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Capone gets word that the super-cool VHS promo edition THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL is now available for purchase!!!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
I was a big supporter of writer-director-editor Ty West's 2009 feature THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, a film that truly did capture the look and spirit of '70s horror b-movies that preyed on the nation's then-newly rediscovered fears of satanic cults. The film played to packed houses and enthusiastic crowds at Fantastic Fest and eventually got a limited release around the country, and the reviews were highly positive.
A few weeks ago, I started noticing Twitter posts from a few of my fellow critics who had received what was then a promotional item for THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL being sent only to press, who in turn were going completely ape-shit crazy for it. In addition to sending out the standard-issue review copy of the film's DVD, Dark Sky Films and MPI Media Group included in the package a VHS copy of the movie in an old-school clam-shell case. The slipcase insert appears worn and faded, the blurb copy and layout of the back cover isn't particularly inspired (on purpose). But when you open the case, the real gem of the packaging is revealed when you see the Gorgon Video logo right above the FBI warning text on the label. For those of you too young to remember, Gorgon released such exploitation classics as the FACES OF DEATH movies, Bob Clark's CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, EVIL DEAD TRAP from Japan, and DEVIL DOLL. I feel fairly confident they had nothing to do with the distribution of THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD, but the logo is a brilliant touch.
From what I've been told, when word got out that these VHS promo items existed, collectors of all things horror went a bit berserk, and starting searching high and low on eBay and other places for copies. In addition, Dark Sky was flooded with emails asking how people get a hold of these tapes. And now Dark Sky/MPI Media has responded by producing what I'm told is a limited-quantity of 1,000 copies of THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL VHS edition (bundled with the DVD) and is taking pre-orders for them exclusively at Amazon.com until they run out. The official release date of all editions of this movie is February 2.
And for the record, I'm not making a dime off any copy of this. I just happen to think this is something that those old-school horror fans or VHS collectors might find extremely cool. The price seems very reasonable, so go crazy people.
-- Capone
therealcapone@aintitcoolmail.com
Follow Me On Twitter
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But I am intrigued by this film so I may well pick up the Blu-ray.
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do you geeks really need more stuff to collect dust and depreciate in value? All we are is dust in the wind.
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...and I'm a succker for all that advertising so I've pre-ordered the set...
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is VHS tapes. What a lame ass exclsuive that most people would never want.
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Now, if it were a VHS-shaped case for a USB drive (like the cassette tapes on http://www.makeamixa.com/) holding a digital copy of the film, that'd be interesting. This is more of an odd curio.
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Too bad they didn't go with that...VHS...fucking stupid.
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Jan 26, 2010 12:03:05 AM CST
Wow. i was literally thinking about how they should do this earl
by pop_aristocrat
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Like in the old days when you could buy short 8mm clips containing excerpts of famous old horror movies that they advertised in the back of Creepy and Eerie magazines ... you project them at home for your friends.
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I didn't care for VHS when it was popular. Poor sound, incorrect aspect ratio, wears out and breaks, you have to rewind it.... Fucking bullshit is what it was.
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I think anyone who feels the need to recreate the old VHS days can just tape any DVD and have at it. All 11 of the people remaining in the world that still have there VHS players hooked up.
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Gotta love them big, album-sized cases...
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promises to build to something, slow build, slow build, and SURPRISE! No big payoff. Nothing. Theres a few gory deaths, but so what. My rating: IT SUCKED.
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...for your obsolete HD DVD player of course. On a serious note, I'm really looking forward to checking this movie out.
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if you can't even spell the director's first name write. It's two fucking letters, man! This is one of the best movies of 2009, though, and I wish there were a Blu/VHS combo.
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VHS rules!
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...but the ending RUINED everything they had established prior. I was really into the mystery, the mood... then it just crapped itself to death. In a genre like this, the ending is everything.
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What you lose in resolution, you gain in actually being able to immediately start watching the movie you paid to watch without having to sit through 5 minutes of FBI warnings, trailers, and menu transitions. I know when DVD first came out the whole thing about having a high-production-value menu was pretty cool. You load up Aliens and click on a menu item and you get a nifty little animation of running down a hallway with the little motion tracker infront if you etc. But really, the novelty of that stuff wore off around 2001. When I click on 'special features' or 'audio setup' or especially 'watch movie' I want to be immediately taken there, I am not interested in watching your cheesy little CGI glorified screenwipe.
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are total "Underoos in the basement" material. Yuck. (Also, it has nothing to do with the quality of VHS tapes - idiots. Just a lame marketing promo that even its target audience doesn't get. Way to go, AICN!)
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Jan 26, 2010 4:39:44 AM CST
"if you can't even spell the director's first name write"
by mistermanreturns
WTF??
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And I know I, for one, had been thinking that since the movie was trying for a 70's-80's feel, it should really try to pull in the niche audience by creating a few 'video-nasties', like Evil Dead used to be. And the target audience CAN get it, its on Amazon. 'Underoos in the basement' eh?
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You further missed the point.
