HELLO AND WELCOME TO VHS WASTELAND, YOUR HOME FOR HIGH RESOLUTION SCANS OF RARE, STRANGE, AND FORGOTTEN VHS COVERS. EACH OF THESE BIZARRE GEMS IS SCANNED AT 200 DPI. SIMPLY CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL OF ANY VHS COVER TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL HIGH RES FORMAT. WE WILL BE ADDING A NEW COVER DAILY, SO BOOKMARK THIS SITE AND CHECK BACK OFTEN. WE'D ALSO LOVE SUBMISSIONS FROM YOU. IF YOU HAVE A VHS THAT IS WEIRD OR RARE, JUST EMAIL US AT MADHATTERDESIGN@GMAIL.COM. REMEMBER TO SCAN THE FRONT, BACK AND SIDES OF THE VHS AT 300 DPI. WE WON'T ACCEPT LOW RESOLUTION FILES. WHILE YOU'RE HERE, GRABBING OUR AWESOME FREE VHS COVERS, FEEL FREE TO CLICK THE "DONATE" BUTTON ON THE LEFT. IF ENOUGH PEOPLE SEND US SOME CASH, WE MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO KEEP BRINGING YOU THE COOLEST, HIGH RES VHS COVERS ON THE NET. BUT IF YOU GREEDY, COVER GRABBING... I MEAN... YOU WONDERFUL VISITORS TO OUR SITE, DON'T COUGH UP A DONATION, MAYBE WE'LL JUST FIND SOMETHING BETTER TO DO WITH OUR TIME. LIKE GO MAKE NACHOS. MMMMM... NACHOS. SO HELP A BROTHA OUT AND DONATE A LITTLE DOUGH TO THE CAUSE. LASTLY, WHY NOT VISIT OUR PARENT SITE (SERIALKILLERCALENDAR.COM). IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH VHS COVERS BUT I THINK YOU MIGHT BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY WHAT YOU FIND. OR NOT. I DON'T KNOW YOU. MAYBE YOUR NOT SURPRISED BY ANYTHING. MAYBE YOUR THE KIND OF GUY THAT SEES A COW FALL OUT OF THE SKY AND EXPLODE LIKE A PIÑATA AND YOUR ALL LIKE "HUH, THAT WAS WEIRD." MAN. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU ANYWAY? JEEZ. SOME PEOPLE. BUT NO. SERIOUSLY. GO BUY SOME CRAZY AWESOME TRUE CRIME MERCHANDISE AT SERIALKILLERCALENDAR.COM. INCLUDING THE SERIAL KILLER MAGAZINE, THE SERIAL KILLER TRADING CARDS AND MUCH MUCH MORE! DO IT. DO IT NOW. CLICK THE LINK.

SERIAL KILLER CALENDAR: THIS DAY IN SERIAL KILLER HISTORY BOOK PRICE : $19.95 This perfect bound Serial Killer Calendar book includes detailed facts and trivia about serial killers for every day of the year. It also includes the best true crime artwork from around the world. Want to know what happened today in serial killer history? Its all in this one massive collection of true crime information. This is the perfect gift for any fan of history, murderabelia or the macabre.

	Thanks for signing up! Sign Up

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
BATMAN AND ROBIN AND OTHER SUPER HEROES - SUBMITTED BY RYAN GELATIN

MARCH 12 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
WALKING ON AIR - SUBMITTED BY REDGUTS

Walking on Air is an absurd after school special in which a wheelchair-bound, space-obsessed boy becomes frustrated with life's hurdles, so he locks himself in a science museum until NASA agrees to sacrifice millions of taxpayer dollars to shoot him into space with no practical or beneficial research goals.  Guess what -- they do it. - By Redguts

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
WAR IS MENSTRUAL ENVY - SUBMITTED BY ZACH CARTER

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
TO KILL A CLOWN

REVIEW OF TO KILL A CLOWN - FROM EFILMCRITIC.COM

by Scott Weinberg

To Kill a Clown is a fitfully insightful and intermittently engaging ‘Vietnam Vet’ tale that manages to shoehorn a little social commentary in between a raving lunatic’s kidnapping of a young hippie couple and the overwhelming presence of two vicious Dobermans.

It’s a none-too-subtle metaphor detailing the rightful place for a spoiled artist and a scarred veteran in a post-Vietnam culture. You know, all that “tough guy vs. sensitive guy” stuff that was so prevalent in the early seventies.

