Videodrome, Atlanta’s last-standing video store known for its massive movie collection and cinema events celebrated its 25th anniversary on Nov. 29 with a party at Argosy in East Atlanta.
Founded in 1998 in Poncey-Highland, Videodrome has gained a reputation among customers for its passionate staff and hard-to-find titles that typically aren’t on streaming services.
Hundreds of people crowded into Argosy to celebrate the Atlanta institution, where they enjoyed live music local and experimental short films while indulging in Videodrome-themed drinks and shopping for limited-edition merchandise.
For Videodrome owner Matt Booth the “blur” of a celebration came after decades of work, adaptation and film passion for the video-rental store he founded.
‘The weird little video store’
When Matt Booth was in high school, he went to video stores. In college, all his friends worked at video stores, and after college Booth got a job in a corporate video store — Moovies, a cow-themed shop where he quickly became manager.
“This was back in 1995 when there were video stores everywhere,” Booth said.
He worked at corporate stores for a few years, but it wasn’t until Booth started visiting iconic New York establishments like Kim’s Video that video stores really blew his mind.
“I was just like, ‘I got it, this is what I want to try to figure out,” Booth said.
He found a space in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. At the time, the neighborhood was small and cheap, and most people lived within walking distance of his soon-to-be store location. It was also the “high time of video,” according to Booth. He decided to name the store Videodrome after the 1983 David Cronenberg movie of the same name. At the time, he only carried VHS tapes — a major part of the science fiction- horror film. Booth said he liked the movie’s theme of “opening peoples’ minds.” It helps that Cronenberg was part of Booth’s film awakening. He cites John Carpenter, David Lynch and Cronenberg as the stuff that turned him into a “real fan.”
His brother designed a logo, and Videodrome opened its doors in 1998 stocked with less mainstream titles.
“We were kind of the weird store, but we were still just another video store for a long time,” Booth said.
As major chains like Blockbuster shuttered and millions of people pivoted to major streaming sites like Netflix, Videodrome became more than “just another video store.” It became the only one.
In 2023 Videodrome is Atlanta’s sole video rental store with over 30,000 individual titles packed among the aisles. Customers can rent from any of the hyper-specific genres like “needless remakes” or peruse different directors.
The movie selection has garnered a passionate customer base over the years. Some have been coming for decades, and others work volunteer shifts in their spare time.
“There’s really nowhere else like it,” Videodrome volunteer Ethan Taylor said.
After moving from South Carolina, Taylor started working at Videodrome in 2023 in hopes of finding a film community in Atlanta.
“I work from home, and I wanted to be in a space that feels important, and Videodrome feels important to me,” Taylor said.
Like Taylor, Ryan Boylan volunteers at Videodrome alongside his work in the film industry. Boylan started working at the shop during the actor and writers’ strikes that shut down the industry in 2023.
After moving from Chicago, Boylan knew he needed to find the city’s film community. He zeroed in on Videodrome as “the hub” of people with niche tastes and passions.
“If you’re a filmmaker and you don’t have a community of people to like, exchange ideas with, it’s very difficult to feel inspired,” Boylan said.
Working behind the counter helped combat the isolation. Boylan and Taylor said customers come in looking for curation and conversation. After a while, they end up forming relationships with the city’s cinephile.
As Videodrome’s owner, Booth knows plenty of repeat customers. They come in to chat about their recent rentals or ask if he’s got a new release in stock. Taylor said the store owner “always has something to say” to people looking for a niche pick.
Atlanta resident Michael Groome has been shopping at Videodrome since 2011. He often uses the store to find titles for his queer movie club, particularly because the movies he’s looking for only make it on streaming services a fraction of the time.
“I’ve been able to become friends with some of the workers and owner, and they’re so good at picking things out for me or even just a little chit-chat,” Groome said.
Booth credits his loyal customer base with Videodrome’s lasting success.
“We weren’t the greatest store, but people really gave us a chance, and we slowly got better,” Booth said. “Where we’re at now is a culmination of 25 years of collecting.”
In some ways, Booth said Videodrome worked due to timing – he felt less pressure to succeed immediately, found a central location and opened during the prime of video rental stores.
