VHS Massacre

I was expecting more detail and comment on the demise of the VHS market but instead it seemed to try and cover too many bases without actually completing any particular aims. Overall it comes across as a student project with way too many handheld camera shots. Apparently the filmmakers began as podcasters. Perhaps they should concentrate on where their strengths lie as their enthusiasm seems better suited to an audio medium rather than visual.

This film plays like an Instagram story. There's no story arc, the exposition is all out of whack, they cover major plot lines by just throwing up titles, and so much of the movie is just dudes talking about how excited they are to interview some no name actor, pointing out all the vhs they buy from stores for cheap, and then filling it out by just getting their friends to talk about vhs. It's an absolute mess! It's also so narrow in scope. VHS culture needs to be explored and documented, but these filmmakers are not up to scratch.

I'm a movie geek, but not really an expert on b-movies. I grew up with VHS tho so I found this kind of interesting here and there. Overall I wouldn't say this is very good and that's mostly because it's not very focused. If the makers had ditched focus on their own productions and focused more on the physical media and VHS movies in general it might've been better. Troma etc are interesting, but the documentary feels very subjective with very preachy piracy part (fwiw, I'm against piracy). I wasn't fan of the actual VHS massacre either, imo the diabetes video wasn't a laughing matter. I've seen this kind of movie geeks at local arthouse movie theatre laughing at everything and basically ruining the show for everyone else. So yes, I found the VHS part interesting, cover art appreciation etc, but there was a lot of stuff I didn't find that fitting. The subject calls for a better documentary.

Tries to be personal, tries to be a summary of home media, doesn't really accomplish either. Don't really feel informed by the end of it, don't really get an emotional pay off. Spends a bit too much time focusing on the production of the documentary when there is no real story there.

Okay to watch but not likely to hold your interest for the full run time. Feels a bit too much like an overly long youtube documentary

What did the death of VHS movies and video game rentals mean to the low-budget, independent filmmaker? A lot, surprisingly. "Mom and pop" video stores around the country, neighborhood institutions for decades, began shutting their doors in the 2000s, taking a hit from Blockbuster, which took a hit from competitor Hollywood Video, which took their hits from the internet, Netflix and "free" downloading and streaming (i.e., piracy). What goes around comes around: VHS killed Beta because it was less expensive, consumers preferred quantity over quality, and adult movies were exclusive to the VHS format. But, as Carmine Capobianco, co-owner of Funstuff Video, says, "The sell-through (the ratio of the quantity of goods sold by a retail outlet to the quantity distributed to it wholesale) dropped the value of the VHS. Walmart killed the video business. Netflix killed the video business. Computers killed the video business." But how many of us are mourning the loss of our VCRs? I can name several favorite titles of mine that never made that journey from VHS to DVD (which, along with Blu-ray, is also slowing in sales). I can also name many instances where the VHS cover-art was superior to that of comparable DVDs. Are VHS tapes collectible like vinyl records? I never thought so. I don't like the picture quality of VHS, I always hated the occasional tracking issues, and they take up too much valuable space. But the fans, movie makers, actors, distributors and radio personalities brought together in this entertaining documentary obviously feel different, as they reflect on the home-viewing market of the '80s with pride, discussing how independent filmmakers flourished during that time having various outlets for their products. For filmmakers today, starting out small and hoping to build a following, there is no money to be made from streaming. Depressing, yes, but...the VHS may make a comeback yet! And if the industry rallies, watch out "Toxic Avenger"! I'll be the first to buy a brand-new VCR, one with a remote to adjust the tracking from my living room sofa. **1/2 from ****