Film Name: Cult of VHS
Director: Rob Preciado
With: Graham Humphreys, David Gregory, Michael Keene, Kevin Martin
Why does the VHS videocassette format still hold such a fascination for young and old horror movie fans? This informative documentary explores the allure, the nostalgic artwork, straight-to video titles and yes, the Video Nasties, through engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining interviews with collectors, film directors and VHS enthusiasts. Take a trip down Memorex lane with graphic artist Graham Humphreys, Severin Films head honcho David Gregory and directors Kristian A. Söderström and Josh Stifter among many others as they take us through their first experiences with the medium and what it meant to them
In a new exclusive interview on Blazing Minds, I got a chance to ask producer Aaron Trussa a few questions about the documentary Cult of VHS, which will be making its World Premier at Arrow FrightFest on Sunday 28th August at 15:45hrs.
Q. The documentary CULT OF VHS has been selected to play at Arrow FrightFest Film Festival. Can you tell us what we can expect from the film?
A. Pure nostalgia and a sense of community. The reason this documentary works so well is purely down to the incredible interviews that were recorded from all over the world! We revisit everything from Michael Myres to Jane Fonda’s workout videos, Zombie Flesh Eaters to Mary Whitehouse. I think audiences will be quite surprised at how much they can relate to a lot of the stories, and to be honest some of them are hilarious. I think the film also works for younger audiences too who didn’t grow up in the 80’s and 90’s as there’s currently a huge market for all things ‘retro’ and ‘vintage’.
Q. How did you get involved in the documentary and what attracted you to the project?
A. I joined the production in 2020 whilst I was finishing post-production on my own debut feature-length documentary, (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story. The film follows the life and murder of my close friend Rob Knox who appeared as Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – so the production of that film was an incredibly dark time for me. I just happened to be doing some research on Kickstarter and found this page for an upcoming film called Cult of VHS. I was blown away by the campaign, their goals, the subject matter and so I reached out to Rob Preciado (director) to see if he needed help on the project. Cult of VHS has a much different tone to (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story and I desperately wanted to move away from true crime and into something fun and nostalgic.
Q. The documentary has some well-known faces who talk about their own experiences with VHS, but were there any guests that you wanted to get involved that were not included?
A. I had so many people from the UK and Italy approach me about appearing in Cult of VHS. As soon as I discussed the project with people, they wanted to share their own ‘video store experiences’ with me. I remember chatting to a friend in a bar in Sicily who told me about the first time he watched A Nightmare on Elm Street III: The Dream Warriors on VHS and how his father ran a local video store in the village. It’s amazing to think how similar our childhoods were, and I think that’s a recurring theme throughout the documentary.
Q. How long did it take you to complete the documentary?
A. I think it took around 2 or 3 years, you would have to ask Rob and Gerardo (Producer) to be honest. When I joined the production, a good handful of interviews were already filmed. But post-production took a fairly long time as Rob and Gerardo are based in Mexico and I’m based in the UK – so to help push the production forward, I created a UK-based team consisting of Toby Campen, Dan Yates, Britt Lupton and Alice Amata. I’d like to think we were are well-oiled machine at that point.
Q. There are some amazing stories from people reminiscing about their experiences with the shop, but were there any interesting stories which may not have made the final edit of the film?
A. Honestly, this film had the potential to be over 3 hours long. Rob and I were very keen to include as much as we possibly could! But time was a factor and we knew we had to finish this film one day. Over the last few months, Rob has spoken to me about the potential for a Cult of VHS II – so who knows, we might be able to include everything!
Q. What were some of your favourite moments of the documentary?
A. I absolutely love Kevin Martin from The Last Video Store. His entire chapter is bloody brilliant and I hope to meet the guy one day! He’s incredibly down to earth and has an unparalleled passion for his video store and for his VHS collection. Jordi Camacho is hilarious too, I really hope the stories about his uncles and cousins aren’t true. Finally, I was over the moon that I had the opportunity to interview my father (Aiden Truss) for the film – the man who introduced me to Return of the Living Dead at the age of 6…
Q. Did you experience any issues whilst making the documentary?
A. Having half the team in Mexico and half the team in the UK was a bit of a nightmare at first, with all our production meetings taking place at all hours of the day and night. But it didn’t stop us from banding together to get the film through the finishing line. Sure, there were disagreements, but at the end of the day, we wanted to make sure Rob’s vision came to fruition and that we could make a documentary we would all be proud of.
Q. What do you hope people take away after watching the film?
A. I hope people are happy. Like Rob says, there’s a feel-good element to the film. I hope it makes them want to go and revisit the classic films they watched in their youth! Maybe they’ll share that experience with a friend or a partner, so it becomes a new thing! Who knows, maybe the film will inspire a new generation of collectors. Wouldn’t that be something?
Q. Do you have any other projects, which you are currently working on?
A. I’ve recently sold (K)nox: The Rob Knox story to Woodcut International, so I’m hoping that will find a home with broadcasters very soon. I’ve also been approached by Stuart Morriss at Misty Moon to direct a short horror film called Pareidolia (written by my father). We start shooting in October and were lucky enough to cast Diane Franklin (Amityville II, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), Graham Cole (The Bill), Carolyn Pickles (Broadchurch), Joe Acres (The Understudy) and Sandy Johnson (John Carpenter’s Halloween).
Q. If someone was looking to make their own documentary film what advice would you give them?
A. Sounds corny but teamwork really does make the dream work. Surround yourself with the best people you know in their fields, don’t try and take on the world yourself! At this moment in time, I’m working with the best people I know at Q Cumber Films (Shout out to Camille, James, Toby, Dan, Nacho and Felix) and I treasure their passion and knowledge when it comes to filmmaking. My experiences from working with Rob and Gerardo Preciado and Kevin Proctor have made me a better film-maker, a better storyteller and given me a fresh perspective on how to tackle subjects. Be sure of the story you want to tell – but be prepared if the story begins to drive you instead.
Cult of VHS will be playing at the Arrow FrightFest Film Festival on Sunday 28th August at 15:45hrs.
You can find out more about the festival and purchase tickets here: https://www.frightfest.co.uk/
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
