent feature, originally titled Lisa, Lisa.
Late 1970sReleased internationally under the more marketable title Axe.
Early 1980s UKThe film reached the pre-cert video market and became a target of the moral panic.
DPP eraAxe became one of the 39 successfully prosecuted titles.
Cult eraLater collectors rediscovered it as a stark and unusual regional horror film.

FACTS & TRIVIA

  • Frederick R. Friedel both wrote and directed the film.
  • The production was made on an extremely small budget.
  • The original title was Lisa, Lisa.
  • Its short running time gives the film a stripped-down, almost dreamlike pace.
  • Leslie Lee’s performance is central to the film’s quiet menace.
  • Its successful prosecution places it firmly in the core DPP 39.

Distributor / VHS label

Video release

Archive cover shown is the user-supplied scan. UK distributor / VHS-label attribution varies by edition and is not asserted here without a verified sleeve imprint.

Trailer

Open a search for the original theatrical / VHS-era trailer. This keeps the archive linking to publicly available trailer sources rather than hosting copyrighted film footage.

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Research sources

DPP 72 list ↗
Archive note: the DPP list changed during 1983–84. This site distinguishes the 39 successfully prosecuted titles from the 33 acquitted / dropped titles, and separately labels related censorship-era films.

Related films

Devil Hunter1980 • DPP 39
Evilspeak1981 • DPP 39
Faces of Death1978 • DPP 39
Fight for Your Life1977 • DPP 39