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Welcome back to the Video Store! We’re kicking off the New Year with a look at some of the films that inspired the hit television series Stranger Things. Get your Eggos, Reese’s Pieces, and settle in for some classic films that helped to give Stranger Things its strange, yet familiar aesthetic and themes. For this episode, we’re only focusing on season one, so don’t worry if you’ve not gotten to watch the final season just yet! However, if you’ve not watched Stranger Things season one, be advised that there are spoilers ahead for that season!E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)One of the biggest films of the 1980s and an inspiration for Stranger Things is Steven Spielberg and Melissa Mathison’s iconic film, E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Capturing wonder, fear, and warmth so well, this is a film whose influence was felt well into the 90s. Stranger Things draws aesthetic inspiration from E. T. while also pulling from its fish-out-of-water story. Scanners (1981)David Cronenberg’s cult sci-fi horror film, Scanners, is another point of inspiration for The Duffer Brothers. This film about psychics, scientific intrigue, and political power serves as an inspirational palette of ideas for Stranger Things that the Duffers have inverted, mashed up, and made their own. This is a film that also has a great influence on the later seasons of Stranger Things, but we’ll cover those when we get there. Halloween (1978)This is the film that really caused the slasher genre to take off, but John Carpenter’s first massive success also gives Stranger Things a good bit of its aesthetics. From monster-in-shadow cinematography to several meta uses of John Carpenter’s work, Halloween has its fingerprints on Stranger Things. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)Perhaps the greatest influence on Stranger Things’ aesthetic and storytelling is Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. With two Nancys, two jocks with a baseball bat, and more things that won’t even show up until later seasons of the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street has invaded the minds of the Duffer Brothers. Honorable MentionsStranger Things draws inspiration from so many films that we love here at the Video Store that we’ve already covered them on previous episodes! Check out my coverage of both versions of It in my Summer of Stephen King and Not Quite Retro episodes. Flack talked about John Carpenter’s The Thing in his Halloween Spirit episode. I discussed Stand By Me in my Film Friendships show, Alien in my Wonder Women episode, and Jaws in my Summer Spookies show. Thanks for joining us here at the Video Store Podcast for these strange, but familiar films. We hope you enjoy our selections this week. Oh, and that flashing lightbulb? Must just be a short. We’ll change it out later. Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays! Maybe I’m old school, but I still make New Year’s resolutions every year and this year I decided to look back at some of my favorite creature features to find inspiration. Each of this week’s movies feature characters who overcome adversities, saving themselves and others in the process!In Ants! (1977), construction foreman Mike carr (Robert Foxworth) teams up with Valerie (Lynda Day George) to save vacationers staying at the ritzy Lakewood Manor from a angry swarm of angry ants empowered by pesticide the resort has been pumping into the ground. Featuring Suzanne Somers, Bernie Casey, and millions of ants.In Squirm (1976), and army features of carnivorous earthworms attack a Georgia town after being awakened by electricity. At first New York City visitor Mick is accused of pranking town locals, but when citizens become worm-food, the town must come together to take on these slimy screaming squirmers. Featuring amazing practical effects and worms that bite.You may have seen rats in the subway before, but you’ve never seen any like the ones in 1982’s Deadly Eyes. After snacking on steroid-induced grain, the dog-sized rats in this film (portrayed by Dachshunds in rat costumes with the occasional puppet) waste little time in escaping the subway and taking down old people and Scatman Crothers (!). A college basketball coach must team up with a local health inspector to destroy the infestation before they ruin the town’s debut of a new subway line. Bad timing! Featuring tons of 80s teens and one unfortunately unwatched toddler. Directed by the same man who directed Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, Deadly Eyes offers rabid rodent action.1981’s Roar was one of the most dangerous movies ever made. The film featuring an all-star cast including real-life husband and wife Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren (The Birds), their three teenage children including Melanie Griffith, and 150 untrained large cats including lions, tigers, cheetahs, and panthers. The movie took five years to film and before it wrapped, every actor and more