This is a documentary that caught my attention when searching out the bigger name ones. What pulled me in, outside of the title, was using the Maniac poster, just a variation on it. When settling in to watch this and seeing the likes of Ted Raimi, Lloyd Kaufman, Adam Green and John Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs, that was enough to know that I'd enjoy this to an extent.
What we're getting here is talking to people about the golden age of seeking out films by going to video stores. I grew up in a small city in Michigan so we had one locally owned video store which was my secondary one. They did have solid horror films. Video Watch then turned into Hollywood Video was my go-to until Family Video came in. I'll say though, these both had a solid number of 'classics' that I hadn't seen yet to start me on my journey. It was fun to hear the people that I've mentioned already saying what they did or hearing about people in these movies. Also, Joe Bob Briggs hosting MonsterVision was a part of my childhood as well.
There is a dark side to this as well. Streaming movies has been a big thing to help gain access to more than what we could on VHS or early into DVD. It is rare that I can't find a movie that I need to watch through my personal collection or online. Green and other filmmakers bring up though that it leads to pirating which kills independent cinema. Kaufman doesn't fully disagree and I do like his argument. Personally, I've been guilty of pirating, but have come around to only doing it when there's no other way to see it. That usually leads to if a proper release comes out, I'll buy it to make up. Going through more proper means is how I like to continue now.
I'd also say that this is well-made. They reference so many different films, incorporate clips from a ton of cult classic films. That made me smile. I did take pictures of the different titles to ensure that I've seen them or make sure they're on my ever-growing list to films to seek out. If I do have an issue, there are times where people come off as whiny, but if I was a filmmaker or had a label that released films, I'd be annoyed if people weren't paying to help continue business. We are in a golden age now of collecting though so there is that.
I'd recommend it to horror and low budget film fans.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