But as Atlanta expanded and other video rental stores shuttered, Videodrome stayed strong, in part because the landlord kept rent low and in part because people just kept coming.
“Almost everyone that comes in here is making a choice to come here,” Booth said.
Customers may have to seek out the shop and drive to Poncey-Highland, but Booth said they “get it right away” when they step inside.
With a pedigree as the “weird” video store, Videodrome has plenty of titles that would never make it on streaming, like old television specials and independent films. The films have been picked not by an algorithm but by passionate employees and Booth himself, who looks to what customers want to help his selection.
“A brick and mortar place where you can go and you can browse, and there’s more thoughtful curation than you will find on the front page of Netflix or HBO, I do think there’s something valuable about that,” Boylan said.
Volunteers Taylor and Boylan also said the quality of a Videodrome rental surpasses streaming, with better blacks and no compression. The quality, rare titles and knowledgeable employees keep cinephiles coming back to Videodrome.
“Yeah, people love this place,” Booth said. “Our product really encapsulates the neighborhood.”
Taking on another life
But Videodrome couldn’t thrive on rentals alone. A few years ago, Booth was faced with an option: expand his income outside the store or slowly decline like Videodrome’s competitors.
That’s when he decided to take on outside partnerships. In 2018, Videodrome launched a screening series called “Plazadrome” at the Plaza Theatre with the help of owner Chris Escobar. The partnership displayed cult, foreign and independent films like “Winter Kills” or “Party Girl.”
“We took on a whole ‘nother life,” Booth said.
From there, Videodrome became a true “hub” for Atlanta’s film scene through several partners and sponsorships. When the Tara Theater reopened in May 2023 under the Plaza’s ownership, Videodrome launched a “Taradrome” series.
He also sponsored events like Atlanta-based filmmaker A.K. Espada’s Gothic South event at the Plaza Theatre in October, where she screened four short Southern Gothic films, including her own.
Brooke “B” Sonenreich partnered with Videodrome when she started ATLFilmParty, a free local Atlanta film competition, in 2021. Sonenreich started the competition after she realized her filmmaker friends were blowing their budgets on entering film festivals.
“There was this kind of underlying issue that they didn’t feel appreciated for how much they were putting into the film festival circuits,” Sonenreich said.
She wasn’t an Atlanta native, but Sonenreich had been in the Atlanta film industry for several years and wanted to “do something on her own.”
“I wanted to do something that gave back to the ecosystem,” Sonenreich said.
She hosted the first ATLFilmParty competition in June 2021 after putting out a call for two-minute experimental shorts from local filmmakers. Submission was free, attendance was free, and everybody got a ballot to vote for winners Olamma Oparah and Colbie Frey.
Sonenreich decided to host the “party” quarterly, with a handpicked jury of industry professionals and $500 grants and mentorships for winners.
“It’s a really nice community-building event,” Sonenreich said.
Through the competition, Sonenreich wants to draw attention to homegrown talent to make sure they don’t get “overlooked” in favor of transplants from Los Angeles and New York City.
Videodrome came in as ATLFilmParty’s second sponsor, where they covered all the overhead for one of Sonenreich’s events.
“It’s a true partnership; all of us really care about each other and wanna see the local film industry and local filmmakers succeed,” Sonenreich said.
The video store provides material assistance to groups like ATLFilmParty, but Booth prioritizes acting like a “facilitator” for their work when he can. Sonenreich sees the benefits going both ways.
“Filmmakers are going there to gather inspiration,” Sonenreich said.
She also cited events like Plazadrome and Taradrome as big draws for film aficionados. Booth said it’s a big task, and most employees have to work double the workload for the store and the event team. But Videodrome’s events have been “more successful” than he ever expected.
Those partnerships and sponsorships came together at the Nov. 29 party, where Sonenreich curated an hour of experimental short films submitted by local filmmakers. Films from ATLFilmParty and the film program host Audio Video Club aired throughout Argosy during the event. The party held a raffle with prizes from the Plaza Theatre, Criterion Collection, Turner Classic Movies, