The shot-on-video horror trend of the late 80s and early 90s gave the world some truly good/bad cult classics such as 555, Splatter Farm and Black Devil Doll from Hell, and made for some particularly sought after VHS tapes too. While shooting on video understandably died out with the advent of affordable home editing software and digital video, trash filmmaker Matt Watts has not moved on so easily, having begun production on SOV slasher short Axe of Violence. The fuzzy, washed-out look of these newly-released stills is instantly recognisable, and will surely bring back some memories for SOV fans.
“Don’t bother checking your HDMI cable; no need to restart your streaming device because no amount of digital upscaling will get rid of the tracking issues of this horror…” begins the press release, which goes on to explain that the film was shot on VHS “…not to capitalize on any recent retro-trends, but as a way to authentically connect with the late 80’s/early 90’s wave of independently produced horror movies.”
The press release also comes with the following synopsis:
A group of friends take a shortcut though the backwoods on their way to a vacation cabin, but an unfortunate vehicle failure leaves them stranded on the roadside. But they are not as secluded as they think, as they are soon stalked by a masked killer…
Axe of Violence stars underground horror regular Sarah French who, having appeared in titles such as Insectula! and Shriek of the Sasquatch, will soon be seen in Harrison Smith’s Death House. It is slated to become part of horror anthology Fatal Premonitions, which is due to emerge sometime next year. Here’s hoping for a limited VHS release.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