than a dozen crew members had received major injuries. The co-producer required 120 stitches to reattach his scalp, Tippi Hedren received 38 stiches after being bitten in the head (and later fractured her leg after being thrown from an elephant), and Melanie Griffith was bitten so badly she required facial reconstruction surgery. The film, which has been referred to as the most expensive home movie ever made, cost $17 million to make and earned less than $2 million in theaters. While all the actors survived the filming, not all of the animals did. One of the most bizarre, bonkers, and horrifying things ever captured on film. I hope you do not have to face killer ants, carnivorous worms, or hungry lions in 2026, but in whatever you face I hope you can find the inner strength the protagonists in these films managed to muster! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

This week on The Video Store Podcast I am recommending four films that sit in an interesting stretch of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career, when their action persona took a left turn into broad studio comedy. These are all wide release films that played constantly on cable and sat on the front wall of the video store for years. They did well in theaters, but they almost felt built to be rented, watched with other people in the room, and talked about afterward. None of them are obscure, but seeing them together makes the choices clearer and more deliberate.Twins from 1988 was the real pivot point. Ivan Reitman directed, pairing Arnold Schwarzenegger with Danny DeVito, which on paper felt like a gag and ended up working better than expected. It was one of the first times Schwarzenegger played openly against his screen image instead of reinforcing it. The film was also a financial gamble that paid off. Rather than taking a traditional salary, the main players took a share of the profits, which turned into one of the most lucrative deals of the era. It also helped normalize the idea that Schwarzenegger could carry a comedy without winking at the audience the whole time.Kindergarten Cop followed in 1990 and again teamed Schwarzenegger with Reitman. This one leans harder into contrast, placing a very rigid screen presence into a setting that refuses to bend to it. The child actors are doing a lot of the real work here, and the movie wisely lets them. It was shot largely in Oregon (Goonies country!), which gives it a look that stands apart from a lot of studio comedies of the period. Just his second comedy leading role and the formula is obvious, but it still had enough care put into it to feel earned rather than lazy.Junior arrived in 1994 and is probably the strangest entry in this group. It brings back Reitman, DeVito, and adds Emma Thompson, who plays it straight in a way that grounds the movie more than it probably deserves. This was one of the last times Schwarzenegger leaned fully into this specific style of high concept studio comedy. The visual effects were handled with restraint, and the film relies more on performance than spectacle, which makes it feel smaller and more controlled than its premise suggests.Jingle All the Way from 1996 closes things out and feels very much of its moment. Directed by Brian Levant, it leans into consumer anxiety, holiday chaos, and the late nineteen nineties obsession with must-have toys. Sinbad is a big part of why the movie works at all, pushing against Schwarzenegger in a way that keeps the energy up. It was not especially well reviewed at the time, but it has stuck around in a way many similar holiday comedies did not. It also marks the end of this particular run, before audience tastes and Schwarzenegger’s career both shifted again.Taken together, these four movies show a very specific window when studios were comfortable reshaping a major star’s image and audiences went along with it. They were reliable rentals, easy recommendations, and the kind of movies that people discovered out of order on VHS or on cable.Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast.It’s Christmas movie season but not everyone wants peppermint sweetness and cozy small-town charm. Some of us want our holiday movies filled with explosions, heists and a whole lot of chaos.This week on the Video Store Podcast, I’m spotlighting four Christmas movies that trade twinkling lights for trouble. Reindeer Games (2000)Reindeer Games is a crime thriller set days before Christmas. When Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) is released from prison his only goal is to get home for Christmas. But when his cell-mate dies, Rudy steps into the man’s shoes to meet his mysterious and beautiful pen pal, Ashley (Charlize Theron).One bad decision later and Rudy is trapped in a violent casino-robbery plot run by Ashley’s unstable “brother,” Gabriel (Gary Sinise). With no options, Rudy is forced deeper into the operation and nothing is what it seems as alliances shift and lies are uncovered. Reindeer Games brings crime, plot twists and holiday mayhem together in