The Corner Penthouse

A new trend has emerged among physical Blu-ray media releases: retro VHS-style packaging. Blu-ray discs of movies and TV shows from the 1980s, or that take place in the 1980s, are being released in packaging designed to look - and in some cases, feel - like the VHS videocassettes of the era. As a collector of physical media, going all the way back to the original VHS videocassettes of the 1980s and 1990s, I thought it would be fun to take a look at this growing trend.

Since I live in the United States, my focus will be on items that were released here, though I will give a special mention to a few foreign releases at the end. Please note that this article is being written based upon first hand experience of the titles I own, and on research of those that I don't.

This retro VHS-style packaging trend seems to have started in October 2017 with the release of...


Although there have been other shows over the past 15 years that have played to the nostalagia of the '80s, no show has done more to bring the 1980s back to the mainstream than Netflix's original series, Stranger Things. The show is about the supernatural goings-on in a small Indiana town in 1983. It's essentially The Goonies meets Stephen King. The first season of the show was released on physical media exclusively at Target in a HUGE bulky hard paperboard box designed to resemble the bottom-loading VHS boxes of decades past, complete with faux wear and tear. The outer cover has the season's key art on the front, along with a old school video store category "sticker", while the back features a single photo of Joyce (Winona Ryder) and a brief description of the series. Inside is not a VHS tape, but rather a multi-layered case that resembles a videocassette on all sides. Go against your instincts and open up the "tape door" end (the side you shouldn't open on a real videocassette) and you'll see a cool "Stranger Things" Demogorgon poster stored on the inside on the left. On the right side you have the two Blu-Ray discs, and when you lift the flap under them, you'll see cool art of Nancy reaching out of the Upside Down and the two DVD discs. In regards to video content, you get all eight episodes (four per disc) and nothing else. Audio options are limited to English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, and subtitles are only available in English.

Where To Buy: You can buy it directly from Target - Blu/DVD and 4K Blu - or you could support Spook Central/The Corner Penthouse and buy it from an Amazon Marketplace seller here: Blu/DVD (alt listing #1, alt listing #2) and 4K Blu.

Additional Info/Sources: Bleeding Cool, iRichProduction Unboxing Video.


How do you follow up a popular first season? You add in an official multi-episode Ghostbusters reference (to be covered soon on Spook Central), with lots of related cross-over Stranger Things/Ghostbusters merchandise. How do you top a cool VHS-style Blu-ray release? With an even cooler HUGE box designed to resemble those over-sized hard plastic clamshell cases video stores used to put their rental cassettes in. In this case, that video store would be Hawkins Video, the local rental outlet of the little berg of Hawkins, Indiana. Again, the box is made of hard paperboard with faux wear and tear, though there is a plastic wrap on the cover (like on a DVD case) in which the case artwork sits. Open it up, and you'll find some behind-the-scenes photo postcards tucked away on the left, and a faux videocassette on the right. Under that cassette you'll find the three Blu-ray discs, and under those are the three DVD discs. In regards to video content, you get all nine episodes (three per disc) and nothing else. Audio options are limited to English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish.

Where To Buy: You can buy it directly from Target - Blu/DVD and 4K Blu - or you could support Spook Central/The Corner Penthouse and buy it from an Amazon Marketplace seller here: Blu/DVD, Seasons 1 & 2 Blu/DVD (alt listing).


Originally exclusive to Walmart in September and October 2018, but getting a wide release on January 15th and February 19th, Mill Creek Entertainment has released 10 films from the 1980s (okay, one is from the early 1990s) onto Blu-ray with vintage VHS-inspired slipsleeves. Each sleeve is meant to resemble the original U.K. VHS box art with faux rental stickers on it, while giving the appearance of a videocassette being pulled out from the right side, complete with tape label side on the right spine. While this looks cool, and the "tape labels" look semi-authentic to the U.S. originals, it isn't 100% "vintage authentic" because most of these tapes were released in bottom-loading boxes, not side-loading. Anyway, the back of the slipsleeve seems to be a new creation done in vintage style, and not meant to resemble the original back VHS artwork. The case artwork underneath is modern, which means the VHS-style slipsleeves could be a limited time thing. The discs contain the movie only with no bonus features - just like the original videocassettes! I have reviewed several titles in the series here on The Corner Penthouse.

Where To Buy: You can buy all 10 directly from Amazon. Six are set to be released on January 15th: Happy Birthday To Me, Hardbodies, Krull, Last Action Hero, Silent Rage, and Who's Harry Crumb?. The remaining four are set to be released on February 19th: The Legend of Billie Jean, Neighbors, Sheena, and Songwriter.


Several movies from the 1980s and 1990s were re-released exclusively to Walmart in September and October 2018 with vintage VHS-inspired slipsleeves. Interestingly, some of these moves are from the "modern" post-VHS era (see: John Wick) and had new vintage-style artwork created for them. Each sleeve is meant to resemble VHS box art with faux rental stickers on it, while giving the appearance of a videocassette being pulled out from the right side, complete with tape label side on the right spine. While this looks cool, it isn't 100% "vintage authentic" because most of these tapes were released in bottom-loading boxes, not side-loading. Anyway, the back of the slipsleeve seems to be a new creation done in vintage style, and not meant to resemble the original back VHS artwork. The case artwork underneath is the same modern packaging that each was previously released in, and the discs are all previously released stock.

• Fox/MGM: Big Trouble in Little China, Edward Scissorhands, Home Alone, Predator, Super Troopers, The Princess Bride, The Sandlot, Overboard (1987), and Spaceballs.
• Lionsgate: 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Dirty Dancing, First Blood, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Highlander, John Wick, Meatballs, Power Rangers (DVD), Terminator 2, The Crow, Total Recall (1990), and Young Guns.
• Paramount: Airplane, Beverly Hills Cop, Fatal Attraction, and Flashdance.
• Sony: Heavy Metal, and Taxi Driver.

