VIDEOVORE SPOTLIGHT: Jason Stephenson and His Complete Collection of Universal “Silver Top” Horror VHS Releases!
If you’re regularly hanging out in Lunchmeat Land, you know us to be avid proponents of rummaging through the rewind wild in order to find the weirdest and wildest slabs of black plastic gold. And in support of that particular VHSpirit, we’re stoked to share a groovy little story from fellow Tapehead and low-budget horror filmmaker Jason Stephenson in this (cue big booming voice)… Videovore Spotlight! Over the past couple of years, Jason has managed to gather the complete 37 tape collection of the Universal “Silver Top” Horror VHS releases, finding all but one tape (which he purchased from a fellow collector) by patiently and persistently perusing a mess of flea markets and thrift shops throughout the secondhand landscape. That’s 36 specific tapes, all found in the wild. Pretty radical, eh, Tapeheads? We think so, too.
Here’s more insight from Jason himself, followed by a video featuring all 37 of the Universal Silver Top slabs… Stephenson said, “I’ve been a fan of the classic monster movies since I can remember, and once I got back into collecting VHS, I knew I had to try and get the entire 37 tape set of the ‘Silver Top’ Universal Monster movies… and the hunt began! It took a couple years of thrifting and hitting the flea markets to bring this set together, but I managed to do it almost entirely with wild finds for less than a buck each. The hardest tapes to pin down we’re THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL, which I ended up buying from a fellow collector in a VHS group for cheap… and that damn INVISIBLE WOMAN tape eluded me for quite some time… but luckily, I recently nabbed one at a flea market, and completed this set!”
It’s quite a remarkable rewind-inclined journey, finding 36 titles in a specific series, almost entirely in the wild. It’s something of note, especially when a considerable amount of VHS collecting has moved to online buying and trading, which offers a form of (virtual) instant gratification.
And, hey, as we’ve said before, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using the internet as a tool to find your most sought after gems, but we here at Lunchmeat wanted to highlight this particular instance of VHS conquest from Jason because it reminds us of the fun, the adventure and the absolute glory that so often hits while hunting in the wild. Just imagine that rush of joy, that excitement, and that solidified sense of victory that Jason felt when he completed his collection of Universal Monster tapes by finding that last piece of the puzzle in a random area of the wild. That’s got to be one glorious feeling, man. And if you don’t believe me, take a look at the pic below…
There he is! Videovore Jason Stephenson with that final piece of the Universal Silver Top Horror Collection. DIG IT.
I know what you might be thinking: how the hell am I going to find that last Midnight Video big box I need for my collection in the wild, man!? Not possible… I’ve GOT to get it online! But the truth is, you don’t. You just have to get out there, and dig, and dig, and dig, and one day, you’ll find that slab you need. And when you do, it’ll be worth the wait. Trust me on that, dude.
Any Tapeheads out there eyeballin’ this VHS-obsessed blog got a groovy story relating to the wild? We wanna hear it, man! VHShout it out in the comments below, yo!
Groove and Groove and There’s Gold in Them Thar Home Video Hills!
Josh Schafer