Terror on Tape (1985) User Reviews

Like Terror In The Aisles, but trashier.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 29 April 2022]

Terror on Tape is similar to the 1984 horror compilation Terror In The Aisles, but without the star power of Nancy Allen and Donald Pleasence as hosts, and with a more exploitative selection of movies. The curator of the clips in this case is Cameron Mitchell, clerk at the Shoppe of Horrors Videostore, who helps his customers choose their evening's entertainment by showing them excerpts from the tapes available.

The clerk shows footage from such trashy b-movies as The Deadly Spawn, Vampire Hookers, Cathy's Curse, The Slayer, Scalps, Nightmare (AKA Nightmares in A Damaged Brain), Alien Prey, City of the Living Dead, and a handful of H. G. Lewis classics. Of the titles shown, there were only a couple I hadn't seen, but the clips are the best bits in all of their gory glory and are worth seeing again, if only as a reminder of just how great old school splatter is.

The parts between the clips are also a lot of fun, with Mitchell hamming it up a treat, and scream queen Michelle Bauer popping into the shop (and almost out of her top), desperate to be scared: the gorier the clips, the closer Michelle is to being satisfied, the woman moaning in ecstasy at the sight of all the horror. Now if only Nancy Allen had done that in Terror In The Aisles...

Cheapo clip compilation is both dated and fun

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 12 November 2016]

While TERROR IN THE AISLES showed lots of clips from famous and high-class horror flicks, the no-budget rip-off TERROR ON TAPE goes to the opposite end of the spectrum by including all manner of bizarre, low-grade, forgotten, and grisly B-movies in its compilation of movies. Yes, this is a gloriously sleazy little film which is proud to show some of the goriest splattery images you will ever see in a film (unsurprisingly most of the films shown are or were banned in the UK).

The wraparound story highlights a down-on-his-luck and seriously overweight Cameron Mitchell (complete with makeup and a perm - why?) as the "Video Store Clerk" who introduces a trio of customers to the wacky delights of the horror film, with the clips shown becoming more and more gruesome and disgusting as the film progresses (see, that's how it hooks you!). Watching Mitchell and co. play with cheap Halloween props and joke-shop novelties is a delight in itself which makes TERROR ON TAPE something of a guilty pleasure.

Gorehounds certainly get their money's worth as the gore to dialogue ratio is probably at an all-time high with about 90% of the film purely made up of low-budget special effects work. The films featured include the following: The Deadly Spawn; Vampire Hookers; Bloodtide; Cathy's Curse; Madhouse Mansion; Frozen Scream; To the Devil a Daughter; The Eerie Midnight Horror Show; Kidnapping of the President; Nightmare; The Slayer; City of the Walking Dead; Alien Prey; Color Me Blood Red; 2000 Maniacs; Scalps and finally, and most fittingly, that grandfather of them all, Blood Feast. It doesn't come as much of a surprise to learn that the distributor of all these movies also acted as the distributor for this "taster" tape!

Along with all the arterial sprayings, TERROR ON TAPE offers a section on nudity so exploitation fans should be well pleased. Personally I found it to be much more enjoyable than TERROR IN THE AISLES as I actually hadn't seen most of the films feature, unlike in the big-budget but boring predecessor. Watching Cameron Mitchell chew the scenery and go berserk as the insane clerk - full of horrible (in both senses of the word) jokes - is also half the fun. As an added bonus, soon-to-be Scream Queen Michelle Bauer makes a welcome appearance later in the flick to supply lots of heaving cleavage and sexual innuendo as a vampish customer who gets very excited by watching horror films. TERROR ON TAPE is cheaply-produced and simply-made, but horror fans sure do get their money's worth - and you can't say that about a lot of films these days, can you?

The film that helped to create a monster

[alanmora · 10/10 · 2 May 2009]

