Video Violence

Steven Emory has just moved with his wife from New York to open a small video rental store on in the middle of nowhere. One day his only employee discovers a unlabeled tape in a returned video case. Curiosity gets the better of them, so while the store's empty they choose to pop it in and watch. It's a horrid snuff film so Steven runs to the police station and tries to talk the chief into checking it out. Upon his return to the store, cop in tow, he finds that the video has been switched & his employee missing. How far will he go to find out what really happened? What this extremely low-budget shot on video movie lacks in anything that usually constitutes a 'good' film (acting, production values of any kind, etcetera), it more than makes up for in story and heart. It's funny and for the most part enjoyable. For optimum viewing pleasure enjoy with some alcoholic beverage of your choice and a few like-minded friends. If you liked "pieces" or "2000 Maniacs", you'll more then likely enjoy this too.

My Grade: B-

DVD Extras: Audio commentary by Director/ writer Gary Cohen, Special effects men Mark Dolsom & Mark Kwiatek, and actors Art Neill, Paul Kay, David Christopher, & Uke; 15 minute interview with Cohen; and Trailers for Video Violence 1, Video Violence 2, Cannibal Campout, Woodchipper Massacre, & Ghoul School (the DVD also comes with the sequel to this film on the same disc)

One of the 30 movies i saw that are a truly horror mastepiece. this movie -at least- in Argentina is very difficult to see or rent. It was film in video and i think when the whole "video" mania was just starting. This is an excellent example of making a great film with very little money. I think it is an example for every filmaker.

Yes, this movie is _very_ low budget, and probably was filmed with a regular video camera, the movie was great. Very bloody and senseless killing was the plot, but the characters with no personality made you laugh when you saw them act. Seems like someone wanted to make a movie and used their friends and relatives.

I was the manager of a video store at the time when a traveling distributor asked to me buy this movie. He described the plot and since I have had so many different tapes accidentally switched when they dropped them off, I thought it would be a great reality check. I bought it for the store, it rented maybe 10 times, and then I pulled it and kept it for myself. Truly a cult classic. Could it happen in your store?? Keep an eye on that nightdrop!!

Alright, I hafta give it to you folks straight. This movie is no good. Just plain rotten. Even by my standards, and I've endured 100's of hours of crap films at least. Here goes:

shot on camcorder? check actors recruited from local laundromat? check ketchup gore and mannequin appendages? check. unbearably long? check. takes itself very seriously? check. bad time guaranteed? oh check.

Forget Ed Wood, H.G. Lewis, Joel Reed, all them guys.. Gary Cohen puts em all to shame with this garbage. I can recommend it only for the true cinema masochist. Alternates to watching this film:

give yourslf a thousand paper cuts. on your tongue. and then wash it all down with tobasco.

treat yourself to a corn syrup enema.

shoot yourself in the face.

Any one of these activities is preferable to enduring this wretched, bloated corpse of a video for a second time. The first time was bad enough..

Go rent it.

A couple movies to a strange little town and open up their own video rental. It seems like the whole town only wants to rent horror movies.

The residents of this strange small community always seem to replace the rental tapes with their own homemade snuff films.

It seems the whole town is in on this trend.

I can't say that this is a good film. However having been born in the 1980s I like to see all the old VHS boxes and remember the good old days of going to the video store and browsing numerous titles. Something that was lost in the DVD age and one of the things that lead to the downfall of the video rental.