Raised by VHS — Arachnophobia (1990)

Welcome to Raised by VHS – proudly paying late fees since the 80s. Let’s pop this tape, adjust the tracking and dim the lights – we got a staff-recommended pick for you tonight!

Today’s film is a Cam pick: Arachnophobia.

📄 Episode Description

Spiders, suburbia, and Spielberg-era dread. Frank Marshall’s Arachnophobia mixes horror, comedy, and small-town vibes. We revisit the Venezuela prologue, Jeff Daniels’ fight against his fears, John Goodman’s exterminator swagger, and that unforgettable basement showdown. Plus: our own spider nightmares, a VHS Conspiracy Hotline spin, and a new Top 5 list.

🧱 Episode Breakdown

📼 Film info and box office context

🕷️ Story basics: killer spider invasion meets a doctor with arachnophobia

🧠 Memory Lane: VHS viewing, creepy crawlspace stories, childhood fears

🏡 Highlights: Venezuela opener, small-town tension, Delbert stealing scenes, bathroom spider rain, gooey basement finale

🎬 Behind the Scenes: real spiders, “Spider Olympics,” Big Bob the tarantula, early work from Jamie Hyneman

⭐ Favorites: best character, cozy vibe, standout performances

🎯 Top 5 Segment: Comedy-horror movies

☎️ VHS Conspiracy Hotline: was the infestation supernatural?

💵 Late Fee Ratings: Cam $70 | Coby $69 | Avg $69.50 → Good Shelf

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Special Features #–3 - The top-grossing movies of the 1980s, year by year

Cam kicks things off with the intro before we jump into what we’ve been watching lately. Coby runs through a stacked list including Dream a Little Dream, Die Hard, Romeo & Juliet, Fury, The Usual Suspects, Gleaming the Cube, Rain Man, Robocop, The Ninth Gate, and Warfare. Cam brings in his own mix with Chernobyl and The Terror, sparking plenty of side tangents about VHS gems and forgotten classics.

We also look ahead at upcoming releases on our radar, with Coby eyeing the wild casting of Paul Rudd and Jack Black in Anaconda and Cam weighing in with his own picks.

In our additional segment, we fire up the time machine and break down the top-grossing movies of the 1980s, year by year. From The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark to Back to the Future, Top Gun, and Batman, it’s a tour through the box office hits that defined the decade.

Watch or listen to the full episode to hear the full breakdown and see how these 80s giants shaped the VHS era we were raised on.

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License to Drive (1988) – RBVHS Ep. 3

Coby’s pick takes us back to 1988 for a neon-soaked VHS favorite full of DMV meltdowns, Cadillac chaos, and the unstoppable force of the Two Coreys. We start with Memory Lane stories about fantasizing over Archies, Mercedes Lane, and the day we could finally ditch the bus, then roll through the film scene by scene — from Les’ nightmare test and Feldman’s wild one-liners to the all-night joyride and the unforgettable reverse hospital run.

In Behind the Scenes, we dig into casting “what ifs” like Ben Affleck auditioning for Les, Heather Graham’s early breakout, and the nine Cadillacs wrecked in production. We share our Favorite Picks, with Cam backing Corey Haim’s frantic Les and Coby going with Richard Masur’s hilarious dad. In How It Formed Us, we talk about how this movie cranked up the obsession with getting a license and why it felt rebellious even when we were still walking everywhere.

Plus: a Top 5 list of movies where your parents would absolutely kill you if they knew, and a Movie Memorabilia Inferno surprise.

Watch or listen to the full episode to see what Late Fee this late-80s joyride earned and if it stays checked out forever.

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