Tag Archives: VHS Promo

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{Video} Behind the Scenes VHS Retail Promo For “Poltergeist III”!

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In February 1989, video shop owners were targeted with the promise of immense Poltergeist profits with the final installment of the trilogy ready to be consumed by movie aficionados looking for their perfect Friday night scare at the local video rental outlet. With today being the 30th anniversary, a monumental milestone for tragically Heather O’Rourke‘s final film, I figured let’s rewind back to the film’s initial era and take a look at the exclusive VHS promo given to multiple video store chains to get this film in their shops!

{Video} Behind the Scenes Video Store Promo For "Poltergeist III"!

Taken straight from a VHS copy belonging to the curator (unadjusted tracking and all) of Poltergeistiii.com, it truly is a beautiful vintage piece of history that, unfortunately, makes me a little sad at the same time. Of course, all horror fans are aware of the untimely death of the genre’s favorite young demon attraction, Heather O’ Rourke, before the film was ultimately finished. So anytime I see the film or promos regarding it, that’s always in the back of my mind. After the passing of O’Rourke, the director, cast, and crew didn’t even want to continue, and the film was almost scrapped altogether. But, the powers that be pounded too much money in the project, and insisted the film be finished, so here we are. While many consider the rounded out trifecta the weakest installment of the trilogy, I, for one, appreciate the film for what it is, (and come on, it’s a fun popcorn flick) and have all the respect in the world for Heather’s final on-screen appearance.

Anyways, I’m rambling. On to why you’re even here beloved VHS heads!

The seven-minute retailer promo offers some really cool facts, behind-the-scenes shots (not seen in other featurettes), interviews with the cast and crew, and of course details on the monster magic used to perform in the film! Including the infamous garage puddle scene! The retail price for the video was advertised to shop owners as $89.95 a piece (and now you know what contributed to those pesky overdue fees), and purchases included a rad as hell 6-foot tall standee of Reverend Kane, an original theatrical poster to display, and a custom-made mobile counter display of the film to grab the attention of rental goers! What I wouldn’t give to own one of those retro rental artifacts!

Check out this national piece of VHS treasures below and give Poltergeist III a revisit today!

Home Video Releases, Horror Nostalgia

Spend The Holidays With Freddy Krueger and This Dream Master Vintage Christmas Promo!

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Are you ready for Santa Freddy?!

Ahh, the days of VHS retailers’ promos. If you’re new here. you should know this stuff is my Kryptonite and you’ll see me rant and rave over this a lot- so buckle up. In case you’re not hip to what the hell a VHS screener may be, let me break it down for you:

It’s basically an early release of a VHS tape sent to video store owners that will ultimately either sway them to stock the shelves with said movie or give it a hard pass. In addition, some of these screeners would be sent to the media for review. Hard to imagine a time when critics would have to actually wait on the postman to deliver physical media as opposed to a screener email that can be obtained in under 60 seconds, eh?

In the horror genre of the 80s, there was no better salesman than that of Robert Englund pimping his Nightmare movies to Mom and Pop video shops. Freddy, or rather the TRUE Sandy Claws here, gets into the holiday spirit as a December release date approaches for the Nightmare franchise’s biggest hit yet, A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. For Video Stores, this wasn’t really a hard sell as stated, the movie did monstrous at the box office for a Nightmare film, and was a big hit for Freddy fans alike.

However, that didn’t stop Englund from making the promotional rounds in and out of his Freddy makeup to advocate for The Dream Master! From late-night talk shows to his own MTV hour-long special, 1988 belonged to Freddy. Also, let’s not forget this was also the year Freddy’s Nightmares debuted on syndicated television!

Yes sir. Freddy was the KING of horror in ’88.

The promo begins with a few snippets of 1985’s The Santa Claus Movie but is quickly interrupted by the 1988 “Sandy Claws Movie” as Freddy dives right into pimping his product that made him a pop-culture phenomenon and why Video retailers should stock up on Dream Master.

I mean, if that 3D media lightbox insert wasn’t enough to get them to buy even if they hadn’t seen the movie, then nothing would have swayed them.

This thing is totally on my horror treasure hunt list.

Anyways, enjoy another rad VHS Retailers promo but with a horror holiday slice to the gut nuggets!

Home Video Releases

Dial M For Monsters! The “Little Monsters” VHS Retailer Promo!

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Regarding gateway horror, Little Monsters ranks right up there with the best of them introducing a slice of horror to a young generation in some subtle, and some not so subtle ways. I mean, if you’re gonna tell me BOY didn’t scare the piss out of your apple juice as a kid, you just might be a sociopath.

In August of 1989, Little Monsters was unleashed in limited capacity to select theaters due to the film’s financial distributer Vestron filing for bankruptcy. I can only assume because of this, many kids like myself, caught their first viewing of Fred Savage and Howie Mandal fucking with Ronnie’s lunch via a stint of showings on the new Disney channel (totally me), or by a rental via their local video store. And oh man, did the studios really sell this movie to mom and pop video retailers across the US as we were up to our horns in promos for this national nostalgic treasure!

The biggest promotion to coincide with the film’s release on VHS, was obviously the “Dial M For Monsters” campaign; which had consumers flocking to their rotary phones and potential ass-whoopings’ in an attempt to win a grand vacation to Hawaii, among other prizes like a sweet Little Monsters glow-in-the-dark t-shirt and a pin-ball machine. The visual promo, seen below, is a two-minute long rap that was featured on the VHS to get pumped up about the contest, along with spreads in several Teen- targeted magazines like SuperTeen and Loudmouth to get the word out. Not sure who, or if anyone actually won these things, but damn it would be nice to know who owns that Black Knight pinball machine now!

At only $89.95 per cassette purchased for a VHS store, the retailer kit included with said contract was pretty sweet, and clever for bringing kids into the store looking to win this contest as the Little Monsters stand-dees and displays provided much needed clues for the game. Mom and Pop shops themselves had a shot at winning the sweepstakes with a picture puzzle delivered directly to them along with their purchase, and if they solved it, were eligible for the grand-prize themselves.

While it was, a radical promotional hype for the movie indeed, the best promos for this movie at the end of the day were all the prank ideas we got from the film as kids. That being said, I absolutely stuck peanut butter to our rotary phone, and saran wrapped the top of our toilet bowl just to see if it would actually work. That being said, my dad hated that movie and still does to this day because he ended up being the victim in both of those scenarios.

Anyway, enjoy this extended VHS retailer VHS promo, and at this time, you can get the Blu-Ray from Amazon for only $7.50 if you wanna relive the fantastical world of monsters under your bed and cat-food sandwiches!