The age of the video store has come to an end in recent years due to the unrivaled convenience of the Netflixes and Hulus of the world. With everything just one push of a button away, it’s hard to recall the days when movie fans had to drive out to their local shop and browse the aisles in search of that one VHS they’d take home to watch that night. The video rental store was revolutionary for film accessibility; it opened the floodgates for plenty of low-budget camp to blend in amongst the prestigious studio fare that lined the shelves.
The SOV (Shot On Video) boom of horror films released throughout the ’80s and early 90’s made way for a whole new generation of independent genre filmmakers, whose films finally had the same chance of being seen as any other studio film. As long as it had a cool cover, any movie had a fair shot at being a hot rental. And in 1987, Video Violence was one of the best horror options in stock.
Made for a budget that varies among sources from a couple of hundred bucks to a measly six dollars, Video Violence was the passion project of Gary Cohen, a video store worker curious about why violence in the film was deemed more socially acceptable than nudity in film. He set out to make the most violent film he could using his video store as a location. What he ended up with was one of the most widely distributed and financially successful SOV films of all time.
The film follows a video store clerk who opens his store in a new town only to find that its residents rent slasher films at an alarming rate. When an actual snuff tape depicting the murder of a townie, thought to have relocated to Florida, is placed in the store’s drop box, the town’s dark secrets begin to surface.
Video Violence is mostly tasteless, putting an emphasis on the violence and nudity that Cohen aimed to critique without making much of a statement about either of them. The plot revolving around everyone in town being sadistic murderers is pretty nonsensical, even if it leads to a gleefully cheesy ending. Despite these shortcomings, it is hard not to fall victim to the pure nostalgia and cultural relevance of Video Violence. This is one of those special movies that transcends bad or good; the more apt descriptors would be endearing and entertaining.
Camp Video distributed the film and demanded a sequel, which led to the ahead-of-its-time but in-over-its-head Video Violence 2, which ditches conventional narrative style to take the format of an illegal television broadcast put on by Howard and Eli, two of the tortuous townsfolk from the first film. The film could be seen as a precursor to the recent genre experiment WNUF Halloween Special, or even the short-form variety show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! It sacrifices none of the gore but most of the tension, playing out more like a freeform comedy with some slightly scary elements.
The recently released double feature set from Terror Vision and Vinegar Syndrome hit shelves on June 28th in beautiful gory packaging containing both new and archival interviews, a short documentary, and an old radio promo. While this review is certainly a recommendation, this Video Violence set is only for those media librarians who wish to curate a film collection that ventures into the depths of 80’s SOV horror madness. This niche double feature of Jersey-made passion projects is an acquired taste, but it’s one this reviewer can’t get enough of!