These stores were everywhere from big chains like Blockbuster and Video Treasures to smaller mom and pop shops tucked between pizza places and dry cleaners. You’d walk in and be hit with the smell of plastic cases worn carpet and microwave popcorn. Shelves were packed with VHS tapes their covers often more memorable than the movies themselves.
New releases were usually gone within minutes and you’d sometimes have to stalk the return bin hoping someone brought back that copy of Back to the Future or The Lost Boys. Sometimes I felt like a creep standing there. Horror movies had wild over the top artwork comedies had goofy group shots and action films always had some muscled guy holding a weapon. In this day and age we would’ve found it pretty corny but not back then.
The fun part about visiting the video store was the ritual of browsing. You didn’t just grab a tape and leave. You looked through everything read the backs of boxes debated with your friends or your siblings and probably rented the same movie three times in one month. You also took a gamble. You didn’t know if the movie was going to be good or not. Unless you were renting a movie that was popular you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into.
We had late fees back then too. You usually had two days to keep the vhs tape before you had to return it. There was also the fee for not rewinding it. I always made sure to rewind and return it back on time.
The video store wasn’t just a place to rent movies. It was a social hub a hangout a regular stop during your week. You got recommendations from the clerks argued over what to get with your friends and maybe even discovered a favorite film completely by accident. The whole experience is gone now but for those of us who lived through it the memory of those aisles the VHS covers the sound of tapes being rewound and the glow of that open sign still lives. Today’s generation will never get to experience the anticipation and excitement of visiting the local video store.
. I still remember the sound of those VHS cases clicking shut when you opened them.
