Friday 20 February 2015

The best of grotty, grimy, uggglllyyyyy VHS covers

Thought I'd have a bit of fun here and choose some of the best of repulsively ugly, stomach-churning, out-and-out grubby, VHS cover 'art'. The ones that would make you squirm as a kid, yet had a strange hold...as much as they repelled, the sheer grotesque quality of the images had a forbidden allure that would burn a mental note into your brain - "I MUST see that film one day" (well, I can live without seeing The Worm Eaters and Bad Taste Movie No 1). Here's a grab-bag of my personal favourites:


The Last Cannibal World Greek VHS. Well, it tells it how it is...


Bad Taste Movie No.1 Australian (???) VHS. Can somebody please tell what the fuck this is?????? No details anywhere, no stills, not a pip. And no-one whose actually seen the thing (or who'll admit to it).


Pieces Australian VHS. That bloodied hand on the back cover...a perfect grubby image for a perfect grubby film.


Xtro Australian VHS. Hypnotised me as a kid and I actually saw this film as a 7-year-old, leading me straight into the path of the Inferno...


Eaten Alive Australian VHS. Pure class, often found in the 'Adult' section of video shops.


Island of Perversion Australian VHS. Another regular occupant of the 'Adult' shelves.


Island of Death (aka Who Could Kill a Child?) Australian VHS.


Bloody Moon Australian VHS


Demons Australian VHS


This Violent World Australian VHS


The Mad Butcher Australian VHS. Can practically smell rancid carcasses and innards emanating from this. **Thanks to Joel Branagh for the scan**


The Last Cannibal World UK VHS. Though slightly more subtle than the Greek sleeve, this one still is high up in the grubby stakes - the stills featured on the cover appear to have been dunked in a bucket of scum beforehand, and the cover itself is a perfect shade of spew... **Thanks to Ben Buckingham for the scan, check out Ben's Instagram at  https://instagram.com/dissolvedpet/**


The Worm Eaters Australian VHS. And here is it.....dum-dum-de-dum....the granddaddy of all gross-out covers...and indeed the ONLY VHS cover that has literally put me off my food. I recall seeing this at the local video store as a kid and just could not get that burger and forkful of worms out of my mind...and having previously read the review...I knew that these were NOT 'pretend worms'. At home later, I absolutely could not stomach the corn chips and salsa dip being passed around as I could not get these bloody visions of close-ups of mouths chewing down on these wriggly, slimy things, then imagining them still alive in the persons' stomachs! Oh, the memories.... **Thanks for John Harrison for the scan**









2 comments:

  1. Hi, do you have an email address? I had to reactivate an old blogger account to comment... Anyway, I rented Bad Taste Movie No.1 back in '88 in Adelaide. Jason Lives was rented out and I was a little desperate for some entertainment. At 10 years old I got more (translation: less) than I bargained for with this stinker. Basically a bunch of sex-themed comedy skits, possibly patched together. I remember one had a hot chick walking down an alleyway past a manequin, then the manequin gets a boner. Yeahhhh. I was not impressed. But in another year or so we got another movie called Bad Taste which DID kick ass. So all's well that ended well.

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  2. Hi, MANY thanks for your info on Bad Taste Movie No.1, NO ONE ELSE ON EARTH seems to know anything about it (or those who do are too embarrassed to admit watching it :) ) I can certainly imagine Peter Jackson's hilarious Bad Taste being much preferable that that stinker...I prefer not to post email addresses here, but thanks again for your much appreciated info (I'd been wondering WTF it was for years?!?!?!), and for checking out the blog.

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