Friday, October 24, 2014

HI-8 Horror Independent 8 - VHS release



https://www.facebook.com/Hi8HorrorIndependent8


Ron Bonk...(segment "Gang Them Style")
Donald Farmer...(segment "Thicker than Water")
Marcus Koch...(segment "A Very Bad Situation")
Tony Masiello...(segment "The Tape")
Tim Ritter...(segment "Switchblade Insane")
Chris Seaver...(segment "Genre Bending")
Todd Sheets...(segment "The Request")
Brad Sykes...(segment "The Scout") (wraparound segment "No Budget Films Presents...")


My tape arrived today and I eagerly opened it, anxious to watch this anthology.  I've had my sights on it for quite some time now.  Eight different directors do retro horror SOV.  All that back-in-the-day goodness delivered on VHS? Hells to the fuck yeah!

I'm not gonna dig terribly deep into this one.  I enjoyed each segment, and I liked the movie as a whole.  It was excellent to kick back and relax with a few beers, chill out, and immerse myself in the era.  I felt like I was in a time warp.  HI-8 brought back memories of growing up in the 80s and watching any and every horror tape that National Home Video or Hollywood Video had.  Bonus points for the "Hollywood VD" jab in the one segment.

I won't say that every segment is absolute gold.  What I will say is that I thoroughly enjoyed quite a few of them, and found the rest of them to still entertain.  No part of this was a terrible disappointment.

There are many sick practical fx on display in this collection of stories. Personal highlights include the segments by Marcus Koch, Tony Masiello, and Tim Ritter.  HI-8 is not shy, there's some gore to witness, and it looks pretty fucking good.  This throwback wouldn't be complete without some nudity, and there are a few sets of titties to be seen as well  Although I would definitely say the nudity is far away from gratuitous territory.

I have to say this one nails it's vibe down and totally delivers that retro feel. It was completely self-aware and amusingly irreverent to its own existence and even it's delivery on VHS.  Watching HI-8 on this medium was fantastic.  I really enjoyed the startup and intro, totally got me into the mood.  As a whole the film looked excellent and exactly as it should, but I'll be honest and say I couldn't read the credits. At least there's IMDB.

I will certainly pick this up on dvd when its available.  I must recommend picking up the VHS if you're into it... this film will certainly not let you down!

4/5



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