|
|
Texas
Chainsaw Massacre
This was yet another
case where the original art should have remained
in the re-releases... or at least this version
of the cover art anyway. While the VHS has had
some great variations on the art (including the
original poster featuring Leatherface pinning a
woman against a wall), and even the DVD and Blu-Ray
did the film justice (with the iconic still of
Leatherface holding up his chainsaw in the
sunlight), I was most familiar with the art
pictured here. Originally bought from a
cashier's window (where we got most of our
movies oddly enough), this movie was just a
mystery since I was old enough to watch horror
movies.
My mom always
forbade us to watch it or even look at the box,
but whenever the occasion arose I'd sneak away
with it and look at it and try to figure out why
this man with the chainsaw has a mangled face.
The back of the box claimed this was all based
on a true story (not entirely true) and stuck to
the faux-realism, that the movie enlisted with
the narration from John Laroquette, by
explaining the events in the movie like a crime
report, and on the front it's a rather excellent
picture of Leatherface dressed in his suit
wielding his chainsaw draped in a blue
background with Marilyn Burns' face gazing in
sheer horror in back of him. It's a pretty
impressive picture. |
|
Fright Night
Later ripped off
by the makers of "Return of the Living Dead
II" for use on their posters, the original
art to "Fright Night" is rather fantastic
and the aforementioned copy just pales in
comparison. Of course with the re-release of
it on VHS later in the nineties it was
reduced to a painfully ridiculous photo of a
key surprise scene in the movie, so it's
irritating if you've never seen the movie
and are treated to a giveaway of what occurs
in the second half. But for those who
remember the original art it is something to
really marvel at that pretty much widens the
line this movie has connected to the
original Hitchcock film "Rear Window." It's
a perfect representation of the plot.
There's a large
picture of a house in a Suburban
neighborhood draped in trees and over it
looms an incredible cloud made up of the
faces of vampires amidst the moon light
that's dwarfed by the pure evil force. The
finishing touch is the shadow of Jerry
Dandrige in the lit window on the top floor
of the house. It's a really great image and
perfectly hints at what the movie is all
about. Thankfully the later DVD releases
kept the original art in tact merely
darkening it a bit which is still pretty
effective. It also helps that underneath the
great art is a damn good horror movie. |
|
|
|
April Fool's Day
This is without
a doubt one of the greatest home video
covers/movie posters I've ever seen for a
horror film, barnone. Not only is it
incredibly creepy, but perfectly sums up the
sick and twisted humor implemented in this
horror film that serves as one big "Gotcha!"
to horror audiences. Watching it for the
first time almost ten years ago on Cinemax,
I was very disappointed by it because it
wasn't the gory slasher film I thought it
was going to be. I wanted blood and got
almost nothing.
I may have to
re-watch it. I used to glance at this poster
all the time in the video store and always
loved the symbolism and wink at the
potential renters. There's the entire cast
of characters having a blast in the
background as a young woman stands in the
foreground in a fancy dress holding up a
wine glass with a knife behind her back and
(this is my favorite aspect:) her ponytail
made up in a braid resembling a noose. My
god it's brilliant, and still makes me smile
when I look at it on the internet. If this
doesn't turn you on to the movie, then I've
given up on you. |
|
Sleepaway
Camp
I remember
looking at this VHS a lot when my mother
(who happens to be a diehard horror fan)
owned it. It was a pretty ratty box but the
cover was absolutely amazing to me at the
time. The knife held by a hand jabbed in to
a teenager's shoe was effective enough, but
then there was the letter to home on the
front that was just mind blowing. Though the
DVD re-release fails to include it, on the
back of the VHS there was no summary of the
movie or pictures but a large letter from a
camper who was writing to their parents
about the sights they've seen and the people
they've met.
And halfway in
to the letter it reads something to the
effect of: "Campers are dying all over the
place and I'm scared. I think I hear someone
coming to my door--" and then it simply gets
cut off and you can see blood along the
paper and desk the camper was using. It was
quite an effective image and pretty much
explained the concept of the movie without
the monotonous summary or giving away the
surprise ending (which many public domain
releases of the DVD did by featuring the
final scene of the movie). It was so cool I
read it many times and even copied it on to
paper to read back again and again. It's a
shame not many companies take the effort in
doing something so fun and gimmicky anymore. |
|
|
 |
The Company of Wolves
This is the only
film in the whole list that I haven't seen.
But I intend to soon. Granted since that is
the case this entry will sadly be shorter
than the aforementioned films. I remember
peeking at this picture on the catalogue for
"Movies Unlimited" that my uncle owned back
in 1993. It was a small black and white
picture but I found it to be so damn freaky
to look at. The picture of Red Riding Hood
walking alone in the middle of the night as
a wolf is emerging from the mouth of a man
in the distance is just surreal and rather
horrific to ponder on.
It's a great
twist on the fairy tales we've read. From
what I've heard about the movie, it's not
strictly a horror film per se as it is more
of a dark twisted fantasy film and a
metaphor for menstruation or something, I
don't know. Even if the movie does end up
stinking, I still love the cover art for it.
It's creative and darn disturbing.
Thankfully most of the editions released
later on DVD kept the original art and
variations of it.
We have a sequel coming soon! Stay tuned! |
<< Go Back to
Part One of "The Ten Best VHS Covers of All Time"
|
