'The Last Blockbuster' Documentary Sets Up '80s Movie Nostalgia Brackets

In support of the upcoming documentary The Last Blockbuster, the filmmakers have created a number of March Madness-style brackets celebrating the best of classic movies of the VHS era.

Fans can pit movies like The Exorcist and Scream against one another to decide which of the video store-era "rental classics" rises above the pack.

"In all of our interviews, one thing that has become clear is that it wasn't the movie you rented, it was renting the movie," director Taylor Morden told ComicBook.com's Russ Burlingame during an interview for the Emerald City Video Podcast, which will run in the coming days.

Morden is directing the crowdfunded documentary, which uses the Bend, Oregon Blockbuster Video -- the last remaining Blockbuster store that is still renting movies -- as a lens through which to view the home video market of the last few decades.

Fans can vote in four polls below:

VHS 80s Rental Classics: //bit.ly/TLB80sclassics1

VHS Horror Rental Classics: //bit.ly/TLBhorror1

VHS Sports Movie Rental Classics: //bit.ly/TLBsports1

VHS Action Movie Rental Classics: //bit.ly/TLBaction1

The documentary, which will be available on Blu-ray, DVD...and, yes, VHS...will take a look at the history of the franchise as well as the final existing location. Among the perks for Kickstarter backers are real, working Blockbuster Video membership cards, staff t-shirts, and the chance to acutally go to Bend and spend a night working at Blockbuster.

The "work a shift at Blockbuster" reward is on the high end -- $2,500, and the most expensive perk that doesn't involve being credited as a producer on the film -- but fans with more modest aspirations can get movie posters, DVDs, t-shirts, and even VHS copies of The Last Blockbuster if the film is funded.

The Last Blockbuster will be Morden's third documentary feature. His previous film, Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s, also pushed some nostalgic buttons and got funded on Kickstarter to the tune of over $100,000. Working with Morden will be Zake Kamm, a Hollywood lifer who is probably most recognizable to our readers for writing some episodes of PowerPuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, and The Weird Al Show.

There is a sense of urgency in the Kickstarter, in part because the filmmakers hope to finish the movie before the last Blockbuster is gone.

"How great would it be to finish the film in time that it's available for rent at the store?" the Kickstarter page asks.

The movie is expected to cost around $20,000 to finance. So far it has made about half of that with 23 days remaining in its campaign.

Based on the Kickstarter page, it seems as though the plan is to complete The Last Blockbuster in time for a May 2019 release.