Kibby (Andrea Figliomeni) works at a video digitising shop, copying old, ‘dead’ formats to files so they can be enjoyed anew. On the same day as someone leaves a smelly, gunky VHS player at their door, a trans man Gator (Chrystal Peterson) brings in a bunch of tapes of her father’s anarchic punk band destroying computer equipment. Kibby’s attraction to Gator confuses her, but they go on a few dates to get to know each other. Unfortunately, since her contact with the video machine, she’s begun feeling strange; disassociating from her surroundings. When she feels sick, a piece of video tape comes from her mouth. She splices it into a cassette out of curiosity, only to discover a message to her from a mysterious man, Dr Analog (Hunter Kohl).

There’s an obvious theme in Video Vision: transformation; be it Kibby’s monstrous tape-spewing alter ego, Gator’s physical transition, and even the simple act of copying one so-called outdated format to a more modern one (which will no doubt soon be superseded). Writer/director Michael Turney (Danny Pennington in 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!) has crafted a visually stunning film, particularly if you’re a fan of looking at old media items. While the script goes overboard a little on some issues, it’s always handled sensitively and level-headed. It might not be the successor to Videodrome that we’d want it to be, it works steadfastly in its own space. While some of us might relate more to the shop owner Rodney (Shelley Valfer) in his care of items cast aside by ever-evolving consumerism than Dr Analog, there’s no doubt many who will feel ‘seen’ by the romance between Kibby and Gator.

Genre films are constantly pushing boundaries, and Video Vision certainly manages that. We hope it finds its audience to be a cult favourite in years to come.

VIDEO VISION screened at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest.