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The VHS/BETA Home Video History Of “John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN”

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2023 marks 45 years since John Carpenter made a little movie about a homicidal maniac stalking babysitters, and the phenomena of HALLOWEEN hasn’t wavered once since that initial release. If anything, the fandom has only gotten stronger, more fierce, and completely loyal to one of the first masked slashers on the horror scene.

I was pretty damn young when I first saw HALLOWEEN; like, way younger than what should have been allowed at the time- I believe I was around 4 or 5 when I first started catching tidbits of it here and there during one of my Dad’s viewings on TV. It wasn’t until I was about seven when I pressed the play button myself and watched it in its entirety all on my own. I’ll never forget the recorded VHS that held an unholy trilogy of horror on it: a translucent shade of blue VHS tape in a brown clamshell with recordings of Frankenstein (1931), The Exorcist, and Halloween. And thus my love for the franchise was born from an early age, so much so, I, like many others, can utter the whole fuckin’ thing word for word without ever skipping a beat.

Up until the late 90s, I didn’t even own a legit VHS copy. I had merely relied on old faithful blue there along with anytime it was showing on TV- my favorites were when Joe Bob Briggs and MonsterVision would run it, or when the USA Network had a Friday Fright Night.

Also, this is my goddamn favorite promo ever for HALLOWEEN ever; and it’s a double feature!

JOHN CARPENTER’S HALLOWEEN has been released on home video in a myriad of ways over the last 40 years, probably giving this horror film in particular a record for how many different variations of this classic exist to watch at home. In my mind, I never like to live much past the 21st century, so we’re going to forgo the 2,000 releases HALLOWEEN has seen since the DVD coming of age and stick to the nostalgic basics of glorious VHS cover art, where it all began as it had quite the shelf-life on this format. And what the fuck, we gotta throw in BETA with a dash of Laserdisc because they never get their due.

1979 (VHS)

The most coveted VHS of HALLOWEEN is the first-printing, 1979 Meda Home Entertainment Full Screen release that followed one year after the film’s debut. The signature retro orange and simplistic nature of this one, in particular, has been known to sell for thousands to interested buyers in the modern day. It’s pretty much every VHS collector’s holy grail. Mine included.

1979 (BETA)

The BETAMAX was first introduced in 1975 and was basically the 4K version of a VHS with higher resolution and overall better quality viewing. They ran a pretty penny, so you really wouldn’t see this in your average household. But of course, even in 1979 we all knew HALLOWEEN was something special and had to be seen on the beautiful BETA in full screen, so a cassette was made to coincide the release of the VHS. I’ve never owned a BETAMAX myself, but my ritzy friend had one growing up and yep, she had this. I can confirm the visual experience was mounds better, and I was forever jealous I never had a BETA Cassette Player. A second BETA was released in 1985 before the format completely fizzled out and BETA was no more as VHS ultimately won the home video wars.

1981 (VHS)

The second release occurred in 1981 as a promo deal upon the release of HALLOWEEN II. There was another release in 1984 and 1987, but it pretty much had the same box art with nothing really added. In today’s age, there would be hell to pay for that!

1985 (Laserdisc)

1985 brought on the massive Laserdisc format of the immortal classic and ran consumers about $40, which would amount to about $112 in 2023- insane, right? Presented the film in pan & scan, believe it or not, this was the first of a few, Laserdisc releases for Halloween with a really cool Japanese release in 1986, and a Criterion Collection debut in 1994. In 1996, the UK sourced a LD from a new 35mm Panavision print minted from the original negative. Pretty neat, huh?!

1989 (VHS)

1989 brought on one final pressing of Halloween before MEDIA fully went bankrupt, riding the coattails of HALLOWEEN 5 before its theatrical release. Interestingly enough, there was an accidental pressing of the television version that was originally shown on television in 1981 with the extra added scenes. It was pulled from the market shortly after its initial release, corrected, and thrown back into the market, making it a highly sought after collector’s item!

1995 (VHS)

In 1995, Blockbuster which had become the king of VHS home movie rentals, purchased the distribution rights to Halloween and released it as part of their Blockbuster Presents October showcase. This is also the VHS that most people own because in pure Blockbuster fashion, they printed a SHIT TON of these bad boys for purchase. Less is never more with Blockbuster as they always 200 copies of one new movie taking up two walls in their store.

Also, let’s look at that TV promo for it because it’s pretty damn glorious.

1997 (VHS)

In 1997, Halloween distribution changed hands once again, but this time for the last time to Anchor Bay and with that saw yet, another VHS release. But, this is also the first time the film was hawked to home video with a Widescreen version, as the movie has only ever been seen at home in full screen.

1998 (VHS)

In 1998, to mark the film’s holy twentieth anniversary and the release of HALLOWEEN H2O, Anchor Bay put out this gorgeous orange double cassette collector’s VHS edition that also came with this keychain that I still proudly keep on me this very day. This clamshell edition, to me, is the absolute best as far as VHS releases go, and the only one I own personally. The 10.31.78 Edition, as it was called, was limited to only 40,000 copies. The first tape is the widescreen presentation of the film, and the second tape contains all its special features as in television scenes (as well as the slightly censored opening kill of Judith), Halloween Unmasked 1998, the film’s theatrical trailer, and a couple of TV spots, radio spots, and a beautiful photo still gallery. My only regret is not sending in that dollar for the poster.

