The Ghastly Ones
On a storm-battered island, three sisters and their husbands gather to hear the conditions of an inheritance, only to find themselves menaced by a sadistic killer. The film is one of Andy Milligan's rough-edged, independently made shockers.
Film details
| Original / alt title | The Ghastly Ones; Blood Rites |
| Year | 1968 |
| Director | Andy Milligan |
| Country | USA |
| Runtime | Approx. 72 min |
| Main cast | Hal Borske, Rochelle Lee Hudson, Carol Vogel |
UK status
A successfully prosecuted Video Nasty and one of the older low-budget American horror titles caught up in the panic.
Now mainly known through cult-film circles and boutique home-video releases.
Why it caused controversy
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”.
Detailed censorship timeline & facts
FACTS & TRIVIA
- Andy Milligan wrote and directed the film.
- Milligan's films are known for their unusual tone, abrasive performances and ultra-low-budget production style.
- The Ghastly Ones was promoted for its shock content and violence.
- It is often treated as a key title for understanding Milligan's cult following.
- Its age shows how the Video Nasty panic swept up films from many different periods.
- The collage-style UK artwork is especially memorable.
- Today it is valued more as a cult artefact than a mainstream horror classic.
Distributor / VHS label
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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