VIDEO VIOLENCE at Be Kind Video!

Be Kind Video in Burbank is not just a video store: it’s a hub for all kinds of filmlovers and creative people, and hosts a variety of awesome events, from film screenings to trivia nights to stand-up comedians. This past weekend I was honored to host my own event, a free screening of the 1987 cult classic “Video Violence,” directed by Gary P. Cohen!

A true “no-budget” Shot-On-Videocassette (SOV) film, Video Violence was shot in small town New Jersey, starring local actors that Cohen knew from theater. The iconic video store at the heart of the film — The Video Studio — was owned by Cohen, and he and co-writer Paul Kaye wrote the script around it. Released on VHS by Camp Video, the film and its sequel have gained a devoted cult following, and both were released on BluRay last year by Terror Vision!

Cohen was gracious enough to Zoom in for a Q&A before the film. The following interview is taken from that Q&A, along with some follow-up questions.

Where did you get the idea to make your own shot-on-video horror film?

Well, I owned two video stores, and horror films were certainly popular. We got a couple of shot on video horror films in the store. My friends and I were also involved in theater, so I knew actors and we had access to film equipment and we simply thought that we could probably do a better job than some of the stuff that I was renting at the store, or at least try to do it. And the incident where the girl comes up to the counter, in reality, she had a little boy by the hand and in the film she had a baby, and she brought up Blood Cult, I think, and wanted to know if it had any nudity. And I got pretty exasperated saying, there’s heads being cut off and everything else, but I’m not sure about the nudity. And she said, oh, well, okay, then the kids can see it. That sort of prompted us in writing the script.

Since this was a low-budget film, did you write the script around your available locations and actors?

First, let’s clarify it as a no-budget film. I think we spent a couple of bucks for special effects, and that was probably it. I have some talent in writing, I’ve written an off Broadway musical based on Frankenstein and some children’s musicals, so I just sat down at what was then a typewriter and started to throw ideas around with my friend Paul. We knew it would involve a video store. I knew which actors we had at our disposal, and the story just sort of wrote itself.

How did you create the gore effects on a no-budget film?

Mark Dolson and Mark Kwiatek had worked actually on some real special effects films, and they just got into it. Sure we had to pay for the raw materials, but they just had a ball, especially since we were thinking up crazy deaths, especially in Video Violence 2. So they just had a great time coming up with everything. It was all two guys in their own workshop.

The video store t-shirt end of the film, the “I’m a Lifer” shirt, was that a real shirt you had for your store, or was that just made for the film?

Oh no, those were part of the store. In the early days of the video store, you would have to pay like a $99 membershid, and you’d get a T-shirt that says, I’m a lifer. I never knew whose life it was supposed to be, mine, theirs, the store’s, but nonetheless people did it until they had Blockbuster.

Once Blockbuster moved in, did it immediately kill off mom & pop stores?

No, it took a little while to realize that they were gonna buy 30 copies of a film we could only afford two of. It took about six months.

So when did they your stores close?

I guess either 87 or 88. It must have been 88.

Wow, so right after you filmed Video Violence.

Yeah, pretty much so.

Well, I’m glad you immortalized it on screen.

Yeah, me too.

How did you get distribution for the film?

We sent a screener copy to the three or four companies who were providing us with other shot on video films, including the Troma people at the time. And two companies responded positively. I think it was United and Camp Video, and Camp Video made the better offer, and talked about providing a poster and box art. United didn’t say they’d do any of those things, so we went with Camp.

Is it true you only edited the film in 8 hours?

Oh, no, it was much less than eight hours. There was, now it’s Xfinity, but before then it was something else. It was very close to where the video store was, a very early version of cable television. And they had an editing room and they told us we could come in at midnight and work till seven or eight, but at some point someone came to check on us and didn’t like what they were seeing. So I remember them kicking us out much earlier, at six or so.

You made a new version where you edited Video Violence 1 and 2 together. Do you prefer that version to this?

I’m amazed that the film is still around in any form whatsoever. But given that I mastered using Final Cut Pro, I had fun re-editing the two. For some reason, the sequence in the shower, the homage to Psycho, in Video Violence 2 didn’t come out right in the copy that I made and got distributed. But short of that, I think the story moves better in the combined version.

The film has grown in popularity over the years. When did you first realize there was a huge cult fan base for the movie?

Well, I’m still amazed by it, but I think when Camp Motion Pictures was willing to completely remaster it and edit it again, frame for Frame, for the first DVD version, I thought maybe this was gonna catch on.

What have been some of your favorite fan interactions over the years?

Well, I must say I love the Rotten Reviews, those are great fun to read. And even the people who hate it, they love to hate it. I made a documentary not about how we created the movies, but how the fans reacted to it. And I love everybody’s comments in that documentary.

Now Video Violence 1 & 2 are available on BluRay, and your other film Captives is coming to BluRay too. Did you ever think this would happen?

No. I mean, when we made it, Blu-ray was not even two words, or one word. Who knew that this was going to catch on 30 years later. But it’s great fun. I ran a theater for 30 years, two video stores, I’ve written musicals, they’ve been produced, I’ve directed, but I think my tombstone, unfortunately, is gonna say the director of Video Violence 1 and 2.

Hey, not a bad tombstone.

No, probably not. Probably not.

Any last words you want to give to our audience before they watch the movie?

Well, I just wanna thank you all for spending the time together to watch this.

Let’s see, who’s watching this for the first time tonight?

[most of the audience raised their hands]

Oh, now that’s surprising. Well, I don’t know if you’re in for a treat. Is marijuana legal in California? Maybe that would help. I mean, honestly, I know exactly what the film is. I know it’s good points. I know it’s bad points. We created it to see if we could do it, and our goal was to get it into a video store. It succeeded far past that. So, take it for what it is. Most people my age like it because it’s a nostalgia trip to the era of video stores, which was more than just a rental place. It was a community. And so that’s what a lot of people appreciate. It’s a time capsule from the late 80s. You all look infinitely younger than me from what I could see. So I don’t know what you’ll bring to it. I have a Facebook page, Video Violence 1 & 2 & Captives. If you wanna leave some comments, I’d love to read ’em tomorrow. Thank you so much.