The Videostore Junkies

A small, independent horror film in 1978 seems like an inauspicious start for one of the most popular horror franchises of all time, but anyone whose seen John Carpenter's Halloween probably understands why filmmakers have spent the last 40+ trying to chase the original film. Now, with the release of the latest installment, the Videostore Junkies set out to create a definitive ranking of every fil...

For the weekend of 9/3/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill give you 10 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring death metal murders, Korean crime thrillers, and one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations ever committed to film. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no m...

The year was 1985 and one of the most important horror films of the decade was arriving in theaters - but how many people realized it at the time? After his seminal works with Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero was creating a new vision of the living dead - but it was one that was not entirely appreciated in its time. Now, over 35 years later, we look back at Day of th...

For the weekend of 8/27/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring damn dirty apes, killer robots, and brand-new television comedy The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can...

For the weekend of 8/20/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring killer dolls, off-brand Bond, and a star-studded action comedy. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be ha...

A lot has changed since the release of Joel Schumacher's Falling Down in 1993. And while the sociopolitical atmosphere may be different than it was 28 years ago, good filmmaking remains a constant across the decades. So, how does this tense, LA-based drama hold up in an era that is in many ways much different from the one in which it was created? On our latest deep-dive episode, we pick Falling Do...

For the weekend of 8/13/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring freaky killers, classic indy sci-fi, and bone-chilling boogeymen. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be...

The DC Cinematic Universe has seen a lot of ups and downs - some would argue far more downs than ups - so it makes sense that Warner Bros hired what should be a sure thing: James Gunn, the writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy. Giving him what appears to be free reign of their Suicide Squad property, Gunn is a gamble to get DC films back on track - both critically and financially. So how...

For the weekend of 8/6/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring runaway trains, government conspiracies, and dangerous stepfathers. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be...

A decade after the release of Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero's debut film was considered an absolute classic of the horror genre. How would one of the creator's of the zombie genre follow up on one of the most important horror films of all time? With, it turns out, a sequel which is almost as important as its predecessor. Join us in this episode for a deep dive on the second installmen...

For the weekend of 7/30/21, Renee, Zachary, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring outdoors horror, angry aliens, and ensemble television. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to se...

For the weekend of 7/23/21, Renee, Zachary, and Bill give you 6 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring asskicking, Hannibal Lecktor, and the best summer camp ever. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can...

There are very few films - indeed, very few works of art in the 20th century - which can claim to be as influencial as George A. Romero's debut 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead. It's the film that launched careers, invented a new subgenre of horror, and ultimately inspired generations of creators to draw and expand on the film that started it all. In this episode, we trace the history of this e...

For the weekend of 7/16/21, Renee, Zachary, Bill, and Paul give you 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring vampire nasties, romantic comedies, and Clint Howard. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard t...

For the weekend of 7/9/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring sharks, superheroes, and an abstract Russian history lesson. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard t...

Born on the Fourth of July. Independence Day. Independence Day: Resurgence. There have been many classic films based around the uniquely American holiday of the Fourth of July, and Uncle Sam...probably isn't one of them. Written by Larry Cohen and Directed by William Lustig - the creative forces behind the Maniac Cop trilogy - Uncle Sam features questionable metaphors about patriotism, the militar...

For the weekend of 7/2/21, Renee, Paul, Zachary, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring mutant frogs, mutant mushrooms, and a non-mutant Winona Ryder! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes...

For the weekend of 6/25/21, Renee, Paul, Zachary, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring apocalyptic classics, parental horror, and murderous microwaves! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it ca...

It's been almost four years since the horror world lost one of its true masters with the passing of George A. Romero, which is why it's all the more exciting to be able to say that the world has been graced with a new George Romero film - although "new" and "film" are debatable. Produced as an educational film about elderly abuse and discrimination for the Lutheran Service Society of Western Penns...

For the weekend of 6/18/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill give you 7.5 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring anime, amusement parks, Tig Notaro, and...our first every ANTI-recommendation from Bill! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore...

For the weekend of 6/11/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your favorite streaming services, featuring possessed appliances, amorphous blobs, and...yeti hookers?! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be har...

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It continues one of the most successful horror franchises of the last decade as the 3rd mainline film in a series that has now grown to 8 installments. Purportedly based on true events from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Devil Made Me Do It features a 1981 case of demonic possession and satanic rituals. In our spoiler-possessed review, we discuss...

The year is 2021 AD and roving bands bloodthirsty men threaten the last vestiges of society, their brutality eclipsed only by the retrograde mutants of The Forbidden Zone. No, we haven't turned into a current events podcast - this is the plot to 1988s The Sisterhood, a film set in a year so near in the future that most of its cast and crew would live to see it! In our first installment of The Vide...

For the weekend of 5/28/21, Renee, Zachary, and Bill give you 6 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring space truckers, demons, and a double-dose of Martin Sheen bein’ creepy. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but someti...

It's been 17 years since Zack Snyder's first feature film was released, and after a lengthy (and sometimes tumultuous) foray into comic book movies, he has finally returned to the genre which launched his career: the zombie film. A remake of one of the most beloved zombie films of all time, 2004's Dawn of the Dead met with box office success, not to mention the approval of diehard Living Dead fans...