Jack Frost (1997)
Jack Frost had one of the most memorable boxes, not because it was a killer snow man, but because it was lenticular, which means it changed images as you moved it. So, at one point it was a simple innocent snowman, then you’d move the box and it would turn into a vicious killer snowman.
Despite the cool box, I think everyone realized this movie was gonna suck, and it indeed did. I didn’t watch it until a few years ago and my only real fond memory of this movie playing with the box in the video store.
Uncle Sam (1996)
Uncle Sam is another horror film that probably had very little redeeming value, but it also had a cool ventricular box. The film was distributed by the same company as Jack Frost and they decided to go with the same marketing ploy on this horror film as well. I’ve yet to see Uncle Sam and arguably, never will.
The Fly (1986)
The 1986 Cronenberg classic, The Fly was one of those films that I didn’t know much about when I was young but I loved the cover art. It told you just about everything you needed to know about the movie and was creepy and intriguing.
Evil Dead (1998)
So, this probably isn’t the Evil Dead VHS tape that most people think of when they think of Evil Dead. But for me, this was my first introduction to the film. Evil Dead went out of print in the 90’s and it was one of the most sought after movies. Everywhere you went online you had people trading bootlegs and asking if you had a copy of Evil Dead. Then finally, in 1998, after three years of looking, I ran across this Anchor Bay re-release at Walmart of all places.
Dawn of the Dead: Director’s Cut (1999)
This version of Dawn of the Dead came in one of those iconic Anchor Bay clamshells of the late 90’s. I first saw Night of the Living Dead after renting it while visiting my grandmother in the late 90’s. After enjoying it, I knew I wanted to see the follow up so while browsing the entertainment section at K-Mart, I ran across this version of the film and bought it for $11.99. I went home and watched it, and loved it, and it quickly became one of m all-time favorite horror films.
I too got my first commercial VHS copy of The Evil Dead at Wal-Mart and it was this Anchor Bay release. I had a VHS tape dub of the trilogy on one tape. prior to that.