Manor Video Main Brain Jared Rexer Prepares to Inject BLACK METAL VEINS Into Your Decks via Fresh VHS with Lots More Analog Glory in Store!
With humble horror-influenced beginnings in the DIY punk and hardcore scene, Michigan-based Tapehead Jared Rexer has recently crossed over into the realm of fresh VHS, endeavoring to purvey slabs of magnetic magic with his very own analog entity entitled Manor Video. When he's not pounding out some skull-fracturing jams or slammin’ down slabs of pizza and copious cans of Hamm’s, Rexer's keeping mad busy injecting his analog-inclined energy into fostering our favorite format and re-animating chunks of fringe film in order to up the appreciation and distribute some genuine VHS celebration. Read on, my fellow Videovores, and dig the candid observation on the contemporary analog collector situation from the man behind The Manor...
After high school I started apprenticing at a tattoo shop, but I had a falling out with the owner so I ended up leaving. I was in the punk, crust, and grind scenes so I would make show flyers for my or my friend’s bands. Almost all of them were a scene or a cover from a horror movie with the band logos and info glued on, then I would Xerox them. Nothin’ fancy but I dug ‘em. Now, I just draw cartoon dudes eating pizza, do graffiti here and there, and design stuff for Manor.
I guess what got me to start Manor Video was seeing that people were still willing to buy VHS. I bought tapes and a few of my friends did, but I wasn’t on any of the groups; I wasn’t aware of the newer companies that were around, and I was just naive to the fact that people still wanted tapes. I always talked about wanting to put out a movie or a record; have it be something that someone actually wants and expose it to people that may not have seen or heard it otherwise. Build a new appreciation for something. I knew how to go about doing a release for a band, but when it came to releasing a movie I didn’t really know the best way to go about it. When I met and became friends with a few of the people who run some of the newer companies, they kind of showed me the ropes on how to go about getting permissions and rights. Once that happened, I knew that I would actually be able to do what I thought would remain a cool idea. I owe a lot to Louis Massacre Video> and Nate Secret Lair>; real cool dudes.
I saw Fetus a couple years after it first came out and loved it. I knew I wanted to do a gore movie for my first release so I thought I would try getting in touch with Brian, so I sent him an email and got a response the next day. Once I told him my idea he was on board. I think it was a month or two later I was releasing Fetus. I also want to add that Brian and his wife Stacey are the nicest and easiest people to work with. They definitely made my first experience doing this an enjoyable one.
The release you did for Werewolves on Wheels is extra-strength analog excellent, my man. Why did you want to put this flick on VHS again, and who’s responsible for the bodacious cover art? These are now sold out, right?
I've always liked biker movies; ever since I was ten years old and watched Stone Cold in my aunt’s basement. I don’t know if it's because my Dad rides and my uncle has been in biker clubs since I can remember, but there is something about biker movies that I really dig. Werewolves on Wheels has been one that I always liked but other people either found boring or never heard of it. So, I wanted to release it in hopes that people would discover it or give it another chance.
The original release has an awesome cover of a werewolf riding off on his motorcycle with a girl slung over his shoulder. It's a really awesome image and I wanted my release to have something in the same vein, so I talked to my friend Tim "Shagrat" Jenkins who is a phenomenal painter and asked him about painting the cover. Awesomely enough, he is also a big fan of the film so he was 100% interested in doing it. I was blown away when he showed me the finished painting and I fully believe his cover is the reason it sold so well.
Yep, these analog beauties are gone. But, for anyone still looking to grab a copy, strangevice.co.uk had a few in their store.
Word UP on all that, mang. It looks like you’ve got a ton of video vindication on deck, duder. Can you give us the rundown on what we can bust outta’ those analog obsessed doors of the Manor?
Well, I’m working on Black Metal Veins as I type this. That is either already out or about to be released depending on when this is posted. After that, in no particular order is:
The Faim De Mort trilogy by Francois Yagopian
The Vomit Gore Trilogy ( includes A Perfect Child of Satan and the final Angela Chapter.)
Bone Sickness (Includes extra footage.)
Cryptic Plasm
Morbid Tales
The Crazy Dave Mixtapes
I think that's everything that i have totally secured.
VHStep inside, Tapeheads. They got snacks and stuff.
