The Last Video Store, set to premiere this Friday at Fantastic Fest, pays tribute to the format wars and the video stores of yesteryear through a cursed VHS tape that unleashes terror. Bloody Disgusting has been provided with a clip that demonstrates a horrific fate far worse than late fees for store employees and patrons.
The feature debut of directing duo Cody Kennedy and Tim Rutherford is described as “Last Action Hero meets Evil Dead” as the VHS Necronomicon has the ability to bring any movie character to life in the real world. That pits the protagonists against a slew of B-movie villains, with the below clip giving a peek at some of the rules and horror.
The official synopsis: “In this love letter to the era of the video store, we follow Nyla who accidentally uncovers a ‘cursed’ VHS tape. A film holds the power to connect the real world to a dimension where movie fantasy exists as reality. Nyla and the video store owner unwittingly awaken a long-dormant curse that unleashes a series of classic cinematic villains plucked from the bowels of the B-movies themselves.”
The Last Video Store stars Kevin Martin, Yaayaa Adams, Matthew Kennedy, Joshua Lenner, and Leland Tilde, and it was written by Joshua Roach & Tim Rutherford. Michael Baker, Brendan McNeill, Ari Taub, Patrick White, Mike Chapman, Simon Crowe executive produce.
Martin previously appeared in Kennedy and Rutherford’s 2013 short “The Last Video Store” as the video store owner, followed by “Straight to Video: The B-Movie Odyssey” and “The Video Store Commercial.”
Fantastic Fest describes the film’s premise: “Now Kevin and Nyla are trapped in Blaster Video, thrown into a fight for their lives against a formidable variety of B-movie foes, including Castor, the legendary hockey goalie turned supernatural thriller killer from the BEAVER LAKE MASSACRE franchise, and Jackson Viper, a horny, go-it-alone, overly emotional rogue detective who, sprung straight from the clearance bin, looks for payback after Kevin deems his latest action movie a flop. As Kevin’s meticulously constructed world turns against him, he finds himself an unlikely hero in his toughest battle since the Format Wars.”
The Last Video Store premieres on Friday, September 22. Stay tuned for acquisition announcements and additional details on this love letter to the VHS era as they arrive.