Interesting topic.
I'd hesitate to say that some of my first memories were of video rental shops and their wares, but I certainly recall with quite vivid feeling the impact those old VHS boxes had on me at a very young age... a mere glance at the cover of some wretched cannibal flick and I wouldn't quite settle for days. I remember feeling so intimidated by the likes of 'The Deadly Spawn' and 'The Thing', so much so that when I finally got round to seeing them the sense of disappointment was unbearable... same with all those DPP list numbers worshipped in the shadows and spoken of in hushed tones, the final unveiling revealed no obscene beauty, just mediocre face paint and a zipper down the back (or so I thought when I was 16 or so - really dig them now, but for different reasons).
The first horror movie I saw was 'Alien'. It must have been on TV. It really freaked me out. Then later, 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' on VHS at a friend's house, when I was seven or so. It was a house that stank of cigarette smoke and the tinge of neglect, but I remember feeling enthralled and bedazzled. Weirdly enough, I dislike that film these days.
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