This is the film I credit with helping to mold me into the depraved little horror movie ghoul that I am today. Released at the height of the Video Craze "Terror on Tape" is a shameless vehicle for the now defunct Continental Video. In the spirit of classics like "Terror in the Aisles" "Filmgore" and "Coming Soon" it contains numerous clips from some of the most infamous horror flicks ever made. All horror fans know that during this time period, in the realms of horror, there were several fondly remembered and now bankrupt video distributors of the time who specialized in our genre. Names like Vestron Video, Gorgon Video, Wizard Video and of course Continental come to mind and bring forth a flood of blood soaked memories. This particular film introduced me, as a second generation fan, to the legendary Herschell Gordon Lewis with clips from his classic "Gore Trilogy" ("Blood Feast", "2000 Maniacs", and "Color Me Blood Red"). It also introduced me to one of my personal favorites "Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn", brought the hidden horror gem "Scalps"into my life, subjected me to the pure insanity, horror and hilarity that is "Vampire Hookers" and it conned me into rushing out to rent hideous cinematic upchuck such as "The Eerie Midnight Horror Show", and "To The Devil A Daughter". Of course, I can never forgive "Terror on Tape" for introducing the hideous film maker's abomination known as "Cathy's Curse" (Why oh why does this retched film keep getting randomly thrust into my face?) "Terror on Tape" changed my life and if you can locate a copy I can promise it will do the same for you!

Cameron Mitchell!

[Hateful Kunt · 22 April 2003]

A great collection of clips from long gone Continental Video. I mean come on, how bad can it be? You have the wonderfully drunken madman himself Cameron Mitchell and the lovely Michelle Bauer and loads of bad gore clips! The only thing that could make this more fun is Rondo Hatton and a choir of shroom tripping midgets (and no i'm not talking about a Alejandro Jodorowsky movie!) Oh yeah , and to the dude that said "no doubt inspired by the success of Terror in the Aisles", actually this came out a year before Terror in the Aisles reared it's ugly head.

Anywho, a cool tape of a time that has sadly disappeared.

Required viewing.

[moycon · 10/10 · 24 January 2005]

Sure it was Continentals way of plugging their own video line, but the cheesy skits that tie it altogether are great! Plus when you consider some of these flicks are painfully boring or just plain terrible acting wise, the fact that all the non-gore scenes are cut out makes them actually watchable. Some how a couple non-horror flicks made there way into the mix, The Kidnapping Of The President could have been omitted in my opinion. There are some real gems included. Movies like 2000 Maniacs, Blood Tide, and Blood Feast are always a treat. But also included are more obscure flicks like Scalps, The Return of The Aliens Killer Spawn and The Slayer. I was in grade school when I first rented this movie, I think I probably rented it at least 4 times. Of course I have a copy in my video collection. Would love to see a DVD release but I wont hold my breath and neither should you... Find a used copy today!

Great gore compilation

[Schlockmeister · 29 May 2001]

Cameron Mitchell play the owner of an all night video store that specializes in extreme horror movies. Various customers come in, looking for "something special" and Mitchell plays them the goriest clips from the goriest movies around. The reason for these compilations is to introduce the video viewer to what is out there. It forms a nice sampler for the unadventurous who prefer to have heard SOMETHING about a video before renting or buying it. It has some classics as well as many obscure movies. Recommended if you like campy videos or remember the heyday of the mom and pop video store.

Magical

[BandSAboutMovies · 8/10 · 7 October 2020]

I often joke that John Carradine and Donald Pleasence never said no to a movie, but the films they refused were probably asked of Cameron Mitchell, who absolutely, positively would never ever turn down a role. He's in the movie - released at the absolute peak of VHS rental mania - as the owner of a video store of the beyond, renting out all manner of sleazy films to an increasingly more bizarre cast of characters, including scream queen Michelle Bauer (Reform School Girls, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Evil Toons) before she became so well-known.

Much like Terror In the Aisles, Zombiethon and Famous T&A, this is a compilation tape of horror films. But until the high class by comparison Pleasence and Nancy Allen-starring Terror In the Aisles, this is a bottom of the barrel - and that's where we like it, thank you - scraping collection of clips from the Continental Video catalog.

As Mitchell holds forth at the Shoppe of Horrors Video Store, one-and-done director Robert A. Worms III throws every film the label has at you. And while many reviewers have mentioned how bad these movies are, guess what? They're the bread and butter of what we talk about here. And this bread may be soggy, but it tastes delicious.

For many, this was their first exposure to the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, as clips of Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs! and Color Me Blood Red are in this. Plus, there's a whole mess of wonderful occult oddities like Enter the Devil (truly the peak or valley, depending on your point of view, for bad taste Satanic shockers), Suicide Cult, To the Devil A Daughter, Ruby and - spectacularly and incredibly grainily - Cathy's Curse.

74's Ghost Story, Frozen Scream, Night Creature, Vampire Hookers, The Kidnapping of the President, the absolutely insane Prey, Nightmare, Bloodtide, Scalps, The Slayer, The Deadly Spawn, Nightmare City - was the video store in this movie really the B&S About Movies living room?