Tim and Lily Frischer are going through a rough time, marriage-wise. She’s grown weary of his wifty artboy mentality, and he’s still in love with her despite her constant disapproval. In an effort to patch things up, the young couple rent a house on an isolated island. Their landlord is Evelyn Ritchie who, despite the deceptive first name, is indeed a man. Ritchie lives alone on his little island with a deaf-mute servant and two vicious Dobermans as his only companions. (How the Frischer’s ever got this guy’s telephone number is anyone’s guess!) Upon the couple’s arrival, Ritchie seems to be the peak of all things cordial and polite, but it’s not long before the three of them are sucking down a bottle of booze. It’s at this point that Ritchie asks Tim how he believes he’d stand up in prison. The brash painter claims that he’s as tough as the next guy.

The next morning, Ritchie (along with his two carnivorous canines) devises a scheme to see how manly Tim really is. (Let’s just say it involves a lot of rocks, a lot of screaming, and some effective kidnapping.)

Despite a somewhat leaden pace and symbolism so obvious that it’s almost delivered in neon, To Kill a Clown actually isn’t a bad little flick. Sure, you might giggle when I mention that the villainous hermit is played by the one and only Alan Alda, but the guy does a bang-up job here! Propping himself up on two ever-present crutches and chewing through the scenery at every turn (particularly late in the film), Alda is simply a lot of fun to watch here. As our nattering damsel, we’re offered a very young and surprisingly nubile Blythe Danner, an actress who’s currently not well known for having a sexy body. (She did in 1971!) An actor I’m not at all familiar with, Heath Lamberts (perhaps best known for his role in Tom & Huck), delivers a great performance as the wimpy-ish Tim. It would have been real easy for this character to become a sniveling crybaby, yet Lamberts strikes a nice balance between ‘easy victim’ and ‘brooding avenger’…though he does decidedly less of the latter.

A virtually forgotten indie flick from the early 70’s, To Kill a Clown doesn’t really tread any new ground and the movie often slows down to a near-halt here and there. If this one seems more impressively presented than many other low-budget flick from thirty years ago, much of the credit can be attributed to cinematographer Walter Lassally, a filmmaker who won an Oscar in 1965 for his work on Zorba the Greek. For a movie made on the cheap, it’s photographed quite beautifully.

Though To Kill a Clown isn’t among the best ‘psycho Vietnam vet’ flicks ever made, the trio of actors keep the movie moving along nicely, and you’ll find yourself wanting to see how it all ends.

If a movie can accomplish that one simple task, it’s probably a fairly good movie.

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
INSECT

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
TOUGH TO KILL

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
CAR CRASH

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
CANNIBAL

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
SOLE SURVIVOR - SUBMITTED BY GEMIE FORD

REVIEW OF SOLE SURVIVOR - FROM THELUCIDNIGHTMARE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Director: Thom Eberhardt
Year 1983

I heard a lot of good things about Sole Survivor prior to actually obtaining the Code Red dvd that came out in 2009, and I wasn't disappointed when I popped this baby into the old dvd player. This film in many respects is where the concept of the Final Destination franchise originated from because much like those movies, it follows a very similar outline of a single survivor of a devastating accident being hunted down by death. Sole Survivor is actually a remake of a 1981 Australian movie entitled The Survivor, but I think that film was kind of vague on the idea that death was reclaiming its lost victim, or at least the director of that film approached the material with an abstract plot in mind. Either way, the original Australian movie is interesting in its own right and I'd recommend checking it out as a comparison on how one simple plot can be produced with two entirely different outcomes, but back to Sole Survivor.

There is a distinct difference between the plot in Sole Survivor and the plot in the Final Destination series. In the Final Destination films, it is actually death stalking the victims, but in Sole Survivor we have various recently dead people showing up and attempting to take our main character's life. I like this idea the best because it leans more towards a zombie like premise, but without the flesh eating and actual walking corpses. These dead are more physical ghost-like beings that come and go at whim and to me that gives off a creepier vibe and gives the impression that once we are dead, we are basically puppets for death to control.

The film opens up with what is first presented as a dream or nightmare. We are given an overhead view of a field with corpses and debris scattered everywhere. The camera continues along in an almost graceful fashion and then we have a shot of our main character Denise played by a virtually unknown actress (by this reviewer anyway) Anita Skinner. She is sitting in an airplane seat in the middle of the carnage and is in complete shock. We are then violently pulled from this haunting vision and then realize that this was all in the head of a psychic woman named Karla Davis played by Caren Larkey. In actuality, this horrible plan crash has indeed happened and our main character Denise, ends up being the only survivor of the gruesome event.

