Tuesday, February 28, 2012

off the beaten track '80s horror: a guest post by karen g.



For me, there was nothing better than going to the video store on a Friday night after another uneventful week at school. In our video store we had a very special section called: “Blue Band Movies”. These were usually 25 cents per rental and had a selection of some of the most obscure, campy and fun horror and sci-fi movies I’ve ever had the pleasure of stumbling across. This section was what I used to call “rejected cinema” and sadly today, some of these titles are virtually impossible to find. I felt like such a rebel for watching them when my schoolmates were watching more “refined” movies like E.T. and The Goonies. Even though I may never have the opportunity to watch some of these again, the incredibly artistic video covers will be burnt into my memory forever.

- Karen G.


Deadly Friend (1986)




The Stuff (1985)



The Initiation (1984)



Pin (1988)



Humanoids From the Deep (1980)



Edge of the Axe (1988)




Don’t Answer The Phone (1980)




Blue Monkey (1987)



Galaxy of Terror (1981)




Silent Madness (1984)



Alone in the Dark (1982)



The Prowler (1981)




Fright House (1988)



Pieces (1982)




Dead and Buried (1981)



Killer Party (1986)



Curtains (1983)

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great flashback! What a fun era for mostly low-grade horror flicks! There used to be two, now long-closed, theatres in Boston - the Beacon Hill and the Pi Alley - which almost exclusively screened genre flicks, including most of those above. My thankfully sane parents wouldn't take me to see them (but then, that's what late-night cable - and the much-missed, but never forgotten, ABC Friday Night Movie - were for)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your story today about watching "Night of the Lepus" at your grandparents place in the South really made my day! Thanks for sharing incredible memories!

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. have you seen a lot of these meep? i wanna watch 'pin'!

      Delete
    2. Oh, "Pin" is great. Very creepy and nicely made and I watched it many times in the 80s. It still holds up well. A DVD release is floating around. Recommended.

      Delete
  3. these all look super freaky! i think the only one i've seen is Don't Answer the Phone. too bad we don't really have video stores anymore. I wanted to watch the original Tron movie and I actually had to buy it on my iPad to see it. it wasn't in any video store nearby.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh baby, I have SUCH similar memories of watching the crappy horror movies they'd play on our local "TV 20" station during the day on the weekends. I've sought out many of them, and it's positively surreal watching them through my adult eyes.

    This post actually filled me with such nostalgia that I went and looked up every single title on Netflix! They have almost all of them! Many of them are available for Streaming, though a few are only available on DVD. Which one of your awesome memories should I start with?! ;D

    ReplyDelete
  5. You should check out "PIN". It's so bizarre! "Deadly Friend" was a favorite of mine - I'd rent it OFTEN as a child. Enjoy and thank you for your comments. Please check out some of my previous blog posts where I also list some of my favorite horror movies.

    ReplyDelete