Movie Review Archive > SOV Horror & Genre Movies

Flipside got in at the tail end of the SOV era, as standard-definition digital video had all but replaced analog formats for micro-budget indie filmmakers and high-definition video was just around the corner. But we still reviewed many '90s analog horror favorites like Tim Ritter's Creep, J.R. Bookwalter's Ozone, Eric Stanze's Savage Harvest, Ron Bonk's The Vicious Sweet, and Todd Sheets' Zombie Bloodbath trilogy. On the digital-video side, we covered Matthew Jason Walsh's brilliant black comedy Bloodletting, Brad Osborne's excellent neo-noir Hall of Mirrors, Sal Ciavarello's super-scary chiller Hardcore Poisoned Eyes, and a few erotic spoofs from Seduction Cinema (The Erotic Witch Project). Horror dominated the SOV market, but it wasn't the only genre going.

This list highlights micro-budget indies made outside the Hollywood system, usually intended for the direct-to-video market. That means you won't find any multi-million-dollar early/mid-2000s experiments with SD digital video like Spike Lee's Bamboozled, Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, or David Lynch's Inland Empire. You won't even find low-budget shot-on-DV pseudo-indies like Open Water. These are SOV movies from the fringes.

General (SOV Reviews, Production Companies, Distributors & More)

• Alternative Cinema. Home to an array of trash-cinema product lines (mostly SOV) on VHS, DVD, and even Blu-ray.
  
  
• American Genre Film Archive (AGFA). Preserving the legacy of genre movies, including lots of SOV stuff, through conservation and distribution.
  
  
• B-Independent.com Reviews. Reviews by Allen Richards, who cultivated one of the best micro-budget filmmaking communities ever back in the day. Sadly, the domain has been hijacked by squatters, so the link is courtesy of Internet Archive.
  
  
• Bleeding Skull! Connoisseurs of trash-horror, especially bonkers SOV essentials like Blonde Death and Boardinghouse.
  
  
• Extreme Entertainment. Production company of director Todd Sheets (Zombie Bloodbath trilogy and literally dozens more).
  
  
• Intervision Picture Corp. Severin Films sub-label focused on regional oddities and SOV classics like 1983's Sledgehammer.
  
  
• Makeflix. Distributor of titles from J.R. Bookwalter's Tempe Video and other companies on DVD and Blu-ray (lots of essential SOV!).
  
  
• Saturn's Core Audio & Video. Vinegar Syndrome partner label devoted to underground weirdness & shot-on-video cinema.
  
  
• SOV Horror. Website + DVD label dedicated to preserving the history of shot-on-video horror movies. Lots to explore here.
  
  
• SRS Cinema. Formerly known as Sub Rosa Studios, distributor of films by Tim Ritter, Polonia Bros., Eric Stanze, SRS president Ron Bonk, and more.
  
  
• Terror Vision. Founded by Ryan Graveface (Graveface Records), this boutique label puts out obscure movie soundtracks and rad editions of oddball movies on VHS and Blu-ray (including SOV fare like Woodchipper Massacre and Captives).

Books Covering SOV Movies (In Varying Degrees)

• Aesthetic Deviations: A Critical View of American Shot-on-Video Horror, 1984-1994 by Vincent A. Albarano. We'll forgive the use of an image from the Super-8mm The Dead Next Door on the cover of an SOV book since the film's director, J.R. Bookwalter, is one of SOV's crucial figures. Headpress, 2023.
  
  
• Analog Nightmares: The Shot-On-Video Horror Films of 1982-1995 by Richard Mogg. Well-researched look into the history of SOV horror (somebody had to do it!), plus filmmaker interviews and over 260 reviews. RickMoe, 2018.
  
  
• Bleeding Skull! A 1980s Trash-Horror Odyssey by Joseph A. Ziemba & Dan Budnik. Not SOV-exclusive, but lots of analog classics reviewed, including the first-ever SOV feature, 1982's Boardinghouse. Out of print. Headpress, 2013.
  
  
• Bleeding Skull! A 1990s Trash-Horror Odyssey by Joseph A. Ziemba, Annie Choi & Zack Carlson. An awesome tribute to '90s trash-horror, heavy on SOV goodness (but inexplicably, and sadly, no Bloodletting). Headpress, 2021.
  
  
• Hand-Held Hell: The Outbreak of Homemade Horror by Justin Burning. A celebration of backyard DIY horror filmmaking from the 1980s to the 2020s, featuring criticism and interviews with directors. Terror Vision + Graveface, 2023.
  
  
• Monstervision: The Films of John and Mark Polonia by Douglas Alan Waltz. The story of the Polonia brothers, perhaps the most prolific SOV filmmakers outside of Gary Whitson. Independently published, 2021.
  
  
• The Shatter Dead Collection by Scooter McCrae. Everything you ever wanted to know about one the '90s most important SOV movies. Happy Cloud, 2021.

Movies Documenting the SOV Era or Paying Homage to It

• Mail Order Murder: The Story of W.A.V.E. Productions (2020) directed by William Hellfire & Ross Snyder. Documenting the history of Gary Whitson's pioneering New Jersey custom-movie studio, making SOV sleaze since 1987.
  
  
• WNUF Halloween Special (2013) directed by Chris LaMartina. A loving ode to public access TV and SOV pioneers like J.R. Bookwalter, Eric Stanze, and Todd Sheets.
  
  
• Out There Halloween Mega Tape (2022) directed by Chris LaMartina. WNUF's delightful sequel packed with nods to '80s and '90s micro-budget (mostly SOV) sci-fi and horror. I caught 60+ references, but I'm sure there are more.