Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector

Director - Dan M. Kinem
Starring - Lloyd Kaufman (Return to Nuke Em High), Anthony Timpone (House of the Dead), and Keith J. Crocker
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Documentary
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     January is when I started writing for Horror Society and around that time a lot of horror minded individuals started adding me on Facebook.  Not long after they added me I noticed they all had liked a page entitled Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector.  I checked the page out and ventured over to youtube to find the trailer.  After finding the trailer I knew I had to see this documentary.  Aside from writing reviews and updates, I am also a collector of DVDs, Blurays, and VHS.  I often venture to yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores, and the local Goodwill stores to find those VHS tapes that many have now discarded.  So I waited patiently until I could see this film and once again writing for Horror Society paid off because the director behind the documentary send a screener link to the site for a review.  So thank you Dan  for the opportunity to see this.
     The documentary explores the rise and tragic fall of the VHS "tape."  The documentary begins with the release of VHS and how expensive the tapes and VCRs were at that time.  From that point we then jump to the ma and pop video rental stores and how many of today's collectors grew up renting from those very shops.  That was until Blockbuster and other chains moved into the area and crushed those ma and pop shops because they could not afford to buy multiple copies of those expensive tapes.  After Blockbuster wiped out a majority of the ma and pop shops DVD came along pushing the final nail in the coffin of major VHS distribution.  However, VHS collecting did not die.  In fact, DVD only made VHS tapes cost less and more cost efficient making it easier for collectors to buy more.  The documentary then finishes with the collectors showing everyone how they organize, hunt, and purchase VHS for their collections, as well as, some of the horror stories they experienced while VHS diving.
     It is rare to find a documentary that will keep you enthralled the entire duration.  Sure, some are amazing and after you watch them you feel entertained and enlightened but at some point during the film you lose concentration.  However, this movie grabbed my attention and would not give it up.  After watching this one, however, I can safely say that if you do not have a fondness for VHS tapes and VHS collecting then you will not like it at all.  Just like any documentary really.  The interviews fit the film perfectly and for the most part really enlighten you to the extremes other collectors go through to get their VHS fix.  Finally, the film does provide a good bit of history that most people never considered when they think about VHS and the way it impacted them in the 80s and 90s.  A lot of thought, research, and hard work went into this extremely entertaining documentary.  I highly recommend this one.