The Beast (Equinox)

Depending on who you ask, this film seems to be either loved or reviled. More than anything, the only reason I picked it up was because it was a Wizard Video big box. Not knowing much about it, I decided to purchase it and see why many horror hounds love this movie so much. If not, I figured I could sell it on my Ebay store to a collector with better and more refined taste than mine. 

However, as my luck would have it, this was the week my beloved VCR decided to break down and leave me with a raging boner for some 1970s low budget horror-trash. Since I could not enjoy this movie in all its VHS glory, I had to resort to the good users on Youtube that had previously uploaded the film in its entirety. Some swear this movie is a masterpiece of the era, as for me, gee, maybe I'm just growing up to be a film-square, but I did not see what all the fuss is about. (props to the musical score, though.)

According to IMDB, The Beast also goes under the name of Equinox

 Nonetheless, feel free to watch the movie that some kind user uploaded here. *(the movie starts at about the 7th minute)

Taglines used by this movie include:
"Begins where Rosmary's baby left off"
"It was a peaceful mountain retreat until IT came home"

Oddly enough, Ed Beagley Jr. is credited as assistant cameraman.

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New Arrivals (Dr. HackensteinHobgoblin)

Doing some buys off Ebay, I recently bought several VHS movies in a lot, mostly horror titles with some suspese/thriller flicks added for good measure. The bad part was that I did not realize that most of the movies in this lot had been ex-video rentals. Worse than that, most of them have a plastic sleeve taped to the front of the slipcase, no doubt where the inventory card would slide in at the video rental place. Nonetheless, I enjoy my new additions. Here is one of the 20 movies that I just received and expect some more in the next few days.

1) The first movie is a Troma release, Dr. Hackenstein, which stars David Muir and Michael Ensign from 1989. Honestly, I'd never heard of this movie, until I received it in the lot that I had bought off Ebay and I still have not seen the movie, although I must say given the user reviews from IMDB, it does not seem very promising.

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VHS 1138 Video Store (San Antonio, TX)

Growing up with video stores at every corner, I sometimes miss being able to just walk into a store and take an hour deciding on a movie to take home. In the good days, a person could cruise the aisles endlessly, staring at awesome VHS artwork, reading the plot synopsis, until a choice was made. Now with Netflix and Redbox ruining that ritual, it is almost impossible to find an independent video store. Heck, its impossible finding a corporate video store, too. Not only is it impossible to find a video store, but a video store that carries VHS is almost unheard of now.

Front of the store as you walk in

And then I found VHS 1138 out in San Antonio, TX.

This is the store's sign

In the city that I live in, we no longer have a video store. Like many other cities, most people here simply run down to the Redbox and choose the latest Hollywood flick. Many viewers, however, remember a better time. A time when a person would drive down to a store that had nothing but choices, whether it be VHS or DVD. VHS 1138 is a throwback to those days. The walls at this store are lined up and filled with nothing but awesome VHS titles. I was taken back as I first entered the store and felt as if I was somehow magically transported back to 1989.







Love the staff selections

The store has a funky 'hippie' feel to it

The Hand finds a video store!

Wall after wall of VHS goodness

  Aside from the videos, the back of the store sells vintage used clothes, although I did not go to see this part of the store. I spent most of my hour perusing their movie selection and I must say it had some pretty obscure titles but mostly standard stuff. Nonetheless, I loved the feeling of the place. The bad part of everything was that since I lived out of town, I was not able to become a renting VHS member. However, I did not walk away empty handed. I was able to support this local business by buying some of the titles that they had on sale as well as a couple of records that they had for sale (future post will detail my buys).

Awesome VHS box

Big box goodness



VHS 1138 is one of those retro stores that takes you back in time. Many people say that VHS is making a comeback with collectors. I don't think that we will see many of these types of stores opening up around the country, but still it is nice being able to travel back in time. Thank you VHS 1138 for return to a better movie selection time.

Update: Take a look at a video about this store. The owners explain why they opened up a VHS store and talk a little bit more about their selection. Definitely worth watching!

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First VHS purchase

I actually bought these VHS movies several months ago over at Propaganda Palace, a neat store that sells collectibles out in San Antonio, TX. I did not mean to spend so much money on these three movies, but I think I got carried away.

 This store is pretty awesome and they specialize in vintage video games. They do however have a pretty sick array of VHS movies and I happened to pick out the titles and cover art that struck me the most. I tend to gravitate toward big boxes and hard case ex rentals as well. On this occasion I picked up Creepers (1986), Night Creature, and Encore.

 

 

I picked up Creepers  on VHS for two reasons: I loved the cover art and I recall seeing it at the video stores back in the day and it stars Jennifer freaking Connelly. You can never go wrong with Jennifer C. movies, no matter how lame they are.

 

Night Creature I picked up because I had never heard of it and the cover art struck me as odd and amateurish. The movie itself seems to be from 1979 and this particular edition was put out by VCI Home Video. Honestly I've yet to see the flick but it stars old Donald Pleasance so you can bet your pause button I'll get around to viewing this flick soon. For now, check out this clip from a user on youtube.

 

 

Encore (staring crooner Jack Jones) was the last VHS I selected on this particular trip to Propaganda Palace. Again, I'd never heard of this title so that was a bonus. Also, the sleeve bills the movie as being "in the tradition of Friday the 13th and Halloween". With credentials like those, it has a lot of hype already. Since I've yet to see this one, I don't know much about it. This particular version that I have is from Saturn Productions. I could not find a clip from this movie on Youtube. After searching IMDB, I discovered this film is from 1979 and is a UK film that also went by the name of "The Comeback". View the trailer from "The Comeback" here. Apparently, its out on DVD under this title, at least in the UK.

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Getting started with my collection

So I want to be a VHS collector. Right of the bat I must warn you that I don't have deep pockets and VHS collecting seems to be a chic thing to do these days. Ten years ago the hipsters were out buying up all the old, discarded vinyl and now they seem to be doing the same with VHS. However, my main reason to dive into VHS collecting is for strictly sentimental purposes.

As many other collectors of this outdated format, I too recall the wonderful days of getting lost in a mom and pop video store, staring at wonderful cover art and trying to decide on what movie to take home for my viewing pleasure. It seemed that half the fun was choosing the movie at the video store with so many wonderful titles at our disposal.

I have so many loving memories for old VHS movies. Nothing screams more 80s to me than big box VHS just like the ones that I would spend hours gawking. I start this blog now at the very outset of my collecting venture. I must say that I only own about 40 VHS and since I am currently in the process of buying a new home, most everything I own is neatly packed in boxes at a nearby storage unit. Nonetheless, it is my goal to convert a section of my house, once I move in, into a video store just like one I remember back in 1988.

But for now, I will share in this blog, whatever VHS movies I purchase and add to my collection. I will focus on horror movies, but I must say that I will not be collecting strictly horror movies alone. Also I will share great links to other sites and blogs along with videos of movie reviews as those become available.  For now, hit the forward button and see what I have in store.

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