VHS Massacre

This was a documentary that I threw on while I was at work, late in the day. I treat these like podcasts where I'll listen to them and if something is interesting, I'll look down. I just don't need to give it my full attention. I'll say here to start, I watched the sequel to this, VHS Massacre Too first. I didn't realize that it was the second part.

Now this doc has a tagline of Cult Films and the Decline of Physical Media. This came out in 2016 so it is more about the state at that time. Things have changed a bit and the second part does explore more with streaming since that has become bigger. This is giving the history of VHS and its decline into DVD and then Blu-ray. What makes that interesting is hearing John Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs who is a legend. His wealth of knowledge is great and I could listen to him talk all day. He's not the only one though. I did find it interesting to hear from Lloyd Kaufman and other indie filmmakers.

Something that worked for me here was seeing the team behind this go out and search places for VHS tapes. Now I'm a collector on a smaller scale, but I listen to podcasts when people used to do this. I did find that interesting. It was fun to see what they could find. There's almost a meta-aspect here since this culminates in them watching tapes they found and called that event VHS Massacre.

This isn't working with the biggest budget and isn't the most professional. I did like hearing from people who are similar to me, who grew up in the video store days. There is nostalgia from that and missing those days. It is interesting to watch this now though with streaming and being in an almost golden age of collecting as well. I did like this team editing footage from things they're talking about. That adds a good touch. I enjoyed my time here and didn't feel like a waste. Plus, I was entertained. If what they were doing here sounds interesting, I'd recommend giving this a watch for sure.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

I have only just watched this in 2023, and found it fascinating how much things have changed in the past 7 years. One of the participants comments, and I'm paraphrasing a little, "I can't see any profit in streaming or downloading movies." Now the market is dominated by Netflix, Amazon plus, Disney Plus, etc, etc etc.

Back then they were lamenting the disappearance of VHS, now it's hard to find DVDs. Most movies are available to buy on download, or on one of the afore mentioned streaming services. It is sad not being able to browse the shelves of hundreds of DVDs and sometimes finding a gem.

It is sad the effect major corporations such as Blockbuster, Walmart and later Netflix had on this market, and made it increasingly difficult for indie movies to be made at all.

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.

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 ****

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.