The Videostore Junkies

Born on the Fourth of July. Independence Day. Independence Day: Resurgence. There have been many classic films based around the uniquely American holiday of the Fourth of July, and Uncle Sam...probably isn't one of them.

Written by Larry Cohen and Directed by William Lustig - the creative forces behind the Maniac Cop trilogy - Uncle Sam features questionable metaphors about patriotism, the military industrial complex, and horrible firework accidents. It also features a killer who doesn't show up until halfway through the film, which leaves a whole lotta space for bad writing, bad acting, and a jackass kid who accuses his teacher of being a draft-dodger.

Where does Uncle Sam belong in the pantheon of holiday-themed horror films? Does Uncle Sam reach the level of a Black Christmas (1974), or does it belong alongside films like Black Christmas (2006)? Or does it instead reside on the level of such films as Black Christmas (2019)? Check out our second every Videostore Junkyard episode to find out where this festive frightfest ranks among other horror holiday classics!

For the weekend of 7/2/21, Renee, Paul, Zachary, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring mutant frogs, mutant mushrooms, and a non-mutant Winona Ryder!

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major streaming platform.

For the weekend of 6/25/21, Renee, Paul, Zachary, and Bill give you 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring apocalyptic classics, parental horror, and murderous microwaves!

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major streaming platform.

It's been almost four years since the horror world lost one of its true masters with the passing of George A. Romero, which is why it's all the more exciting to be able to say that the world has been graced with a new George Romero film - although "new" and "film" are debatable.

Produced as an educational film about elderly abuse and discrimination for the Lutheran Service Society of Western Pennsylvania, which was reportedly so shocked with what he produced that they never released it, The Amusement Park has gone largely unseen since it was shot in 1973 - until now.

A 53-minute program that is short on narrative - and budget, its a discovery which will nonetheless be irresistible to fans of one of the greatest horror directors who ever lived. But how does it hold up after all these years - is this truly a forgotten gem by a master of cinema, or a project which should have stayed on the shelf? In this episode we discuss the merits of The Amusement Park, it's effectiveness as an education film, and its place in Romero's legacy.

For the weekend of 6/18/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill give you 7.5 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring anime, amusement parks, Tig Notaro, and...our first every ANTI-recommendation from Bill!

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major streaming platform.

For the weekend of 6/11/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul give you 6 recommendations for your favorite streaming services, featuring possessed appliances, amorphous blobs, and...yeti hookers?!

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major streaming platform.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It continues one of the most successful horror franchises of the last decade as the 3rd mainline film in a series that has now grown to 8 installments.

Purportedly based on true events from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Devil Made Me Do It features a 1981 case of demonic possession and satanic rituals. In our spoiler-possessed review, we discuss what gives us the heebiejeebies about this movie - and what we think should be exorcised in a cleansing ritual.

The year is 2021 AD and roving bands bloodthirsty men threaten the last vestiges of society, their brutality eclipsed only by the retrograde mutants of The Forbidden Zone.

No, we haven't turned into a current events podcast - this is the plot to 1988s The Sisterhood, a film set in a year so near in the future that most of its cast and crew would live to see it! In our first installment of The Videostore Junkyard, we discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of this misbegotten lovechild of The Beastmaster and Mad Max - and most importantly, discuss what it correctly predicted about the far distant year of 2021 AD!

For the weekend of 5/28/21, Renee, Zachary, and Bill give you 6 recommendations for your holiday-weekend viewing pleasure, featuring space truckers, demons, and a double-dose of Martin Sheen bein’ creepy.

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major streaming platform.

It's been 17 years since Zack Snyder's first feature film was released, and after a lengthy (and sometimes tumultuous) foray into comic book movies, he has finally returned to the genre which launched his career: the zombie film.

A remake of one of the most beloved zombie films of all time, 2004's Dawn of the Dead met with box office success, not to mention the approval of diehard Living Dead fans which endures to this day. So, does Army of the Dead continue Snyder's legacy as the king of zombie action films? Join us in our spoiler-laden review as we break down which elements of this film hit the jackpot - and which elements stink like a rotting, undead corpse baking in the hot Nevada sun.