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A History of VHS Companies Part Two
Published At Critcononline.com
MAGNUM
ENTERTAINMENT - This is
another video company that turned out splashy covers in big box,
clamshell cases and
 regular
size video sleeves that always caught the eye, even if the films
themselves were strictly bottom-shelf. Films like CURSE OF THE
BLUE LIGHTS, NAIL
GUN MASSACRE, MAXIM XUL and THE REINCARNATE tempted renters with their colorful artwork, only to disappoint once
the cassette was inserted into the VCR. Not that all of their films
were bad, mind you. Magnum also released the uncut versions of good
exploitation films, including Jose Larraz's VAMPYRES, S.F.
Brownriff's backwoods trash epic POOR
WHITE TRASH PART II, the highly-original A.I.D.S. parable THE
CARRIER and
Gregory Dark's STREET
ASYLUM. But Magnum was first and foremost a trashfilm maven's dream as their
roster included REVENGE
OF THE LIVING ZOMBIES, BLOOD SALVAGE, THE
CHANNELER (ugh!), GOODNIGHT GOD BLESS, THE DARK POWER and their crowning achievement, ROBO
VAMPIRE. The sad fact that my library is full of Magnum
Entertainment product attests to their market savvy. I was (and still
am) a sucker for eye-catching box art. Magnum did close up shop in
the early 90's, only to ressurect itself with new films (you can tell
their newer releases by the number "2" next to their logo
on the boxes) and a whole new generation of unaware film seekers
getting duped into buying or renting shitty films. And we wouldn't
have it any other way. Magnum finally closed-up shop for good in 1997
after a run of nearly 15 years. Not bad for a company that never
released a major motion picture on VHS. UPDATE: According to badfilm director Donald Farmer (SAVAGE
VENGEANCE - 1993), Magnum Entertainment formed a subdivision
called Eden Entertainment and released a bunch of lower-tier films
under the banner of I WILL DANCE ON YOUR GRAVE. Along with
Farmer's VENGEANCE, Eden also released his CANNIBAL HOOKERS (1986), Tim Ritter's KILLING
SPREE (1987), the rape-revenge film LETHAL
VICTIMS (1987) and the cleverly-titled (if awful) I SPIT
ON YOUR GRAVE TOO (1995). I have just learned from Donald Farmer
that the Magnum that ran Eden Entertainment is not the same Magnum
Entertainment that released all the other films mentioned. Confusing,
isn't it?
MEDIA
HOME ENTERTAINMENT - One of
the earliest video companies, Media Home Entertainment
 was
 formed
in 1978 and released nearly 1,000 films before it ceased operations
in 1992. Media began by releasing public domain titles (back then,
public domain titles such as PSYCHOMANIA and NIGHT OF THE
LIVING DEAD weren't readily available on the market as they are
today, so they were new to the renters) and graduated to the big
time, thanks to some popular CHARLIE BROWN titles and live
concert performances. During the mid-to-late 80's, Media was king of
the independent distributors, as they released popular theatrical
product (the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET franchise and much of New
Line's 80's catalogue; Chuck Norris films such as A FORCE OF ONE, THE
OCTAGON and many others; Charles Bronson flicks (MURPHY'S LAW, MESSENGER OF DEATH) and a lot of independent releases like TROMA'S
WAR, MOTHER'S DAY and, strangely enough, a lot of Trans
World Entertainment's theatrical releases) and also released a
lot of low-budget horror and action films that nearly all renters of
the 80's gobbled-up. Media released such titles as DON'T
GO IN THE HOUSE, TOURIST
TRAP, DEMONOID, LASERBLAST, C.H.U.D., BASKET CASE and many, many others. Media titles were as commonplace as major
label's product in many households as they also distributed animated
films, self-help videos, sports-themed videos and many films never
released to theaters, such as TERROR ON TOUR, a slew of
Italian post-nuke films (ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX, ENDGAME, 2020
TEXAS GLADIATORS) and action films like THE
EXPENDABLES, NAM ANGELS and SAIGON COMMANDOS.
Media had their hands in every type of genre, thereby cementing it's
dependability as a company that could meet anyone's
spur-of-the-moment urges. There are many unconfirmed stories about
Media's reputation and they need to be told. Unfortunately, until a
reliable source appears, these stories will go untold as much of
Media's catalogue is still around and still being distributed by
companies like Anchor Bay,
Fox and New Line on DVD
(I don't want lawsuits, but there are rumblings of murder and
underworld connections.). A lot of Media's early releases command big bucks today in the
auction market. I own a few from the late 70's and they play
perfectly. Just a side note here, but don't the early tapes weigh
much heavier than tapes produced in the last 10 years? You could drop
an older tape and nothing would happen. Drop a new tape and be
prepared to bring out the vacuum as it will shatter into hundreds of
small pieces. The older tapes were made to last, and 25 years later
they play as well as the first time.
