Horror Obsessive
There is a format logic to certain films, and The Crow has always belonged on tape. Alex Proyas’ 1994 gothic revenge film, with its rain-slicked streets and greasepainted hero, was analog in its bones long before anyone called it a cult classic. Vice Press Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment are now making that logic official: a limited VHS release of the original film is coming, and the details suggest they understand exactly what they are doing.
Two editions are available. The standard release ships 1,250 copies in a slipcase with a red-on-tape design, distributed through Vice Press, Amazon, HMV, and Rarewaves in PAL format. The Vice Press Exclusive Edition caps at 250 units: white tapes with a black-on-tape design, sold only through Vice Press and also only on UK PAL format. Artwork comes from Matt Ferguson, with both editions formatted by Ferguson and Florey. Pre-orders opened at 7 pm ET on June 22 at vice-press.com, priced at \u00a334.99 per edition.
Why PAL Format Is the Right Call
The PAL-only release is the most telling detail in this announcement, and the one that separates Vice Press from a company simply trying to shift units. European VHS players are not in most living rooms. Buying this tape means owning a player capable of running it, which means this release is speaking directly to collectors who have already made that commitment. The format carries weight precisely because it demands something from its audience.
That specificity suits The Crow. The 1994 film follows Eric Draven, who returns from death after his fiancee is murdered alongside him, to deliver revenge on those responsible. The film is inseparable from the tragedy surrounding its production: Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, was killed on set when a gun fired a real bullet during filming. The film was completed using a body double and early digital compositing. Every time someone buys a copy, they carry that context with them.
Vice Press and the Collector VHS Revival
Vice Press has built a reputation on treating horror and genre properties as worthy of serious collector attention. Pairing with Paramount Home Entertainment gives the project distribution reach across multiple markets, even if the tape format itself limits playback to European hardware. Matt Ferguson’s involvement signals that the artwork is being treated with care: his work on genre prints has become synonymous with a compositional approach that emphasizes atmosphere over shock.
The VHS revival has been gathering momentum in horror collector circles for several years. What Vice Press is doing here is something more pointed than nostalgia: returning a film to a format that matches its era, its aesthetic, and the kind of tactile relationship with media that streaming has made almost impossible to replicate. The Crow on a VHS tape feels correct in a way that the same film on a streaming thumbnail never quite does. The tape hiss is part of the atmosphere.
For horror fans, this is a release worth tracking even if you cannot play it. The Vice Press Exclusive Edition at 250 units will move fast. The standard run of 1,250 gives more collectors a chance, but PAL format availability means the practical audience is mostly European. Both editions are worth the pre-order for the Matt Ferguson artwork alone.
Quick Takes
- Vice Press Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment are releasing Alex Proyas’ 1994 film The Crow on VHS in two limited editions.
- The standard slipcase edition is limited to 1,250 copies; the Vice Press Exclusive Edition is limited to 250 copies, available only through Vice Press.
- Both editions are in PAL format, which means they will only play on European VHS players.
- Artwork is by Matt Ferguson, with both editions formatted by Matt Ferguson and Florey.
- Pre-orders opened June 22 at vice-press.com, with both editions priced at \u00a334.99 each.