As she leaves the hospital after the doctors make sure she is fine, she begins having a hard time readjusting back into her former life. She has this horrible feeling that she wasn't supposed to have survived the crash and that her luck will soon catch up with her in a matter of days. The doctors, including her physician Dr. Brian Richardson played by Kurt Johnson, believe that she is only feeling that way because of the horrible trauma that she has endured. This is actually a significant play on an actual psychological condition known as Survivor's Syndrome in which the sole survivor of a terrible death defying event dies within the year of the initial traumatic event. The director handles this concept beautifully and applies it to a horror setting so seamlessly, that you can't help but to applaud his efforts.

Unfortunately for Denise, it's not all in her head. Everywhere she goes she sees strange people standing and starring at her from a distance. First it's the creepy soaking wet little girl outside the hospital, then it's a lonely hitch hiker watching her as she drives by, and then there's a weirdo stalking her in an underground parking garage. She can't even get any privacy when she makes out with her new physician boyfriend Brian in the park. 

The times when the dead zombie-like people show up are great. Each actor that portrays the creepy ghouls, do an excellent job of sending a chill up your spin, giving off the disturbing vibes that are much needed in a film like this. The tone throughout the film is also top notch. You always have this strange feeling that there is someone around the next corner or a figure lurking outside the window, watching and waiting.

As the dead begin to show up more frequently, they adapt their technique from just standing and starring, to flat out attacks. These attacks are not just limited to Denise, but anyone that she comes into contact with. It's almost like she is a plague or a kind of virus, because they only seem to attack people she knows and have interacted with. For instance, her one neighbor gets it when she arrives at Denise's house looking for her. There is really no reason to kill this neighbor because she had nothing to do with the plan crash, but death takes her out all the same by drowning her in the pool. Same goes for the taxi driver that previously had given Denise a ride. 

The atmosphere in this movie is another example of how this film excels in bringing on the gloom and doom. The stormy night, the large silent house, and the void of a mass populated cast really blend well to set the tone. This is surprising because the next year the director will make Night of the Comet, an entertaining film about a zombie apocalypse that is very light on the scares and heavy on the fun with an engaging and vibrant cast. The film follows two valley girl sisters as they survive in a world gone mad all while keeping their hair in that 80's style super perm. A gem of a flick, but miles away from the devastatingly depressing story of Sole Survivor.

The locations should be given a great deal of credit for establishing the foreboding feeling that generates as the story builds closer to its impending conclusion. Each location looks superb, adding to the creep factor and establishing some dramatic set pieces. One of the most memorable is at Denise's house. The place is made for a "cat and mouse", "home alone and the killer is watching" type set ups. Denise slowly and cautiously walks the halls and up the staircase, searching for someone lurking in the dark corners of her house. The entire scene moves at a snails pace as she examines each room. She finally gets to the last room and the coast is clear. Letting down her guard, she looks out the window into the stormy night sky when suddenly a man collides with the glass, bringing the audience to jump. Like most of the cheap scares you see today with the loud effects to accompany the jarring image of someone popping out of no where, this film doesn't stoop to that trend but relies on genuine story telling and a gentle editing pace to set up the scare. I'll always appreciate the crafted scare over the jump because it's your natural reaction to hearing a super sonic sound, blasting out of nowhere. I mean someone can come up behind me and scream at the top of their lungs, but that doesn't mean that they are a horror genius. It just makes them an asshole that can't keep their mouth shut. Please learn from this hollywood.

I also enjoyed the colors throughout this film. Thom Eberhardt really has an eye for using visually striking locations and costumes. The house that they chose for Denise has an immensely expressive color palette, with its crimson walls and carpet that line the living room to the lime green tiles of the kitchen. These elements just thrive on film and highlight that late gaudy 70's style that I really love seeing in these undiscovered gems. I mean who wouldn't want a red caked room with red shag carpet to boot?

With the costumes, the director also injects his stylistic preferences. I noticed that Denise dresses in the color red a lot throughout the film or at least is surrounded by it in the composition of the frame. For instance her red sweater when she's creeping around the house alone, the red fingernail polish that she has on in the park scene, and in the very first shot that we see her in she is sitting in a red row of airplane seats. I really don't know if there is an underlying meaning for all of this red showing up in the frame, but I do enjoy the contrasting colors and style that it brings to the table.

