VHS Retro Art Round-up: Nightmare Maker, Beast in Heat, Madhouse, and more

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Every child of the 80s will remember going to the video store and trying to find a movie to rent. Back before the days of Blu-ray and On Demand, selecting a movie usually meant finding the flick with the coolest box art. Like modern posters, classic VHS art has been lost but thanks to the Internet there are countless reminders of these cool creations. This column will be dedicated to bringing you reminders of a bygone era and a look at how cool some of these movies looked on store shelves.

THE BEAST IN HEAT

Nazisploitation films have a long history. While we all abhor what Hitler's goons did, we are all fascinated watching them get what is coming to them. This movie looks like a sadomasochistic pseudo-porn film full of torture and boobies. While the first box looks like something out of the back room of an old video store, the second looks like something that could have been hanging in a movie theater in the 1960s. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

NIGHTMARE MAKER

Another rare movie that is hard to find these days, NIGHTMARE MAKER goes by more than one title and looks like two very different films. The first is another sexualized cover while the second looks like a B-horror film from decades past. Not available to purchase on Amazon.com

HITCH HIKE TO HELL

The first box here looks like a cross between a National Geographic documentary and a snuff film. The second reminds me of a 1950s drive-in classic. Gotta love cars and women in bikini tops and cut-off shorts. I am actually curious to check this movie out. Available to purchase on Amazon.com

MADHOUSE

No, not the 1990 comedy with Kirstie Alley and John Laroquette. This MADHOUSE looks like a low rent PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. It also looks like a paperback novel rather than a VHS cover. Plus the guy on the front of the first looks kind of like David Warner and that guy is awesome.  Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

JOURNEY TO THE BEYOND

This documentary film, narrated by John Carradine, sounds like FACES OF DEATH but with the supernatural. The fact that it is no longer available on VHS or DVD should tell you something about the quality of the film, but when a movie doesn't include any stills from the film it just manages to ramp up the curiosity in me. Not available to purchase on Amazon.com

THE LOVE BUTCHER

Great title and a surreal cover that is marred by the really cheap looking production values in the still images, THE LOVE BUTCHER has a great B-movie title and death by garden shears. Yeah, this is not a good movie but definitely one worth checking out. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

Feel free to pop us your favorite VHS box art and come back for each future column. You can send your finds or photos of your own VHS tapes to [email protected]