Where To Buy: None of these titles are available on Walmart.com, and no marketplace sellers have listed any on Amazon, so your only option is eBay.

Additional Info/Sources: Blu-ray Forum Walmart List, Blu-ray Forum Wal-Mart VHS Slipcover Blu-rays Thread, Blu-ray Forum Walmart Display Photos, Hi-Def Ninja Walmart Display Photos, Reddit Walmart Display Photos, Pulsing Cinema's Walmart Display Video, ToyKlectrr's Walmart Retro VHS Slipcover Blu-ray Slideshow Video, ToyKlectrr's Walmart Retro VHS Slipcover Blu-ray Haul Video, eBay seller 'universal_media' (I used several of his photos).


Above is a look at the left and right spines for many of the slipsleeve-based releases from Mill Creek and the other studios in the section above.


Several movies from the 1980s and 1990s were re-released exclusively to Walmart in September and October 2018 with vintage VHS-inspired faceplates. Each faceplate is meant to resemble VHS front box art with faux rental stickers on it, while giving the appearance of a videocassette being pulled out from the right side. The case artwork underneath and in back is the same modern packaging that each was previously released in, and the discs are all previously released stock.

• Warner Brothers: Beetlejuice, Creed, Godzilla (2014), It (2017), Kong: Skull Island, The Goonies, The Iron Giant, The Legend of Tarzan, Space Jam, and Stephen King's It (1990).
• Universal: American Graffiti, Scarface, Smokey and the Bandit, The Mummy, and Waterworld.

Where To Buy: None of these titles are available on Walmart.com, and no marketplace sellers have listed any on Amazon, so your only option is eBay.


These Target-exclusive releases, which first appeared in stores in December 2018, are different than all of the rest. While everything listed above are standard Blu-ray packaging with slipsleeves or faceplates, these are more akin to the Stranger Things releases, only they don't look like videotapes in cases. These are HUGE and thick plastic VHS clamshell cases (remember the huge white Disney clamshell cases that no one liked?), but instead of a videocassette inside, they contain one thin Blu-ray disc. Nothing more, nothing less. Even worse than the wasteful packaging, it has been reported that the disc is near impossible to remove from the case!

Where To Buy: You can buy it directly from Target - Backdraft, The Breakfast Club, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Fletch, Jaws, Sixteen Candles, and Slap Shot - or you could support Spook Central/The Corner Penthouse and buy it from an Amazon Marketplace seller here: The Breakfast Club & Sixteen Candles, and Jaws.

Additional Info/Sources: Blu-ray Forum Target Blu-rays With VHS Artwork Thread, ToyKlectrr's Target Retro VHS Blu-ray Haul Video.

To give you an idea of how thick these cases are, here are the spines of seven stacked on top of each other.


The Universal clamshells appear to be re-packagings of the JB Hi-Fi exclusive "Rewind Collection", released in Australia in December 2017, only without the iron-ons and collector cards inside - and far less titles in the series. With none from Paramount and Sony, that means no Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters II for those of us in the United States. Brubaker Video has a video review up of Ghostbusters if you want to know more about this series.


Australia isn't the only country with retro VHS-style packaging for Blu-ray. Over in the U.K., HMV stores have an exclusive "VHS Range" series of Universal and Paramount movies including The Thing, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Back to the Future, The Warriors, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Top Gun, Scarface, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 HRS, The Blues Brothers, Airplane!, and The Breakfast Club. Each title features a retro sleeve inspired by their original VHS release. Inside is a box imprinted with a videocassette design, but with the height of a DVD to ensure it fits on a shelf. Copies of the movie are provided on both Blu-ray and DVD, with each disc featuring videocassette reel artwork. Also included is a fold-out replica theatrical poster, bubblegum/trading card, and a sticker. Bloody Disgusting has photos of The Thing, while HMV has a video peek at E.T. and Techmoan has a review of 48 HRS and Back to the Future.


Even non-movies are getting the VHS nostalgia treatment. Funko, purveyors of pop culture collectibles, recently released a Target-exclusive movie-based "Very Hot Shirt" (get it, V.H.S.) line of t-shirts packaged in boxes designed to look like dual-cassette VHS sleeves. The spines look like the spines of dual-cassette boxes, while the bottom looks like two cassettes are inside - even though none of these movies were ever released on two cassettes. The top of the box simply says "Target Exclusive", and the back shows off the shirt design. Movies with shirts in the line include Back to the Future, Robocop, Bloodsport, Animal House, Beetlejuice, Rocky, Gremlins, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. They retail for $10 each, though I picked some up the other day on sale for $5 each.



The Disney Store is selling journals and clutch handbags designed to resemble the classic clamshell VHS cases for its animated movies such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, A Goofy Movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. The photo collage below shows the front and back of The Little Mermaid journal - yes, the "penis" spire has been altered - along with the "videocassette top" on the first page and the drawing of Ariel that appears on the lined journal pages. Not shown is the "videocassette bottom" that appears on the back of the last page.


Finally, lets end this look by bringing it back around to Stranger Things. While this isn't VHS-inspired, the hardcover book Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down: The Official Behind-the-Scenes Companion (by Gina McIntyre, with foreword by Matt & Ross Duffer, and afterword by Shawn Levy) was purposely made to look like it had been worn down by the ravages of 30 years on shelves, and even included a transparent plastic book cover not unlike what one would have found in their school library. The book looked so beaten up that its makers felt the need to include a sticker on the cover to tell potential buyers that it was meant to look like that.


As this retro VHS packaging is a current, on-going trend, if there's anything new or that I'm missing, feel free to mention it in the comments below.