This “Limited Edition” Arrow Video Blu-ray is now available for purchase.
If you were a kid anytime between the early 1980s to late 2000s, you probably have a soft spot for video stores. Before streaming, you could walk down to your local retailer, talk to the store owners about film, pick out and rent titles and get your fill of entertainment. Yes, you can stream features directly to your television today, but it’s a different experience. Algorhythms push you towards content that they want you to watch, as opposed to days when you would take personal recommendations and movie-related books into account and often end up with an unusual title.
The low-budget Canadian independent horror/comedy The Last Video Store is a fictional narrative about the last video store still in operation. One evening, Nyla (Yaayaa Adams) arrives to return three VHS tapes that her late father rented before passing away. She encounters Blaster Video owner Kevin (Kevin Martin), who is sad to hear the news, as the woman’s dad appears to have been his last active membership holder.
Noting that Nyla isn’t much of a movie buff, the shopkeeper sweetly attempts to sell her on watching hard copies of old obscure B-movies, hoping to help her understand why they are worth checking out. Nyla then pulls out a fourth tape from her dad’s home that Kevin doesn’t recognize. It turns out to be a cursed tape called the “Videonomicon,” which could bring an evil, tape-based force into the world. The leads find characters from other rentals suddenly being pulled into their world and must fight to survive the onslaught.
For a movie made on limited means, this is a really entertaining genre picture. Kevin and Nyla are a likable pair, doing their best to deal with some over-the-top monsters and fictional characters. Part of what makes Kevin such a fun co-protagonist is that, in real life, the actor is the owner of one of the last video stores (in Edmonton, Alberta). It’s easy to see that some of the themes really mean something to him. Nyla makes a good contrast, reacting in a relatable way to some of the eccentricities that occur.
Her rental tapes include the science-fiction feature, an early CGI-killer mantis movie, and, best of all, a Friday the 13th-esque slasher picture called Beaverlake Massacre 4 – Overtime Kills. A couple of characters from that movie make appearances in the shop, including a goalie mask-clad psycho killer and a “teen” (Matthew Kennedy) who looks like he’s 30. Honestly, I really liked this particular parody element and would happily watch a full-length version of that film. The story boasts another funny character in Viper (Josh Lenner), an action star in the Jean-Claude Van Damme-mold whose titles have received a critical drubbing.
It is a surprisingly slick and well-paced movie with a few clever shots, plenty of enjoyable moments and even some thrills. The events never leave the one location, but enough oddball characters appear and get involved that things don’t become tiring. And there are so many enjoyable film references in the background that one could spend many viewings trying to identify them all. The video store itself is beautifully decorated with DVD and VHS tapes (the readable titles are both authentic and made-up), and there are familiar posters from indie cinema that many will recognize.
Additionally, the movie isn’t afraid to make some observations about both the good and bad of being an obsessive film enthusiast. While it certainly helps for Kevin to know a thing or two about what he’s up against, you also see that his well-intentioned passion has caused him to live a solitary existence.
Overall, this is a well-mounted and surprisingly effective movie with a ton of laughs, some enjoyably gooey effects and some interesting thoughts about film and their power over us. And since the movie was made last year, the Blu-ray picture is, of course, stellar. Everything looks spectacularly sharp and you can see and read all of the incredible store details while the action is occurring.
In addition to the great visual quality, the disc also includes extras. There is a film critic commentary track in which the two participants talk about their love of the movie. Additionally, there are two video essays that go into the picture. One featurette identifies many of the film references (including independent Canadian features and a few international titles), as well as character archetypes and story elements that are examined. As far as the posters go, I would like to add to the critic’s notes that it is also nice to see one of Wake in Fright, as this chilling drama from Australia was actually directed by Canadian Ted Kotcheff. That might be part of the reason why it’s included on the wall. In all, this is a fine essay, but there is a lot of plot information delivered, so don’t watch it before viewing the main feature.
The other video essay deals with how the film handles nostalgia for the era of video stores. It’s an enjoyable track with interesting observations.
Yet one wishes that the actual directors and cast had provided a commentary, telling their own stories about writing and making the movie. As someone who grew up in the city in which this film was shot, I would have loved to hear more about what brought them to that specific part of the country, and how they managed to accomplish everything with such a tiny budget.
At least we do get behind-the-scenes footage of the filmmakers in the studio, building a video store from scratch and shooting there. You’ll also see them shooting pick-ups on two occasions after principal photography. Numerous shorts from the directors are also included. The pair made a 2013 short with Kevin Martin that inspired the final movie, and that is present along with an earlier attempt to make a feature-length version. Pre-visualizations have also been added as bonuses, showing how a few of the more technically tricky elements were created.
There is also a trailer and an image gallery. A booklet also contains essays on the movie, as well as a fold-out mini-poster.
If you have a thing for old video stores, low-budget indie pictures, or just VHS tapes and even old DVDs and other physical media, there is definitely some entertainment to be had in watching The Last Video Store. It brought me back to the 1980s and my time renting films in shops just like the one featured. The title is sweet, sometimes even exciting and overall is far better than you would expect. If it sounds like something you might enjoy, do not hesitate to pick up this “Limited Edition” Blu-ray before it (like some of the fictional features in this movie) disappears from store shelves.