2001 (Final VHS)

2001 was the final year a Halloween VHS would ever be released and with this, Anchor Bay pimped out the extended edition, which was basically the film’s theatrical cut with the television scenes spliced in. Which has now, become the fan favorite way to watch it.

Soon after, the VHS format completely fizzled out to make way for the advanced DVD technology. However, I have to say, old faithful 40 year VHS’ I own still hold up and play well while you so much as slightly hold a DVD wrong, the thing doesn’t want to play right. Which is why the resurgence of the VHS in the past years has become a splendor to behold to know the cassette tape has found its way back into mainstream households. And most importantly, 45 years later, HALLOWEEN, and its many VHS format releases.

Which one is your favorite?!

Interviews

Interview: Dwight Little Looks Back on 35 Years of “HALLOWEEN 4: The RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS”

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing HALLOWEEN 4 director and Samhain aficionado, Dwight Little on all things horror, the new film NATTY KNOCKS, and duh, of course, HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS; and in case you’re new here, is one of my own personal Kryptonite films. Put that sucker on, and I’m pretty much dead to the world. With the 35th anniversary of the 1988 movie looming over us, I used this opportunity to gain a deeper insight of the film I rented over and over again at my local Mom-and-Pop video store and that has become not only a fan favorite over the years but a beautiful throwback to the nostalgia of Halloween in the 80s.

Which begged Dwight Little to ask me himself,

“Why do YOU think people love this movie so much, right, now?“

To which I gave the obvious answer of-

“Mr. Little, HALLOWEEN 4 is thee perfect seasonal Halloween film. It holds so many memories and nostalgia for us children of the 80s and embodies the look and feel of the holiday with an added bonus of Michael Myers slowly walking around chasing folks.”

Tell me I’m wrong…

DL:

“Those streets of Haddonfield, all the dead leaves, the old drug store, and the shallow fields, the movie on top of it being Michael Myers, just has that nice atmosphere of what it was like to go trick or treating.“

NN: And that opening is a banger as well!

DL: You know we put a LOT of energy into that, and I had asked the writer on set, ya know, how much do we actually KNOW about the origins of Halloween? I looked up some references on it and found out there’s some old Scottish agricultural tradition where the fields have gone bare and everyone has to do their last harvest to get ready for the Winter. And so there’s all this iconic imagery of scarecrows and pumpkin men, and looking back into the roots of it all, is how we came up with that title sequence that seems so beloved. I just didn’t want to do the pumpkin [intro sequence again] and wanted to try something else.

NN: With RETURN turning 35 this year, tell me some of your fondest memories of being on set, or something that sticks out to you looking back on making the film.

DL: “Well, I was such a goofy fan of Donald Pleasence. Growing up, ya know, this was the guy from THE GREAT ESCAPE, and he was a James Bond villain so in my eyes he was English Royality. So, to be able to work with Donald as a young director, it was such a thrill, To be honest, I was intimidated for about the first two hours on the first day of filming with him on set, but we fell into such an easy actor/director relationship and he never made me feel like he didn’t want to be “directed” and so I was able to really dig in with him and not be scared away by his star status and that was something I really enjoyed.”

“I also loved both the girls, Danielle Harries and Ellie Cornell. They found a chemistry on their own, I didn’t even have to do much, and Ellie is just naturally took care of Danielle, and seemed bonded right from the beginning, which gave a real heart to the movie.”

NN: Yeah, it’s a tragedy what they did to her in Part 5. To me personally, I think she’s the greatest final girl of the franchise!

DL: Well, I didn’t have anything to do with 5 and to be quite honest I haven’t even seen all of 5. I think it’s a shame and I think they should have kept her alive in the end. Ellie’s takedown of Myers, is one of the most ferocious Final Girl things ever. The way she drives the truck and the way handles herself is fierce. She was really terrific and such a believable actress. She never tried to overdo it, and she’s sexy without even trying to be.

NN: Yep. She feels really relatable to a lot of us female horror fans.

DL: Yeah, she’s not just a hottie. She’s a lot more than that.

NN: In the community, there has been rumors, that there’s a scene that was filmed that explains how Loomis and Myers survived that fire at the end of HALLOWEEN II. Is that true?

DL: “No that is not true, but here what is true. Alan McElroy, the writer, and I decided we needed to do all the heavy lifting explaining what happened in one elevator ride. So what happened was you see the attendants come into the mental facility and then the guard takes them down the hall and tells them the whole story on the elevator ride. By the time the doors open at the end of that elevator ride, basically we’ve done all the explaining we needed to do there. And then when you see Michael on the gurney, and the camera comes down, you can see that his hand is covered in burn scars and has been in a coma for ten years, face still wrapped… and that felt like we helped the audience make that turn from 2 to 4. By the time they put Michael in the ambulance, you’re not even questioning it.“

“HALLOWEEN 4 was a great experience for me and holds a lot of great memories.”

HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS has given us 35 years of sweet Halloween nostalgia, a goofy Myers mask blooper, and a final girl that comes correct in her stance against Myers. Upon the news of Miramax picking up the rights to Halloween in plans to make it a series, like the upcoming Friday the 13th: Crystal Lake show, I sincerely propose that this fan-favorite attempt to pick up from the events of after 4 and make an adult Jamie the killer in a clown costume. Myers can be dead and laid to rest for a while, I think. I would be at peace with that. Hell, maybe even make an episode where we finally get some justice for Ted Hollister! I would like to see it go that route OR pursue John Carpenter’s original plans and explore different Halloween urban legends throughout the series.

Either way, we’ll always have Halloween 4 and me, personally, the fact that Dwight Little did tell me I probably know more about that movie than he does. I know it’s Halloween and all, but Christmas came a little early for me this year.

Grab your Nightmare Makeup Kit, if you know a guy named Wade, tell him to fuck off and rewatch Return for its 35th anniversary this year.

Kathleen Kinmont is calling you, now.

News

Nightmare Nostalgia’s 5-Year Celebration Halloween Giveaway!

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Well, here we are nostalgic nuggets! Another year and another nostalgic Halloween giveaway is upon us, However, this one is a little special to me because NN is celebrating five years old on the giant interwebs!

This calls for some bony booty slappin’.

Back in 2014, a friend of mine pitched the idea of me writing for a horror website that was looking for writers, and it wasn’t a tiny website either. It had a rather well-established following and although that was a little intimidating; I said fuck it, why not? Who cares that I had ZERO experience writing a blog or for any website. I was knowledgeable, passionate and said fuck a lot. That’s pretty much all you need to write about horror movies, right? My first piece was of course, about the “Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark” books and the owner loved it so much he took me on as a regular writer, and later one of the three head editors for the site, which had grown from 300,000 followers when I joined, to over 4 million to when I departed.

Why leave a good thing, you may ask? Well, I had already dipped my toes into other horror websites, very well-known ones, written for a couple horror magazines, and staying where I was would just leave me stagnant and unfulfilled. I wasn’t freely able to express myself and rant about the things I wanted to scream and with the toxic environment that is the internet, I wanted to build an escape mechanism for people like me to walk down memory lane, and get those nostalgic fuzzies about the first time they walked the aisles of their Mom and Pop Video Store. Or perhaps the first time they ever watched THE FUNHOUSE. Or hell, that time you actually tried out some of Maurice’s pranks from LITTLE MONSTERS on your parents. These are the little things that we remember that make life a little less shitty, and the community we’ve built here together into an army of nostalgic nuggets makes my pet monster heart melt. So, in return, I’ve gathered up a pretty cool giveaway to readers that have followed me for a decade, and those just discovering this snake pit of utter nostalgic madness!

For a little context, I wanted to make this easy and just post a picture on Facebook, but the Zuck is cracking down on those types of posts and flagging them as spam. But honestly, this kinda works out, so I could write an essay on the gratitude that I have for all of you.

Anyway, let’s get to it! Here’s the haul that is a perfect nostalgic Halloween treat for some lucky person! Rules are posted at the bottom of the page!

First up is a Frankenstein mash-up of a 1993 McDonald’s Halloween Pail with a Carl’s JR handle from their line of Halloween buckets from the same year! It’s one-of-a-kind, and I can almost guarantee probably no one else has sitting in their bedroom right now.

A Jason Voorhees coffee mug since there’s a Friday the 13th in October and a plushy handpicked by me because nothing wakes you up faster than a Leatherface in your cup.

MONSTER CRUNCH! THE BREAKFAST BATTLE GAME featuring our Monster Cereal heroes! If you’re not into board games, the pieces included in the box itself are worth just staring at for hours.

Something old and something new! Next up, we have the Unofficial Horror Movie Coloring Book that is filled with AMAZING pages of drawn art from our favorite horror movies for you to color in! Also, is a copy of a Universal Monsters Frightening Facts Movie Book from 1992! If this doesn’t ring a bell, also how dare you, this is a quiz book essentially where you take the marker, choose a question and pick an answer, and color over it and see if you got it right! Plus it’s got some sick cut-outs of all the Universal Monsters!

And finally, some handpicked NN favorites from my own collection because it ain’t Halloween without some slasher movies! Blu-ray of HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, a first pressing copy DVD of HALLOWEEN 666: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, and the killer cut Blu-ray of 2009’s FRIDAY THE 13TH!

The Rules:

Obviously, I wanted to keep this open to as many people as possible so all you have to do to enter is to do one, or all of the following- if you do all four that means you get four entries!

  1. Comment on this blog post your favorite Halloween memory!
  2. Share this post on Facebook from the original post on NN’s facebook page! (must be public for me to see)
  3. Share the NN’s giveaway post on Instagram! Look for my post regarding the giveaway @nightmarenostalgia
  4. Tweet this out on Twitter. Or X. Or whatever the fuck it’s being called today.

Must be a US resident and the contest will run from Friday, October 13th, 2023 until Monday, October 16th. Good luck nuggets and thanks for sticking around to hear me rant about Halloween 4 500 times!