It was very rare to see a movie set so deep in video store culture, in spite of VHS rental shops being so central to our daily lives in the ’80s.
Remote Control (1988) is a snazzy, low-fi tribute to ’50s Red Scare alien invasion flicks. It stars Kevin Dillon (sans mullet) as a cool video store clerk who stumbles onto a sinister alien plot to take over the world by way of brainwashing people through a bad sci-fi movie. It also stars Deborah Goodrich (April Fool’s Day) and Jennifer Tilly—and if that doesn’t grab you, it’s directed by cult auteur Jeff Lieberman of Squirm and Blue Sunshine fame.
Why This VHS-Era Gem Pushes All the Right Buttons:
- Unfiltered Video Store Nostalgia: Unlike films that only used video shops as a brief backdrop, this whole story fundamentally revolves around one. If you want to feel like you’re back in 1988 wandering the aisles, pop this in your top loader—you’ll be pausing to stare at the box art on the shelves.
- A High-Concept B-Movie Premise: Combines Mind-control VHS tapes, laser guns disguised as remote controls, and 1950s drive-in cinema tropes mixed into a slick, late-’80s sci-fi thriller package.
- Great Cult Cast: Dillon brings plenty of endearingly slick charisma, while Jennifer Tilly and Deborah Goodrich make every scene they’re in wildly entertaining.
Remote Control pushes all my buttons. I really dig this classic two-day rental space invader—it’s an imaginative B-schlocker that looks right at home on the video shelf nestled right alongside TerrorVision and Top of the Food Chain.
– Pop
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