Video Violence's Claim To Fame - Recorded on VHS Camcorder
This movie’s claim to fame is that it was filmed on a handheld VHS recorder. Yeah, just like the ones you could buy and make home movies on when I was young. For this movie to be filmed in this manner, it was well done. Adobe Premiere Pro makes transitions easy, but the old methods are a mystery to me. Cutting and fusing film would have to be the way to do it, I guess. Regardless of how the transitions were done, they were clean for the way in which Video Violence was put together. Come to think of it, my wedding is filmed on a shoulder VHS recorder. For those that don’t know, you would throw in a VHS tape and place this device that was the size of a “boom box” on your shoulder and record away. As with all technology, they got smaller and smaller.
The last one I had was about the size of a headrest in a car and took small VHS tapes. We recorded ourselves at parties on this one. I would hate to see what’s on those tapes now. Ultimately, this is the reason why I watched Video Violence. I wanted to see what a movie filmed like this would look like. Time travel, as usual for me, was the mission in mind. As a teenager, I had wanted to make a martial arts film using my small VHS recorder, so I got to live vicariously through this movie. Unfortunately, I never got around to making my movie. Perhaps one day I will.
Video Violence Certainly Has Nostalgia
You know if you’ve read anything I’ve wrote, I must point out nostalgic things I’ve noticed. Some cool pieces of history to look for in Video Violence are the other movies and related memorabilia. For instance, there is a copy of Conan The Barbarian on the shelf, a Friday the 13th Part 5 movie poster, an April Fool’s Day poster, and a sticker on the door that says, “Official Ghostbuster Station.” Yes, the Ghostbuster sticker is complete with the iconic logo. Filming taking place in a video store, there is no shortage of the adage “Please Be Kind and Rewind” plastered everywhere.
Story Summed Up
The basic story in this movie is interesting and, I don’t know that I’ve seen anything like it. 10,000 Maniacs must be the closest thing I can remember. Sorry but I haven’t finished watching that one yet so I can’t be sure. Anyway, and on to the plot summary. A man and wife owned a theatre in NY and sold it to start a video store in the small town they move to. They find it strange that everyone in the town not only has a VCR but that they all exclusively rent horror. A tape of an actual murder is accidentally returned to the store, and the couple launches an investigation. Turns out that the town has a lot of these tapes, and they trade them around. All the townspeople enjoy watching real deaths. The movie’s conclusion explains it all with an unhappy ending.
Here's What I Think About Video Violence
Video Violence was slow at times, especially the beginning. When the film started going though, the pace was consistent and decent. In addition to blood, violence, gore (very cheesy), and murder, there were some scenes clearly that were filler. For instance, there is a vampire movie within the movie. As the undead count is preparing to drink from his white clothed victim, I noticed that he had a reflection. The main character spoke up after this movie within the movie and pointed out this same thing. He also noted that the movie was filmed during the day. We all know vampires don’t fair well in daylight. Of course, I have seen some takes on this creature where this is not the case too. Blogs to come.
Are You Just As Bad As The Townspeople?
As I watched this movie, I thought about how strange this idea is. That people would enjoy watching real murders. Memory reminded me of Saddam Hussein and how the US government claimed he had tapes of tortures and executions that he would watch for fun. Was this pro war propaganda or fact? I certainly don’t know but, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. In my hometown, we had a store called Pic-A-Flic. In the city where I live now, Anderson, SC, there was a Family Video as seen in Stranger Things. This dying breed of stores closed about a year ago. Thinking back to my days of visiting the video rental store reminded me that I used to rent Faces of Death and watch, you guessed it, real deaths. I then realized I’m no different than the people in this movie. This was a reality check for me.
I’d love for you to link up with me on all social media platforms, read more of my blogs, check out my art, my photography and more. You can do all of this here. You can also do all of this from my direct website here. If you like music, horror movies, pop culture, antiques, and odd stuff, you’ll love my blogs and art. What are your thoughts on Video Violence if you’ve seen it? What about Faces of Death? Got a movie you want to recommend for a blog? Leave your thoughts or suggestions in the comments. Let’s get a conversation started.