Past Tense - The Invasion Starts On Your VCR Part II


Good memories from them - buying and renting laser discs. This is where I bought the out of print DVD, "The Deep" (1977), Columbia TriStar Home Video - complete with insert. The first pressing from 1998 was a flipper; widescreen and full. When it was re-released; full screen only and pretty much the only way to find the movie on DVD today.



That was the place where I would get my free copy of "Laser Disc Image Preview", small sized, monthly, then a bi-monthly magazine that was less about articles as it was about coming titles, the ads. Good memories. Above is a page from the mag; the ad for the deluxe special editon LD box set for "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951). Yes it sold for $149.98 in 1995. And yes, I did buy it - still have.

And I still have my copy of "The Deep" DVD, a solid flick and quite the showcase for an in-her-prime, Jacqueline Bissett in wet tees and skin tight swimsuits. *nods* She was one of those rare women; pretty when she was in her twenties; hot when she was in her thirties, suppose she was a late bloomer. Man, would've have loved to have seen her as 1970s Catwoman if there was "Batman" '70s flick, non-campy big budget feature.

I'm telling you, Jack Palance as Batman would've been wicked. Oh frackin' yes - Don Rickles as The Joker.



Sorry - while helping one of his regulars, Allegra (Jennifer Tilly, above), Cosmo meets a woman of interest - Belinda Watson (Deborah Goodrich), she's looking for a romantic French movie. He can't find it. She leaves. But leaves with her boyfriend, Victor (Frank Beddor), he's not a nice guy.

He has set his sights on a video, a new title - "Remote Control". The VHS that Allegra had just snagged. There is a tense moment, but she wins. Not taking 'no' for answer; as she checks it out, he looks at the computer monitor and sees her home address.



These two random people set off a string of events that take Cosmo, Belinda and Georgie into a home video conspiracy.

Oh my God! What is that cop doing to that boy's as$!?!

Man, things were different back then. I have that, the feature - "Jake Speed" (1986), saw it opening day and later owned the laser disc ('86) and currently the DVD (2001). Recommended.

Aliens from the Polaris star system have set their eyes on Earth, but do not have the number to take the planet over. So they've opted to use our tech against ourselves - VHS cassettes. Reality altering videos which insert subliminal, ultra violent messages. Get all those who see it to murder each other. This is how they plan on reducing our numbers.

They named their company "Polaris Video" with star above a planet as their logo. *wink* That was a nice touch.

How are they going about it? The aliens made a black and white 1950s inspired sci-fi movie about the very thing they're doing - invasion using home video. Yeah the movie within a movie has their version of a VHS tape, making people who watch it go homicidal. Today that would be meta.

Taking a step back, I am impressed by the video shop. I can only guess they didn't bother getting rights to the tapes. Because those clearances would've made the movie impossible to include. I saw box covers for Disney, New World Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal and 20th Century Fox.

That would not have happened - the store would have one or two studio worth of titles; shot in such away to show only those studio releases. Nope, not here. For Gen-Xers, this is a movie to pause and look about. One of the titles was the box set for "Gone With The Wind" (1939).



The film had an excellent villain in Victor; the guy looks like he's ready to come unhinged. He had an important role as the main baddie. Even having a moment where we feel sorry for him. Maybe he's not a jerk, but a victim. Nah, he's still an a-hole.

The film has good amount of gore; such as the killing spree inside a night club where that tape was playing on their big screen.

The why? Why a 1950s movie? This was the aliens first impression of us - our TV broadcasts which took decades to reach their eyes. They learned about us from our entertainments. Creating a science fiction feature seemed like a good way to get our attentions.

At that point, VHS was king - dominate format on the planet; marry the two for their scheme.



Looking at this movie today; oh man, this has got to be one of the most 1980s - '80s movies made. Wow. The fashion, the music and hues. Shook my head a few times. Yeah, those were a thing back in the day. Made me smile. Just so you know, that pix above; the background...

"Fuji" video tapes (blank cassettes) were among the top tier fuel for your VCR. They were long lasting tapes and came in a plastic slipcase, not cheap card stock. Fancy! And no, growing up I didn't have many of them to use, expensive. When I did, it was for special saves; something I wanted kept - Fuji!

In the background - the poster is for Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). This was a long watch - while it's less than ninety minutes, I paused a lot while at "Village Video". Stuff like that brought up a lot of memories. There was a mom and pops store where I'm at - they had two rooms of space; EVER wall and isle was packed. You could get lost among the titles. Man, I loved that place. After the time had ended, it became a family owned Mexican restaurant and now, it's a vacant spot. The kids today have no idea what they missed out on.



Oh man, this could be racist. All the aliens in human guise (we don't see their native form) are disguised as Asians, the foreigner. The Master Controller (Tad Horino) behind the invasion shown above. While the black and white movie made by the aliens is the means inflict homicidal urges on humans; they still need a film. The plot mirrors the events in the feature. Here at the climax, our Young Hero steals a forklift at the replication plant and drives it into (jumping off at the last moment) into a power station, setting the place ablaze; destroying the aliens plot for domination. Why not end with the aliens winning?

It is a human motion picture - need to adhere to the tropes.

The movie is also titled "Remote Control" as from the VHS info - was mock made in 1957. A bit of additional trivia. Jennifer Tilly's role was small, but she was given second billing, not Goodrich. I guess they had to show their big stars for advertising.

There is a problem I have. The finale has a scene which made sense; was shown and the characters were examining, then is forgotten since a lot was happening. That should've been a stinger after the end credits. Credits ends and we come back to the smoking rubble of their factory/headquarters - one of the aliens survived with a found prize... villainy is victorious.

That would've had more weight to it, a reward to viewers who stayed.



Madness is the gift that has been given to me.
- Disturbed

That's it. I'm happy to own this. Made me smile a lot and has a solid plot. This year, 1988; Kevin Dillon would star in another sci-fi movie, gone to classic; the outstanding remake of "The Blob". The visual effects are thirty-three years old and feel just as fresh and so unforgiving.

Come back here on June 10th, 2021 for the entry that was suppose to happen here. *nods* You'll like it. I know I did. An indie flick with big concepts, made cheap that fits.