The home video revolution changed the way we watch movies. Suddenly the cinema wasn't the be all and end all of film; we could now watch what we want, when we want. VHS didn't just bring big budget blockbusters to our livings rooms, however. Just as streaming sites are now making their own 'TV' shows, video distributors started having their own stab at movie making. Although the results weren't quite Orange Is The New Black. Cheaply made with exploitive titles and garish cover art, direct-to-video films sit in stores as the bastard cousin of their cinematic fellows. Ranging from cheap knock-offs of big blockbusters (Transmorphers) and one-note B-Movies (Sharknado) to sequels to existing movies (those crummy American Pie sequels were released this way), direct-to-video tends to show the worst movies have to offer. One of the most infamous examples are Disney's spew of cheap sequels to their classics that blighted our screens for years until they smartly realised tarnishing their legacy wasn't a smart PR move. From The Lion King to poor old Bambi, no film was safe. These were conventionally remakes of the first movie with the kids of the original heroes going through a similar adventure, although some did something even more pandering; The Fox And The Hound 2 actually takes place in the middle of the story, with the duo becoming part of singing dog band. Seriously. So it's fair to say direct-to-video films don't have the best rap. But they have also born a varied range of big theatrical releases; films that started life set for the purgatory of a DVD shelf and ended up standing proudly in a cinema marquee. Here are eight such films that nearly ended up only on the small screen.
