By Geno McGahee
In the 1980s, the video store would rise. Small “mom and pop” shops would emerge and capitalize on the large sales of the VCR. It was a match made in heaven and families could take home a title that they would have no other way to see. For horror fans, it became the place to be. The mom and pop shops saw the trend and the connection that horror and VHS had. Horror movies that had that VHS look to it added to the charm and with the reasonable prices and selection, the stores had no problem staying in business.
The DVD age came in and the video stores still maintained, changing with the times and shifting over to the new medium. With the advent of DVDs and the lower price comparatively to VHS, it allowed stores to buy more and they would later sell them, creating collectors amongst the fans. With the amount of collectors, there proves to be a market to resell unwanted DVDs, CDs and Games with various vendors, with MusicMagpie as the frontrunner at this time.
Things have changed rapidly for the video store business, with most of it being pushed out of business at this point. With Redbox and Netflix taking over and the convenience of at home streaming, the video store proves to be a memory only. With two children, I am sad to say that only one of them will ever know the atmosphere and enjoyment of going to a video store. As a horror fan, the memories of searching through the various horror titles, many of which were unknown to me at the time, still has a place in my heart. Streaming may be more convenient and practical but there is a community feeling that cannot be replaced by staying at home.
I have false hope that the day will come that the mom and pop stores will climb out of the rubble and begin again. I’ve noticed that many horror filmmakers are going back to VHS, including a copy with the DVD, and that many filmmakers are returning to standard definition for their horror entries. That is the glimmer of hope. It’s a long shot, but the potential is there.
I agree whole heartedly, Geno. For me, there was nothing like going into the video store during the eighties and nineties. That was how I discovered new movies I hadn’t heard of and became a fan of many unknown directors at that time. It was fun because you never knew what you would find. It was almost like a treasure hunt. Even with the video stores having disappeared, I have a remained a buyer of DVDs with a collection of around 300 movies. It would be more, but I’ve had to sell off many of my DVDs to pay my past medical bills. Right now, there’s nothing better than finding a movie you love with an extra disc or two of Behind-the-Scenes stuff for only a couple of bucks.