VHS
Massacre: Cult Film & The Decline Of Physical Media
(2016/Troma Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: C- Extras: B Documentary: C
The
Troma-produced documentary, VHS Massacre: Cult Film & The
Decline Of Physical Media (2016), takes aim on a hot topic for
cinephiles: the evolution of home video i.e. the rise and decline of
the VHS format and its transition into DVD, Blu-ray, and Streaming
(the old 12-inch LaserDisc format, SelectaVision discs and 4K UHD
weren't mentioned. Hmmm.)
Featuring
some interesting interviews with Lloyd Kaufman (Troma CEO), Debbie
Rochon (Tromeo and Juliet), John Bloom (Monstervision) and
others - the film has an interesting topic that is often overshadowed
by its leads: a ragtag group of indie filmmakers/podcasters.
The
1980s were the age of VHS (after beating out Betamax tapes), a now
dead format that once helped give rise to video stores and gave home
entertainment a new meaning. Just about everyone had (and still has)
a VCR and many, if not all, of today's most prominent filmmakers were
inspired by the format in some way. Once the '90s came in, VHS was
replaced by the superior standard definition DVD, which was then
replaced now by Blu-ray, HD and streaming. Some focus points are the
rise and fall of the video store phenomenon (including depressing
shots of what they are now), physical media versus digital media, and
the culmination of the whole thing is a podcast where they watch a
handful of hilariously random VHS tapes and mock them.
In
a way, the whole film feels like more of a podcast than a complete
thought as some of the filmmaking is a bit rough (particularly some
bad editing choices) and some of the lead filmmakers/actors a little
whiney. Still, their hearts are in the right place and overall the
doc ends up hitting its points but doesn't quite reach the level of
potential to which its aiming.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and
a hideous 5.1 mix that is so-so at best. Most of the audio editing
in the film itself is very bad, with no audio dialogue transitions in
during some opening segments and even cuts from interview to
interview. In short, the mix is very sloppy and I'm surprised it
passed quality control. The image itself is so-so too, as the
formats they are shooting on are obviously prosumer cameras. All in
all, not a very good presentation, especially for Blu-ray. They
should have just released this on VHS.
Special
Features include...
Intro
by Lloyd Kaufman (President of Troma Entertainment and Creator of The
Toxic Avenger) & VHS Massacre Directors
Director's
Commentary
Deleted
Scenes
Troma
Now! Extreme Edition
Theatrical
Trailer
A
Full Episode of Monster Kill: Merminators from Space (The New
Web Series by Kenneth Powell and Thomas Edward Seymour)
Radiation
March
Return
to Nuke 'Em High: VOL.1 Trailer
Return
to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA VOL.2 Fantasia Teaser
VHS
Massacre is interesting, but could have been fleshed out better
and used some more time in post production.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