one memorable movie.Batman Returns (1992)Tim Burton’s Batman Returns is set against a dark, gothic backdrop of Gotham City during the Christmas season. Batman Returns introduces two iconic villains who become the city’s newest threats. The first is Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin, a physically deformed man who was abandoned by his wealthy parents and raised in the city’s sewers by penguins. The second is Selina Kyle, Catwoman, pushed to her limit by evil businessman Max Shreck.Michelle Pfeiffer is the definitive Catwoman, seductive, broken and electric in every frame. Danny DeVito’s Penguin is a grotesque and disfigured man, a departure from the comics. Christopher Walken adds a sinister element as the businessman Max Shreck.Tim Burton’s vision partnered with Danny Elfman’s haunting score creates a mesmerizing Christmas classic set in Gotham City.The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) lives a quiet life as a schoolteacher until a car crash triggers memories of her past life as a deadly government assassin.Samantha hires private detective Mitch Hennessey (Samuel L. Jackson) to help her uncover her past and together they set out to find the truth. Their adventure is full of gunfights, treachery, and some of the best buddy-dynamic chemistry of the ’90s. Davis transforms from warm suburban mom to hard-boiled operative with shocking believability and Jackson delivers one of his funniest, most charismatic roles.Written by Shane Black and directed by Renny Harlin, The Long Kiss Goodnight mixes holiday atmosphere with espionage to create one of the 90’s most underrated action movies.Lethal Weapon (1987)Lethal Weapon redefined the buddy-cop genre and set the standard for all future buddy-cop movies. Set at Christmastime in Los Angeles, the movie pairs veteran detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) with newcomer Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Their investigation into a young woman’s suspicious death spirals into a violent clash with drug traffickers and the psychotic Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey).Lethal Weapon is full of heart, which is what you want in a Christmas movie. Riggs who is spiraling out of control from grief and Murtaugh, a grounded family man, form a bond that is convincing from start to finish. Also written by Shane Black, Hollywood’s king of Christmas action movies and directed by Richard Donner, Lethal Weapon blends holiday themes with explosive action, dark humor, and iconic one-liners. Lethal Weapon is on of my favorite Christmas action movies.If you’re looking for Christmas movies that are filled with action, these four belong at the top of your December movie list.Thanks for visiting the Video Store. Have a great New Year!Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com

Welcome back to the holiday season at the Video Store Podcast. I’m back today with another edition of Rankin/Bass B-Sides. I love Rankin/Bass so much, and they’re part of just about every holiday season for me. Here are four more lesser-known Rankin/Bass B-Sides for you to enjoy this holiday season. And bonus! If you missed it last year, go back and check out my original edition of “Rankin/Bass B-Sides.”Cricket on the Hearth (1967)Starring Danny and Marlo Thomas as father/daughter duo Caleb and Bertha, this is a heartwarming adaptation of a lesser-known Charles Dickens Christmas classic. This special has great tunes, and the titular cricket, Cricket Crocket, is voiced by brilliant character actor Roddy McDowall. This special also features the talents of Ed Ames, Hans Conried, Paul Frees, and singer Abbe Lane. The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975)Can a young orphaned shepherd boy find a new home and still keep his sheep? This special is notable for its beautiful animation, songs, and stars the late, great Angela Lansbury as Sister Theresa. Cozy up under a wool blanket and with some wool socks, and join us for this lesser-known Christmas special. The Stingiest Man in Town (1978)Based on the stage musical of the same name, this is an animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ iconic novela, A Christmas Carol. This animated musical features the talents of Walter Matthau as Scrooge, Tom Bosley as B. A. H. Humbug, our insect narrator, voice acting legend Paul Frees as the ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, among others. The music in this special is top-tier, so be sure to check it out, especially if you love a song and dance number in your holiday specials. Jack Frost (1979)This iconic mythologizing of this winter sprite, Jack Frost, is a fish-out-of-water tale as Jack learns to be human. Can he win the heart of the girl he loves and remain human? This is a special with catchy tunes and loads of fun. You’ll feel a chill in the air, but warmth in your heart. Thanks again for joining us at the Video Store Podcast. From all of us, to all of you, have a safe and happy holiday season. Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com