VHS Retro Art Round-up: Sidekicks, Dream Demon, Legend, Naked Tango and more

Last Updated on July 31, 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.

BLOOD RAGE

Ah, the old days where your movie didn't have to have giant movie star faces and could instead rely on art to convey the tone and story of the film. This one comes with the added bonus of being helmed by the director of multipel Chuck Norris films. Wait, is that a plus? Anyway, I prefer the second cover as it just looks more like a slasher film rather than a softcore porn. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com.

DREAM DEMON

This movie is apparently very hard to find. I had never heard of it and maybe that is due to the forgettable art on display on the first cover. The stills on the back are way more intriguing to me as is the surreal plot. That second cover though is pure nightmare fuel. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

LEGEND

Like any great film, there are sometimes weird covers. LEGEND has one of the most iconic movie posters ever and it features prominently on the domestic VHS cover. Both of these are very different and look like knock offs rather than official boxes. Still, I have a soft spot for that hand drawn first cover. That second is way too scary for commercial use. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

NAKED TANGO

I thought I knew everything in the Vincent D'Onofrio filmography but this is a new one. Great title and great second cover, but the first looks like a noir straight out of classic Warner Bros. Has anyone seen this flick?. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

SIDEKICKS

This is a bad movie. Really bad, but I still have a soft spot for it. Jonathan Brandis died way too young and his career never managed to rise above films like this, but it is a lot of fun and more so than most KARATE KID knock offs.. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com

SUBURBIA

Richard Linkater has become a very classy autuer filmmaker in recent years, but even he had a period of turning out his version of CLERKS. While it does share more in common with DAZED AND CONFUSED and REALITY BITES, SUBURBIA suffers from a fairly generic title and box art that doesn't really set it apart from other films of the era. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com.

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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]