MGM/UA
HOME VIDEO - Here's another label
which lived a very long life. MGM started out as a major film produc
 tion
company, cranking out films since the early 1920's. Their huge
library of films was ideal for the home video market, so in 1979 they
joined forces with CBS Home Video to form MGM/CBS Home Video. In
1981, CBS broke off with MGM to join with 20th Century Fox to form
CBS/Fox Home Video. That same year, MGM joined with United Artists to
form MGM/UA Home Video and that partnership lasted until 1998, when
Ted Turner bought the MGM library and renamed the label MGM Home
Entertainment. For seventeen years, MGM/UA released thousands of
films on VHS, including many that have still yet to see the light of
day on DVD. MGM/UA is most fondly remembered for releasing their
films in those big cardboard boxes that opened up like a book (They
also had a blue piece of tape shaped like a giant "I" that
stuck to the middle of the right hand side or bottom of the box,
either covering a portion of the artwork or the credits. If you tried
to remove it, more times than not it would destroy whatever was below
it.). Time has not been kind to those big boxes, as they have faded
or wrinkled due to the ravages of time, but who can't help but
remember seeing those big box releases, like GYMKATA, EQUALIZER
2000, THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN, HOSPITAL
MASSACRE, FORBIDDEN
PLANET and FINAL EXECUTIONER lining the video store shelves. MGM/UA had exclusive deals with
Cannon Films and Roger Corman's Concord Films during the 80's and
many of those big box releases command high prices on the collectors'
circuit due to their rarity and the fact that they have never been
released to DVD. MGM/UA was also one of the first major VHS companies
to encode their tapes with the Macrovision process to curtail piracy
and illegal copying. Nearly every MGM/UA VHS tape produced was
Macrovision encoded, so if you ever think of buying their tapes to
back up to DVD, just remember that you will need a device to bypass
the encoding.
MOGUL
COMMUNICATIONS, INC. - Not
much is known about Mogul Video (or it's sublabels: All-American
Video; Mega Video, Trend Video
 and
Canada's Galaxy Video), except they turned out some kick-ass artwork
on their oversized clamshell cases between the years 1982 - 1986.
Whoever did the artwork on these cases deserved some kind of award as
there were eye-catching art of well-endowed women in perilous
situations, skulls (a favorite theme here), and guns and knives used
in threatening manners. The artwork for SATAN'S BLOOD alone was used for at least two other titles (see my visual tour) on
Mogul's roster. Mogul specialized in little-known European horror
films with titles such as THE ICEBOX MURDERS, DON'T LOOK IN
THE ATTIC, RAPE, DON'T
PANIC, FEAST FOR
THE DEVIL, SCHOOL OF DEATH and many more. They also
released some home-grown horror flicks, such as Donald Farmer's first
film DEMON QUEEN,
Tony Malanowski's piss-poor CURSE
OF THE SCREAMING DEAD, as well as the unbelievably-bad SATAN'S
BLADE; Italian
Crime Thrillers like Lucio Fulci's CONTRABAND and
the Henry Silva-starrers THE KILLER and CRIMEBUSTERS; Martial Arts flicks like CHALLENGE OF THE TIGER, EYE OF THE DRAGON and NINJA HOLOCAUST; and British
Thrillers such as Michael J. Murphy's video nasty INVITATION TO HELL and Alan Birkenshaw's INVADERS
OF THE LOST GOLD. Mogul and it's sublabels didn't release an
enormous amount of product, but what they did before it became
popular was release some of their films letterboxed. I don't know if
it was on purpose of if they didn't know better, but it was a nice
surprise for people who like their films shown in the proper aspect
ratio.
MONTEREY
HOME VIDEO - This
long-lasting video company (started in the mid 80's as a sublabel of
Family Home
 Entertainment
and still going strong today) released many little-known (at the
time) foreign genre films that entertained viewers hungry for
something new. Titles such as THE GRIM REAPER, THE
MEAN MACHINE, THE SLASHER, DEADLY SANCTUARY, THE
DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE and many other were released all for the first
time, in their big-box glory. Monterey didn't skimp on obscure
home-grown films either, releasing THE FLESH EATERS, THE
LOVE BUTCHER, BONNIE'S
KIDS, DEADLY GAMES, THE LEGEND OF ALFRED PACKER, KILL
AND GO HIDE, THE SWITCHBLADE SISTERS and many other
for the first time in VHS format. Monterey also had a sublabel,
called After Hours Entertainment, that released
"dicier" titles like THE DEVIL'S UNDEAD, FIGHT
FOR YOUR LIFE, and BLOOD VOYAGE, films that
Monterey didn't want to release under their own banner. Monterey also
controls the rights to the "Ginger" films, a series of 70's
sexploitation/action films that starred Cheri Caffaro as Ginger, an
undercover agent who used her body, as well as her fists. These films
include: GINGER (1971), THE ABDUCTORS (1972) and GIRLS
ARE FOR LOVING (1973). A fourth film, A
PLACE CALLED TODAY (1972), is usually mentioned in the same
breath but has no connection other than Caffaro appearing in it.