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Jan 26, 2010 5:48:31 AM CST
This would have been reat as a 40 minute film
by daniel_larussos_gonna_fight
the middle really lags
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It reminded me of the good eighties horror flicks. Was creepy at times and had some good gore in it. The title music sounded a bit too much like Moving IN Stereo to me, however.
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No one supported Ti West's Cabin Fever 2??? HUH! WHERE WERE YOU THEN!
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And the "One Thing Leads To Another" sequence is incredible.
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Really great flick.
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Back in 1999, we'd still be using it!
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Jan 26, 2010 8:58:41 AM CST
ewww Portable Grindhouse: The Lost Art of the VHS Box, Vol. 1
by series7
I do want that however. Anyone else bought it yet?
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Picture? Who decides what picture goes up there? If so why is Chris Noth's his serial killer picture?
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I'm thinking about sending in my school picture from when I was 10 so pple will think I'm just a really brilliant kid.
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There was some really shitty movie on tv that had Tom Noonan in it, and I wanted to know what it was and why Tom Noonan was slumming it. So I looked up the film and its writer/director and sat back and thought "Huh." I figured it must have been some rich kid who used his dad's money to make a really, really, really bad movie. Didn't watch it all, though, so its a bit unfair of me to decry the whole movie as being terrible. But what I saw was pretty bad.
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...the naked big boobed blonde? If it's an homage to 80's horror it has to have that.
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Yeah but can the star chose the picture? I mean why would Chris Noth have a fucking serial killer pose picture up?
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Read an interview with him a while back on the Shit V Club's site. He's an interesting guy. Though he's never seen a movie he's in. It was pretty interesting his take on acting.
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I'm 24 and I've never bought a movie in VHS, I used to tape a lot of films but never bought any.
Are there stil collectors of VHS and if so what's being done about it? -
I believe it has more to do with either out of print films that you can only get on VHS, or on cool artwork that isn't being used on the DVD release. I'm not really sure why anyone would want a VHS of this film, except maybe for the rarity factor.
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Still got a few VHS recorders wrapped up in the loft to replace my old friend downstairs when it finally stops working. I used to have a Ferguson Videostar that was older than I was, that I once took apart to clean, and put back together WITHOUT putting the eject carriage back in properly. And damn if that old player didn't carry on working as normal! Show me a fucking DVD player that can do that.
Oh, and we VHS fanatics collect the rental cases because they were the best! Show me a DVD cover as cool as the metallic cover for THE WRAITH, or schlocky classics like CELLAR DWELLER and RAWHEAD REX. I LIKE living in the past... they know me here! -
And the fact that some movies are so old and unpopular that only the 80s kids still want them. Took me years to find RAWHEAD REX on DVD, and the version I got looked worse than the video - and the half-arsed cover art was a joke. Part of the reason I loved the 80s is the fact that most of the time, the VHS covers were the best thing about the movie!
I weep for this generation. Not for them the joy of wandering round a video shop on a Saturday night, picking up a couple of new releases, then a couple of low-budget genre movies that turn into regularly watched old friends, like SOCIETY, EVIL DEAD 2, BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 87th DIMENSION, CRITTERS, anything by John Carpenter... They will never truly know such elation. Poor bastards. -
in my little world at least. No vinyl is not superior in any aspect and neither is VHS. Sure there are some cool aspects about records but whomever collects them at this point cannot ecpect more out of them than some short lived nostalgia. So be it with VHS, I think. Value for both items is negligable unless happening on some sort of rarity. I started at 13 working in a family run video store and spent many hours ordering,fixing, and rewinding those tapes. Once I hit DVD I never looked back.
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"Are there stil collectors of VHS and if so what's being done about it?"
They're hunting us down like rabid dogs, demanding that we convert (to DVD)... or DIE!
Today, we survive as collectors of VHS. If you need a movie on video, and no-one else can helpm, and you can find us, maybe you can become... A VHS COLLECTOR!!
**Cue tank shooting plane out of sky, fanboy bitching ensues** -
this past weekend for 7 bucks. It still isn't out on DVD. I didn't have much money on me, so I'll probably go back some time and pick it up.
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I don't get the love for this movie, other than for its aesthetic. Literally NOTHING HAPPENS in the first hour to move the plot forward. The girl spends most of her time eating pizza. Then there's a brief, weird finale and the movie ends. WTF?
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And I say if you see a copy of one of your favorite older genre films sitting in the cheapo bin of Wal-Mart or Odd Lots, pick it up, otherwise good luck owning anything other than a digital download or shoddy product burned to a DVD-R and being sold for 20 bucks.
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I pitched everything (mostly) I had on VHS a few years back. I took a big box of stuff, all pretty mint up to the local public library where I had seen a "Please donate your old movies" and they _actually_ said "We don't want these...". Wow.
I kept about half a dozen Anime (for some reason), just need to find a home for 'em (I kind of hate to just pitch those).
The movie looks pretty groovy though.
Vinyl as compared to VHS? Not so much. Technically an analog recording without "missing" info is better - at least my hardcore audiophile friends tell me. However, I don't think anyone would say VHS is better (SQ/PQ) than DVD.
