Chris LaMartina and company really whipped up something unique with WNUF Halloween Special (2013). Posing as a bootleg VHS of a public access television special from 1987, WNUF Halloween Special recreates with startling accuracy a precise moment in time. It is part ode to the horror genre, to public television, to the eighties and to the medium of VHS tape.
This found footage opus operates on a collective nostalgia that has been percolating gradually through our popular culture for the past decade or so. This is a nostalgia for eighties culture. WNUF Halloween Special, with its fake commercials and fake news stories, brings that moment to life the way something like the Netflix series Stranger Things never could. Unlike a traditionally narrative work of film or television WNUF Halloween Special presents a cross section sampling of eighties culture. It’s not just about satanic panic, AIDs panic, or casual sexism. It’s about how America perceived people like dentists, how people performed voice overs for monster truck rally commercials, and how much more serious television anchorpersons were even if they wore silly costumes.
At its heart WNUF Halloween Special follows in the tradition of David Holzman’s Diary (1967) and The Blair Witch Project (1999). The comedy or drama of a film of this sort is totally predicated on the ability of the film to convince the audience of its authenticity. One of the ways that this was addressed in the production of WNUF Halloween Special was to have different directors helm different commercials or news stories. In terms of release, the film was circulated on tape at various festivals and conventions.
WNUF Halloween Special has, since its release, garnered a significant cult following and has gone on to become a seasonal staple amongst cinephiles and tape-heads. Its recent release via Vinegar Syndrome’s partner label Terror Vision confirms its status as a modern cult curio. The package design by Earl Kessler Jr. recalls the look of blank VHS tape boxes quite accurately. I’d highly recommend this release to anyone with an interest in either tape or horror. Join me and make this your new Halloween tradition.
