‘Video Shop Tales Of Terror’ Is A Fun And Nostalgic Throwback To A Bygone Era [Horror-On-Sea 2023 Review]
One of the most hyped films to screen at Horror-on-Sea this year was Video Shop Tales of Terror, an anthology from producer and festival regular Singh Lall which focuses on individual horror stories which emerge from an accursed video shop. In order to promote the film’s premiere at the festival, a life-sized replica of the actual video store was constructed in the Park Inn Palace Hotel’s foyer, complete with shelves filled with countless horror VHS tapes.
And rest assured, Video Shop Tales of Terror certainly lived up to the hype, and horror fans who are old enough to remember the days of actual video shops are in for a real treat. I also backed the production on Indiegogo, and I am glad to have been involved with such a proudly nostalgic throwback to the times before streaming took over.
The anthology features bridging segments in which customers enter the titular video shop to browse for titles, before launching into each anthology segment. Interestingly, the actual miniature prop of the brick-and-mortar shop and surrounding terrain used in the film was also displayed in the foyer at Horror-on-Sea. Without going into spoilers, the fact that the shop was located atop a steep cliff that could only be reached by a rickety and dangerous-looking bridge does indeed come to factor into the plot in a delightfully absurd way.
In any case, the first anthology segment “Egghead”, from writer and director MJ Dixon, tells the story of a mad plastic surgeon called Doctor Eggbert Humphries. He decides to get some revenge on his rival, a fellow surgeon who ruined his life by spreading malicious lies about Egghead. This was a delightfully gruesome and over-the-top segment with some truly memorable performances from all those involved, with Rami Hilmi being particularly memorable as the psychotic and vengeful “Egghead”, who clearly finds joy in eliminating his competition. As the first entry, “Egghead” also lets viewers know what they are in for with Video Shop Tales of Terror, making it an ideal debut anthology story.
This was followed by “The Red Lipped Moon”, a decidedly grim, but still amusing noir tale focusing on a detective called Karl Carpenter, who is investigating the murder of his colleague. Told entirely in black and white and featuring old-school-style film noir narration, this segment will likely please fans of classic detective movies. The dedicated performance of Chris Mills as the flawed detective, who resorts to morally questionable methods to solve his case in addition to battling a narcotics dependency, also helped to make “The Red Lipped Moon” a captivating inclusion among the various segments on display.
One of the strongest segments featured in Video Shop Tales of Terror was “Mary Whitehouse, You’re a Cunt”, which focuses on two horror-obsessed friends who accidentally summoned the spirit of Mary Whitehouse. For those of you living in the US who may not be familiar with that name, Mary Whitehouse was an ultra-conservative and puritanical British advocate who dedicated her life to campaigning against content such as violence, profanity, and LGBTQ acceptance in British media. Directors Max Davenport and Alexander Churchyard both clearly had a lot of fun lampooning Whitehouse in this segment, as he relished the opportunity to depict her as a villainous old hag who wanted to take the fun out of everything.
Actress Charlie Bond, who you may remember from Powertool Cheerleaders vs the Boyband of the Screeching Dead, also had an absolute blast as the unfortunate young woman who Whitehouse’s spirit possesses. Buried under a ton of absurd elderly makeup (which still managed to look more convincing than Leonardo DiCaprio at the start of Inception), Bond delivered a hilariously over-the-top performance as the controversial activist, portraying her as a campy old-school horror villain who delights in tormenting her victims. And in keeping with Whitehouse’s puritanical views, her reaction to finding a dildo will leave you in stitches.
Interestingly, this segment largely pays homage to The Evil Dead, as it primarily takes place within a cabin and also features numerous other call-backs, such as a memorable recreation of the first-person shovel decapitation sequence. And the filmmakers were hardly subtle about their influences either. he two men featured throughout the segment (Ross Howard and James Hamer-Morton) both constantly discuss The Evil Dead before and after being menaced by the malevolent ghost of Mary Whitehouse. Sam Raimi even receives special thanks in the segment’s end credits. And seeing as stop-notion is now something of a lost art, the stop-motion shops of a severed hand crawling along the floor will no doubt please old-school horror aficionados. Evil Dead fans are in for a real treat with “Mary Whitehouse, You’re a Cunt”, as will anyone else who detested the hateful values which Mary Whitehouse tried to force on the British public.
Another fun entry was director Thomas Lee Rutter’s “These Burnt Children”, which focused on a sleazy movie producer who finally gets his comeuppance when one of his rightfully disgruntled associates sets out for some payback. While “Fleurs du Mal” from director Andrew Elias, was an enjoyable and unique tale of an 18th-century psychiatric doctor who was baffled by his apparent time-traveling patient’s description of what we now know as video recordings.
Interspersed throughout the picture were numerous amusing fake trailers from directors such as Geoff Harmer and Tony Mardon, featuring appearances from various cult horror stars. One of the most memorable offerings on display features Laurence R. Harvey turning into a grotesque humanoid toad, which will no doubt have you croaking with laughter. Horror fans will end up wanting these trailers to be made into feature-length films, and they were certainly a fun addition to Video Shop Tales of Terror, making it feel like a genuine retro horror experience.
Unfortunately, the film fell short with the penultimate anthology segment “Vergessen”. Going for a decidedly more serious tone than the other entries, this story focuses on a trio of femme fatales who tried to gather information for the Allies by seducing German military operatives during the Second World War. Dani Thompson, Ayvianna Snow, and Roe Haven star as the three intelligence gatherers, while Laurence R. Harvey appears as their primary target. Everyone involved delivered passable performances, but the more somber tone of this particular installment created a stark contrast when compared to the rest of the film. The segment itself generally seems somber and joyless. Fans of war pictures may enjoy “Vergessen”, but it just seemed like an odd and out-of-place entry when set beside the more campy and horror-focused installments.
Everyone involved with Video Shop Tales of Terror clearly had nostalgic memories of browsing the shelves of actual video shops before they faded from the world. It may no longer be possible to explore brick-and-mortar video shops thanks to the invasion of streaming, but watching Video Shop Tales of Terror was about the closest we will get to recreating that experience in the 2020s. Some of the entries were unquestionably stronger than others, but overall, this was a fun and frequently outrageous callback to the days of a bygone era when we could experience the joys of perusing the aisles of video shops.
Summary
Video Shop Tales of Terror serves as a brilliantly nostalgic and hilarious throwback to the glorious day of browsing video stores before streaming took over.
