VHS Retro Art Round-up: R.O.T.O.R., Universal Soldier, Striker and more!

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.

R.O.T.O.R.

If you see one movie about a robot cop, forget ROBOCOP, make it R.O.T.O.R.  Sure, Paul Verhoeven's movie may be a classic, but does it have a VHS cover that looks like cross between MAD MAX and TERMINATOR?. Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

THE LADY IN WHITE

I was scared to death of this movie when I was a kid.  Not many people I meet recognize the title, but if you want to scare your kids shitless, this is the movie for you . Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

NEON MANIACS

Anyone seen this?  I can honestly say I had never heard of it until I saw the box art which is something to behold.  I see punks, rockers, bikers, and ninjas, all in zombie make-up.  That alone makes me want to find a copy of this flick  Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER

This is one of my favorite JCVD movies.  From Dolph Lundgren's necklace of ears to Van Damme kicking ass and eating popcorn, this is a fun scifi movie that was bogged down by weak sequels.  Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

PAPERHOUSE

A nightmarish fantasy from CANDYMAN director Bernard Rose, PAPERHOUSE is a movie that I saw on the shelf at my local video store for years but never rented.  I recently saw it and I have to recommend it very highly.  Not an easy movie to watch but definitely worth the time.  Click here to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

STRIKER

A knock-off of RAMBO and any number of Chuck Norris movies, STRIKER looks like B-movie perfection.  Plus, there are boobs on the back cover.  Not available on DVD, but if you have seen it, let us know if it lives up to the box art.

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]