Now I don't want to give to much away on the conclusion of this film, since the plot is a rather simple one and you can probably guess that she either gets away from death or finally meets her doom, but I think it is just something you have to see for yourself. It's great to know that there are still some undiscovered films out there that have this high of a quality and originality in them. I'm not saying this film is completely original being that it is essentially a remake of sorts, but during its time when the big horror boom in cinema was the slasher movie, it's refreshing to see a deviation from the norm that really packs a punch and makes you think.

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
THE TANGERINE BEAR

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
FATAL DIAMONDS - SUBMITTED BY VINCENT KAVAKO

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
DIE GEISTERSTADT DER ZOMBIES

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
RED DWARF IV : DIMENSION JUMP

MARCH 13 2011 VHS COVER SCAN - CLICK FOR HIGH RES VERSION
BLOOD EVIL

MARCH 13 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : THE MUTILATOR (1984) When Ed was a young boy, he accidentally shot and killed his mother while cleaning one of his father's rifles. Now a college student, Ed (Matt Mitler) and his friends are trying to decide what to do on their fall break when Ed gets a call from his father asking him to close up his condo on the beach before Winter comes. Ed and his friends decide to make a vacation out of it and drive to the condo. Once they get there, they find the condo unlocked and a bunch of liquor bottles scattered about, like a party had just finished. Ed explains to his friends that his father is a hunter and heavy drinker and shows them his father's trophies and weapons. That's when Ed notices that a battleaxe is missing from it's place on the wall. Being horny teenagers, there's lots of talk about having sex, romantic walks on the beach and games of Monopoly (?), but why is Ed's father (Jack Chatham) hiding in a shed in the back yard holding the battleaxe? Linda (Frances Raines) is killed while skinnydipping in a pool and her boyfriend, Mike (Morey Lampley), follows a trail of her clothes to the shed, where he is disemboweled by an outboard motor operated by Ed's dad. He then hangs both dead bodies by impaling their heads on spikes in a hidden room in the shed. When the other four go looking for Mike and Linda, they meet a cop (Ben Moore) on the beach. He tells them to be careful and then goes snooping around the condo, only to be stabbed in the face with a sword and then beheaded with the battleaxe. When Ralph (Bill Hitchcock) goes to the shed to look for his missing friends, Ed Sr. shoves a trident through his neck. When Sue (Connie Rogers) goes looking for Ralph, Ed Sr. puts her on a table and shoves a gaffing hook in her vagina until it exits out her stomach. He then chops her head off. Ed Jr. is then impaled on the leg with the axe and Pam (Ruth Martinez) stabs Ed Sr. in the chest with a knife. As they are about to drive away, Ed Sr. jumps on the hood and Pam throws the car into reverse, pinning him to a wall and cutting him in half. Ed Sr. has one more bit of gory mayhem to perform before he passes away. Why did kill all these people? Let's just say he was having a bad day because the film gives you no concrete reason. This low-budget slasher flick, directed/produced/scripted by one-shot wonder Buddy Cooper, delivers on the gore (avoid the R-rated cut, as it edits out nearly all the graphic bloodshed) but fails on nearly every other level. It takes forever to get moving and there are more false scares than actual ones. It seems the only false scare they didn't use was a cat jumping out of nowhere. The gore is very graphic when it finally comes and it lingers lovingly on gushing wounds, spilled innards, dismembered body parts and impaled heads. The gaffing hook stunt is particularly hard to watch and is only trumped by the finale where Ed's father is cut in two. Nothing is left to the imagination and it is downright nasty in it's execution (especially what happens to a cop who checks on the body). The only recognizable names in the cast are Frances Raines and Matt Mitler, who would both later co-star in Tim Kincaid's BREEDERS (1986).  Originally titled FALL BREAK and filmed in 1982, the distributors changed the name and hired John Douglass to "tighten up" the film (he gets a "co-director" credit). This actually played theaters in 1984. Look closely at the end credits at the production date. A new date of 1984 is burned-in over the old date. A good film for gorehounds. Not so good for everyone else. The tag line is great, though: "By Sword. By Pick. By Axe. Bye-Bye!" A Vestron Video Release. Available in R-Rated and Unrated editions. { text from critcononline.com }