Monterey stays in business today selling their catalogue on DVD,
which includes many documentaries, self-help and PBS programs.
NEW
WORLD VIDEO - Contrary to
popular belief, Roger Corman had nothing to do with New World Video,
since he sold his interest in New World Pictures in 1984. In a
relatively short period of time (1984 - 1989), New World Video left
quite an impression for the horror film lover. Releasing such films
as J.P. Simon's SLUGS, the first two HELLRAISER films,
direct-to-video fare CELLAR
DWELLER and ZOMBIE
NIGHTMARE and
some chosen cuts from New World Picture's classic
 70's
output (BURY ME
AN ANGEL, ANGELS DIE HARD, PEACE KILLERS), New World Video had
nearly something for everyone. If you wanted action, you could rent THE
OMEGA SYNDROME, THE ANNIHILATORS or
the very offbeat CERTAIN FURY.
If you wanted adventure, you could take home JAKE SPEED, DEF-CON
4 or CODENAME:WILDGEESE.
If you desired comedy, you could laugh at TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000,
Larry Cohen's THE STUFF or FRATERNITY VACATION (starring future pole-smoker Stephen Geoffreys). If you wanted to
take home a theatrical production, New World Video offered such films as DEAD HEAT, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, BLACK MOON RISING or TUFF TURF. But, New World's stock in trade was horror
films. Titles such as GHOSTKEEPER, THE HOUSE ON STRAW HILL, GHOST TOWN, TERROR
IN THE SWAMP, TORMENT and many. many others lined the
video shelves for the undiscriminating renter. Alas, all good things
must come to an end, and New World Video's came in 1989, when the
News Corporation (who also owned 20th Century-Fox) bought the company
and licensed most of the post-1984 library to budget label Starmaker
(who released a bunch of New World titles in the crappy EP mode) and
eventually Anchor Bay Entertainment. Roger Corman still retained
rights to most of the pre-1984 New World library and began releasing
them on his New Concorde Home Video label, both on VHS and DVD (right
up until this day).
PARAGON
VIDEO PRODUCTIONS - Of all
the pre-records I own (well over 3,000 as of this writing), the
 majority
of 80's horror in my collection comes from Paragon Video. Their
sleeves were the meaning of simplicity: Usually a copy of the
original release theatrical poster on the front with a big copy of
their logo on the bottom right and a few photos of the film and a
short plot synopsis (usually taken from the film's pressbook) on the
back. While they didn't release the best-looking prints of the
movies, they were usually the uncut versions (keep your Paragon
version of JUST
BEFORE DAWN as the Shriek Show DVD version of the film is missing bits of gore found on Paragon's tape).
What really made Paragon stand out was their collection of trailers
that they showed before the film. There were usually about 12 minutes
of trailers for horror, exploitation and action films that were
probably more enjoyable than the film on the tape. While I don't
pretend to know squat about Paragon's history, I do know that they
were located in Las Vegas, Nevada, were originally known as "King
Of Video" and released product from late 1981 until 1985,
making them one of the earliest companies in the home video rental
market for genre films. I made it a quest of mine to own as many
Paragon VHS tapes as I can get my hands on. Thanks to eBay,
I have been able to purchase a lot of them for less than two bucks.
They play just as good now as they did when they were new and some of
them are nearly 25 years old!
PRISM
ENTERTAINMENT - This independent
company, which began operations in 1984, released
 many
genre films
 up
until they filed for Chapter 11 in 1995. Prism distributed a lot of
obscure stuff on VHS during their prime, including WOLF
LAKE, BECAUSE
OF THE CATS, DEADMATE, BLOOD RAGE, DEATHMASK, ALMOST
HUMAN (you gotta love that misleading cover!) and
many others. They were known basically for releasing little-known
films and hardly had any major theatrical releases in their
catalogue. Prism's varied sked consisted of films such as DARK
SANITY, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER, MURDERLUST, CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE, THE
AFTERMATH, WILLARD (and BEN), TALES
FROM THE CRYPT, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD, ASYLUM, THE DIVINE ENFORCER (a personal favorite for all the wrong reasons), THE
BONEYARD and a bunch of MFTV films, including SHE WAITS, SATAN'S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, CRUISE INTO TERROR, THE
BOY IN THE PLASTIC BUBBLE, SAVAGES and DEATH AT LOVE HOUSE.
As the 90's approached, Prism began distributing mostly "erotic
thriller" DTV fare such as the NIGHT EYES trilogy, TROPICAL
HEAT and ULTIMATE DESIRES, which eventually led to it's downfall.
Still, Prism had a good 11 year run and entertained a lot of renters
during the 80's, which is why you will find a lot of their releases
reviewed on this site. Prism also released product for a label called
A.N.E. Home Video (American National Enterprises), which distributed
a bunch of even-more obscure titles such as BEASTS, JOHNNY
FIRECLOUD, and RENEGADE NINJAS.
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