Continental Video would also release plenty more great junk in the years to come, such as Witchboard, Thrashin' (which was the hardest movie to get in the days of Prime Time Video), Eaten Alive!, Daughters of Darkness, Hollywood Vice Squad, Mary Mary Bloody Mary, The Redeemer, Maniac Mansion, El Castillo de los Monstruos, two Fred Olen Ray Sleazemania compilations and the Bubba Smith exercise video Bubba Until It Hurts.

I have a free idea for Vinegar Syndrome or Severin. Remake this and throw in clips of all your new releases. After all, you have fans like me who pretty much buy everything you do. And buy it again. And again.

TerroronTape

[gavcrimson · 8/10 · 27 September 2020]

Sheesh ....if a drunk Cameron Mitchell had ever tried to persuade me to rent out Vampire Hookers i'd have torn up my video shop membership card right there and then. Still gotta love how Cam responds to a VHS renter's request for a 'milder' horror movie by showing him clips of the face ripping scene from The Deadly Spawn, then when some hard hat comes into the VHS shop looking for a zombie movie to rent, Cam instead throws on scenes from The Kidnapping of the President, and about several other non-zombie films, before doing the decent thing and providing gore highlights from City of the Walking Dead. Of course VHS rental shops were never really as cool as this, Cameron Mitchell wasn't to be found behind the desk, the customers didn't look as hot as Michelle Bauer, and they didn't let you watch whole chunks of the movies before deciding whether or not you wanted to rent them out....but never let future generations know this, otherwise they might not be as green with envy that you lived through this era.

classic clip collection

[mercyfulfate7410 · 9/10 · 31 January 2006]

Heres an excellent selection of all the classic gore flicks that came out on continental video back in the day, such as nightmare, vampire hookers, the deadly spawn, 2,000 maniacs, and lots more. Cameron Mitchell does a nice job as the demented video store owner who shows various customers clip of his best goodies. A very cool movie to watch on Halloween or with a group of friends, or as an opportunity to see about some of these great films that are highlighted throughout, also had an excellent strong nostalgic 'video stores of the 80's' feel, ha ha. If you are looking for the ultimate fright clip collection, look no further than terror on tape. a must. 9/10

Fond Memories of this Classic

[mikeghee · 20 August 2004]

This is one of the first movies i saw on video when i bought my first VCR and it has always had a special place in my heart.

All it is a compilation of some of the goriest, violent images ever produced in motion pictures. What makes the film so entertaining other than the decapitations, dismemberments and extreme bloodletting (hey its all fake folks and i was a 21 year old testosterone filled young man when i first saw it) is the story line behind it that ads a clever and humorous if i may say so touch.

SPOILERS

Cameron Mitchell plays an owner of a video store. Patrons come in and ask for a scary movie to rent. Something that is going to make their skin crawl because they claim they have never been scared before. Then the owner (Cameron Mitchell) shows them clips of movies they might like which you the view also see on your screen. The violent images escalate as the patrons range from a bookwormish nerd , construction worker, and female dominatrix who claims she has never been scared her entire life.

The film contains scenes from from little known B level horror flicks and a few of the more violent mainstream movies but your guaranteed to not ever see anything in it this film or like it anywhere.

A classic that should be brought back to DVD for halloween parties and the like but then again it just might be too violent for this day and time, who knows.

Terror On Tape is a great homage to the graphic nature of horror films!

[zombieoutbreak-74199 · 9/10 · 29 November 2020]

Terror On Tape is an awesome hour and a half of violence, sex, exploitation and gore! I highly recommend this compilation to anyone that loves the grimy/grotesque aspects of horror films.

A 90 minute ad for the distributor.

[DashingD · 21 October 1999]

Absolutely no redeeming qualities here with clip after clip of gratuitous violence, gore, breasts and buckets of blood. Each clip is identified on screen and, wonder of wonders, all of the titles appearing in "Terror on Tape" are (were) available from the very company that produced all of the films featured in "Terror on Tape"! Go figure!

Anyway, it's essentially a 90 minute ad no doubt inspired by the success of "Terror in the Aisles" which had been released in theaters earlier the same year.

A rental for gore lovers only but good luck finding a copy. I saw this way back in 1984 and haven't seen it anywhere since -- which isn't a bad thing, really.