I have an old (medium end) Pionner LD player and about 20-25 LDs (some good stuff too). I need to find a home for that too. -
How so? I know a few people who buy Blu-ray on the basis it's superior quality (and they have PS3s and the like to play them on already), but at the moment, there's WAAAAY more choice for movies on DVD than Blu-ray. Unless Blu-ray catches up the sheer amount of movies to choose from that standard DVD has, I'm not sure you're right there...
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It's that simple.
Anyone that actually cares about movies (and isn't that supposed to be anyone on this site?) should be aware that HALF OF THE FILMS released on VHS have never made it to DVD or any other current format. Important and hugely entertaining VHS-only classics include horror shockers like DEMONWARP, '80s teen revolt favorite THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN and the flat-out best gritty action film ever made, ROLLING THUNDER.
Which means: if you're going to flatly announce that VHS is "useless" like some jackass did at the top of this thread, you're saying that you don't care about most of the movies made before 1990, and you're more content to watch the latest Sandra Bullock comedy on your overpriced and also soon-to-be-obsolete Blu-Ray player.
Good job, "movie fan." -
I for one own many DVDs and don't plan on going Blu-Ray. I say the format is dying because all signs point to it. When I'm picking up quality DVDs of older movies put out by major studios for 3 bucks, it looks like companies dumping overstock and phasing out the format. When studios are not bothering to remaster older films and basically burning them to DVD-R and selling them through a website, it tells me that the studios are not supporting traditionally pressed DVDs. Like I said, buy up those cheapo DVDs now (over the past year I've gotten Body Double:SE, Memento:SE, The Passenger, Easy Rider: SE, Masque of the Red Death/Tomb of Ligeia, I Walked With a Zombie/The Body Snatcher, The Fog (1980), and many more brand new for 5 bucks or less from Wal-Mart and Big Lots. I can see a future not too long ago where there will be many pre 2000's movies not released on Blu-Ray or only being available as a digital download that you won't be able to own unless you want to fork out well over 100 bucks for something that's going for 3 bucks now.
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in some cases the only way to own the original cut of a film is by owning the VHS (or laser-disc) like THX-1138, Thief, and Last of the Mohicans. There are still quite a few Samuel Fuller and Nicholas Ray films that have yet to get a DVD release (even though in the case of Ray, Bigger than Life is finally coming out this March from Criterion, but for some bizzare reason Criterion always charges about 15 bucks more for standard DVDs than they do for the same thing they put out on Blu-Ray). Here are a few films I can think of off the top of my head that aren't on DVD yet: Johnny Guitar, Twisted Nerve, Rolling Thunder, The Magnificent Ambersons, Chimes at Midnight, Macbeth, The Keep, The Jericho Mile (Michael Mann's first film/made for TV), and Mickey One.
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Maybe it's just that consumers are't prepared to shell out big money on old movies that makes companies sell them so ridiculously cheaply. Could also be that the "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap" philosophy reaps more dividends in such credit-crunched times than selling movies at top dollar prices. Either way, I'm happy!
Damn straight on THE KEEP and THE JERICHO MILE. Got 'em both on VHS, and love them both (though Mrs-Spud-To-Be hated THE KEEP, and thinks it's over-pretentious confusing nonsense) - but it'll be the twelfth of never before they end up on DVD. Which is a huge shame... -
I think the cinematography alone warrents a DVD being put out, plus the fact that it's directed by Michael Mann. Of course it being Mann, it will probably be a director's cut of some kind. I have a feeling if The Jericho Mile actually comes out (I have no clue who owns the rights), it's going to be a DVD on demand deal like the Warner Archives or Universal Vault Series.
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But Spielberg's epic "flop" (even though I'll take it over Amistad, The Lost World, or Hook anyday) 1941 is only available on DVD right now in the extended cut with one one of the worst DVD transfers this side of the orginal De Palma Scarface put out back in 1998. Once again if you want the original cut, you have to have the VHS.
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Jan 26, 2010 3:23:39 PM CST
Hey idiots, if you love VHS...you're a fuckin' IDIOT!
by revenge_of_fett
I mean, seriously! It looks and sounds HORRIFICALLY BAD! It BUTCHERS films! not to mention the fact that almost all of them CUT up to 50% of the film off because of idiots who don't understand aspect ratios!
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Except that not only is it the ONLY format in which some of our favourite movies can be owned (such as THE KEEP and THE JERICHO MILE) but if my VHS recorder chews up a second of film, I can either remove it with scalpel and tape, or I can just live with a second of fuzzy white blur before the movie continues. Get a deep enough scratch on a DVD - just one - and the entire DVD is knackered. Bin fodder.
Yes, I understand the whole "ratios are wrong" and "quality is not as good" arguments, but I don't care. I love my VHS collection!! -
I use torrent avi/xvid to do all my TV watching but if something like Lost or 24 is on and just in case my internet blows up, I use VHS to record the show as an emergency back up. Cheaper than a TiVO anyway and I hardly ever watch them anyway but still in use.
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Only almost, like, 90% of it but there are some movies that I'm fine just having VHS copies of cause I'm cheap.
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