VHS Mania! II builds on last year’s event at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 S. Main St., Moscow, where Cult Corner columnist Will Thompson, aka Professor VHS, and Moscow Film Society’s Devin Mendenhall brought horror classics to the big screen via VHS.
The mini film fest gets a Big Apple flavor for its second installment, with "Escape from New York" and "The Warriors,” both rated R, which screen starting at 7 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 11). Tickets, $10 (plus $1 online fee), are available at bit.ly/VHSMania2.
Inland 360 (full disclosure, a sponsor of this event) caught up with Mendenhall and Professor VHS via email to learn more about what to expect from this evening of nostalgia.
Inland 360: For those not familiar, what is VHS Mania! II?
WT: VHS Mania! celebrates the Video Home System in cinema form. We take the tapes we used to watch in living rooms and basements and put them on the big screen.
VHS was the prominent home media format for the 1980s, ’90s and early 2000s, but it’s much more than nostalgia. It’s a particular way of experiencing a film, and our event lets like-minded viewers get together. The kind of movies we show are more fun with a group.
As the host, I draw on my extensive research in getting my VHS.D (doctorate of VHS). I introduce the movies, provide a little background and toss in a little commentary.
360: What did you learn from last year's first-time event, and has that led to any changes?
WT: The audience was so enthusiastic last time. They validated the vision for the event and showed us that they’re game for us to keep creating a unique experience. They’re out-of-the-box kind of folks, so we don’t have to worry about getting too out-there for them.
DM: I learned how to set up the VCR and manually change the aspect ratio of the projector so it displayed properly, ha. It is a bit of a technical challenge to retrofit our system to play older technologies, but when you see the VHS on the big screen it is worth it. A VHS tape has a very specific look and feel and sound that is worth experiencing on the biggest scale.
360: How did you choose this year’s films? Are these movies from your personal (extensive) VHS collection, Professor VHS?
WT: Both films will be screened on VHS tapes pulled from my shelves, just like last time.
In my mind, I’ve subtitled this particular event “Urban Hellscape.” Both films have a lot of similarities. They both take place in New York City. It’s an NYC that’s actively, violently hostile to the protagonists of both films. Both movies were released within two years of each other (1979 for “Warriors” and 1981 for “Escape”) and were shot on very low budgets, though you won’t know it from watching them.
They’re both iconic for their era. Writer-director John Carpenter was in the midst of an unprecedented run of films that defined multiple genres in the late ’70s and early ’80s. He’s maybe best known for “Halloween” (1978), but he left an indelible mark on action films with “Escape.” He took a chance on Kurt Russell, who was primarily known for acting in post-Walt-era live-action Disney films. Nobody bats an eye at Kurt Russell as an action star now. It’s also Carpenter’s best score that he penned himself.
“The Warriors” is one of cult cinema’s most accessible and lovable movies. A killer cast, a great ’70s soundtrack and characters you just root for. (In the film), nobody likes them, and it’s not their fault. They’re set up by society and rival gangs from the get-go.
Also, both movies are absolutely fun, crowd-pleasing fare without pandering to feel-good tropes. There’s real danger for the characters, but both films are, in their own way, hopeful. You’ll leave the theater feeling like someone’s got your back and that you’ve got a place in the world, even if you’re on your own.
DM: When Will first mentioned these two films among a number of options it was just like, yes that is the one. The films share some similar themes and ideas as well as their settings (both bizarro versions of NYC) that really play well off of each other. Both films are immensely fun, have killer soundtracks and are tongue-in-cheek while also having strong characters that we really connect to.
360: What else would you want people to know about this event — and about appreciating VHS?
WT: Keeping with the NYC theme, we’ll be selling hot dogs at concessions. I’ll be selling some VHS tapes from my personal stash, so collectors and would-be tape enthusiasts should bring some spending cash.
DM: Hot dogs! We also have a bunch of stickers to give away (like usual) but also a bunch of posters, and we are raffling off an original piece of artwork made by local tattoo artist Anthony Saia (an ink pen drawing of “Snake” Plissken, Russell’s character in “Escape from New York”).
WT: As for appreciating VHS — it’s an experience. In a digital world, there’s something to an analog experience. Come check it out.