Can you tell us a little bit about your creative history, and the impetus to start Manor Video? For sure, dude. My creative history is probably no different than anyone else’s; I drew a lot as a kid.
Manor Video's initial analog assault! There's still some slabs up for consumption RIGHT HURR.
Your first release was Brian Paulin’s Fetus. Tell us a little bit about the film, and how you ended up releasing it. It centers around Kevin, who’s wife dies giving birth to their first born child. He becomes depressed and decides that he needs to bring his wife back, so he gets a book on necromancy and everything goes to shit after that.
A look at the Limited Edition Manor release of WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS. This straight up VHSlays.
You did The Occult Experience as a Tape Eaters exclusive. Can you tell us a little about that flick, and about your experience at this year’s Tape Eaters VHS Convention? It is a mondo-style documentary that covers everything from witchcraft to the cryogenics society. It came out in 1970 and is the UK version of the Italian film White Angel, Black Angel. If you like old mondo docs and '70s occult stuff, you'd probably dig it. Tape Eaters was awesome, man! This was my first time having a table, but I thought I did alright. I didn’t really get around to digging through tapes as much as I would have liked, but I scored some pretty good ones. I got to meet some really awesome people, plus we got to be table buddies, and I know that meant as much to you as it did to me. I can’t wait until next year!
Now THIS is the kind of experience I'm lookin' for. Analog Occult Experiments All Day.
Dude, table buddies 5EVA, and I can’t wait, either, man! So, analog overall, why do you want to put movies on tape? What is it about the VHS format that you dig so much? I guess the short answer would be that I am nostalgic for the time before DVD and Blu-Ray. I like knowing that I am a very small part of community of people that, I’m guessing, feel the same way. I've always liked the box art, obviously. I don’t think a majority of the companies that put out strictly DVD or Blu-ray really put much thought into the cover any more. Covers used to be a big selling point, and maybe with the internet they don’t have to be anymore, but it bums me out flipping through DVDs at a store and seeing the same boring covers. Also, I like the graininess of the picture. To me it just doesn’t seem right for a horror movie to have a super sharp crisp picture. Keep it gritty.
An exclusive sneak peek at the artwork for the upcoming Manor release BLACK METAL VEINS! Sticky icky analog addiction comin' right up!
You’re an avid collector. What’s your take on all the analog excitement that’s been bubblin’ over the past few years? Eh. I don’t mind it as much as others do. It's cool that people are dusting off their VCRs and enjoying movies the analog way, but the flip side to that is everybody thinks that their tapes are worth money. The one thing that annoys me is scrolling through the group pages and seeing people post a tape just to ask if it is worth anything. Who cares if it is? I get the want and desire to have rare tapes in your collection, but when you ask that question it comes across like you only care about how much you can get for it. But, I don’t think everybody who has gotten into VHS in the past year or so is in it because it’s the new cool thing to do or because they think they can turn a profit by hitting up their parent’s attic. Some people genuinely like the format and will continue to collect long after it is the cool thing to do.
Hammy Hamm Hamm Hamm'ssss in cannny can can canssss. That was fun. NOW DRINK IT.
Why do you think Hamm’s in a can tastes the same whether you ice it, drink it warm or kick it down the road for a while and then enjoy? Well, it comes from the land of sky blue waters. I think that has something to do with it. Any way you look at it, it takes an awesome beer to always taste good. I can’t really taste it anymore after the third or fourth one, but before that, it's solid as hell. Anything else you wanna shout out to all the Videovores chewin’ on this slab of analog-obsessed internet? Just thanks for the support. I know I’m still the new kid on the block, but I plan on being around for a while. So, sit back, eat a slice and drink a Hamm's.Yo, that’s EXACTLY what I’m gonna do, mang! And all you Tapeheads should, too! Why? Because PARTYTIMEEXCELLENT, that’s why! And once you’re done jammin’ through those stacked up slices o’ pizza and you’ve washed ‘em down with heaping helping of Hamm’s in can while watching your favorite slab of video excesss, be sure to groove on over to Manor Video’s Official Store and grapple up some of Jared’s most excellent magnetic magic manifestations. Oh, and don’t forget to give ‘em a like on the old Facebook so you can stay updated on all the upcoming analog offerings as they emerge from the Manor. Your VCR will thank you, mang.
Groove and Groove and Did you say Abe Lincoln?
Josh Schafer