CULT MOVIE MANIA ups the Analog Ante with the Deluxe VHS Edition of BLACK DEVIL DOLL. Get ready for an Analogasm, Videovores! THIS IS KILLER!
Cult Movie Mania has just unleashed what could quite possibly be the grooviest VHS package to come out of the new VHS releasing resurgence. Just one look at the Deluxe VHS Edition of Jonathan and Shawn Lewis' Black Devil Doll, and you’re apt to have an extreme analogasm. I know I did, man! And it’s CMM’s Andrew Allan’s sentiment about the whole VHS community and creative culture that really resounds with me. After reading through the interview, I found that my views correlate with Allan's to a great degree; I was nodding my head and lipping, “Yeah, man… this guy gets it. Killer.” And that's the thing about all of the groovy DIY releases and VHS-obsessed projects that are currently proliferating at an inspiring rate: I feel like all of it carries that sense of a big, roughhousing family, sharing solidarity in the love and celebration for our favorite format. And as this interview will undoubtedly evidence, we also get all kinds of mad bitchin’ VHS goodies along the way….
Shawn and I started sending extras ideas back and forth to each other. One of us would propose something crazy and outrageous, the other would top it, and so on. After a while, there were so many great ideas, we simply had to include all of the best ones.
Arian Buhler did the VHS cover. He does all the CMM VHS and DVD artwork. He’s a great designer out of St. Augustine, FL. He came up with the great idea to base the cover off of those afro-centric black light posters so common in the 1970s. They feature black barbarians with women at their feet, etc. They’re hilarious. Even better, they look cool and they are thematically appropriate to this release. So, Arian channeled those and hand illustrated the unforgettable Black Devil Doll VHS cover. It turned out fantastic! It looks super sweet in the clamshell and up on the shelf. And the tape is “bruise purple”. Anyone who has seen Black Devil Doll will make that connection.
The black power afro pick was a natural choice. It’s like it was made for this VHS release. We couldn’t pass it up.
Shawn had wanted to do Black Devil Doll rolling papers for years. I think he attempted it previously but couldn’t find a press that would print the obnoxious things up. But, our printer had no problem with it. The biggest challenge was having a die made for the package cutting. They turned out awesome! And, they are covered with great artwork by Stephen Romano.
The Chick Tract comic is insane. Lou Rusconi wrote and illustrated it. It may very well be the most offensive thing I have ever seen or read in my life. Which means, it’s perfect. It’s contains an all-new, entirely depraved adventure with the Black Devil Doll. Lou really outdid himself. He should receive an honor of some sort. Maybe if there is a Knights of Perversion, he could be knighted and sit at their phallus shaped table.
The pussy air freshener...I first saw these at the Spooky Empire show in Orlando last October. I believe Stephen Biro, who owns Unearthed Films, gave one to me after Jeremiah Baumbach gave it to him. I tracked Jeremiah down, told him what we wanted them for, and he was on board. We have an assortment, so each set is different. Some come with Caucasian, some with black, Asian, or Latin.
What I love most about this package is that it is as audacious, over-the-top, and ridiculous as the movie itself.
Stop pulling my hair, man! I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE DANG REMOTE WENT! ARRGGHHHH!
LM: How and when did you first see BLACK DEVIL DOLL? How’d you get hooked up with opportunity to release it? CMM: I saw Black Devil Doll not long after it came out. I was very excited to see it and it lived up to the hype. It’s a fun, ridiculous, fearless movie. After our first Bloody Bloody Bible Camp VHS release, I was casting around to see which movie would make a good follow-up release. I remembered Black Devil Doll, reached out to Shawn Lewis, the producer, and proposed we do a VHS. He was very excited to do it.
The super-rad promo poster for BBBC. SATAN LOVES THE ANALOG, MAN.
There are SO many amazing extras in this release, dude. It’s like the most deluxe slab o’ analog glory I’ve seen to date! Can you give us the full details on the release? Full extras, etc.? Who came up with all this crazy stuff? Where did you get “pussy” scented air fresheners?! Thank you. Coming from LUNCHMEAT, that’s a huge compliment.
LOOK AT THIS SHIT! I mean... JUST LOOK AT IT. This has got to be one of the coolest VHS Editions on the planet. Click on dis link to grab yourself one already!!
Why put this flick on VHS? I mean, I think it’s a perfect fit… Just wondering what inspired you to go after it and do it up! Black Devil Doll is a bit of a throwback movie. So, it was a very natural choice to put it on VHS. I also like putting movies on VHS that were never released on VHS before. That makes sense to me. It’s like creating something that was missing. As far as doing it up...Cult Movie Mania may not put out as many releases as fast as some of the other VHS companies (all of which I think are doing great work and many of whom I buy from). But, when we put something out it’s going to be awesome. Putting these releases out is a creative pursuit for us, so we take every detail very seriously (while still having fun). The people who support us and buy these VHS sets work too hard for their money not to get full bang for their buck.
Clickity-click the poster to experience just a slice of BDD's total friggin' insanity. Or just click here, MOFO.
What is it that attracts you to the video format? I grew up during the video boom. It’s my natural format. I have so many great memories of walking through the video store aisles and just being captivated by all the boxes. So, I always go back to VHS. I love the analog look. And the packaging/presentation is so much better. Being in the new VHS movement, what are your thoughts on the whole resurgence in interest, appreciation, culture, etc.? It’s great. The more VHS the better! I love seeing all the different groups come up with amazing new VHS editions. It’s like breakdance fighting. But, more convivial. Each crew tries to outdo the other with each release. And that gives VHS fans and collectors some amazing new goodies. Everybody wins. I also love the fact that its VHS fans who are putting the new releases out and not so much studios. It reminds me of a great DIY punk scene, which is way cool.
Mmmhmmm.Mmhmmmm.Mmhmmmm. I like what you've done here.... Yes.... but what about... Ah... I see.
You also run an online store that carries all kinds of fringe film goodies. Can you tell us a little about that and what you’d like to do with it? It’s a weird beast and a work in progress. We will be launching our new site in the coming weeks and will have cool cult movie content on that like reviews, articles, and original videos. Our goal for the store is to make it the cool cult movie video store we always dreamed of having in the neighborhood, specializing in exclusive cult movie collectibles you can’t find anywhere else. It will be very VHS, but will also go beyond that. For instance, we already have the H.G. Lewis sets with real gore from his movie, The Uh-Oh! Show. We’re having a blast. Do you plan on continuing with the VHS releases? Definitely. We have a deluxe edition of Joel D. Wynkoop’s karate klassic Lost Faith coming out in a few weeks. That’s a fun package. I can’t wait for people to experience that. After that, we will be releasing Marcus Koch’s underground punk/gore classic Rot (you heard it here first!). And we have a couple of wild things lined up beyond that. Anything else you’d like to share with the Videovores out there? We are happy to be part of the scene. We really appreciate all the people who have supported us, whether it’s liking us on Facebook, telling a friend about us, or making a purchase. And most importantly, there is much more cool stuff to come.And we're beyond stoked to have you, dude, and can't wait for the next video vindication! Big ups to Mr. Allan and his CMM brand for bringing out all the stops and creating one seriously mega-bitchin analog celebration. Don't forget to groove on over to CMM's Facebook and CMM's Official Gore Store to appease your analog and fringe film needs. They got the goods, mannnnn.
Groove on and on and on.
Interview by Josh Schafer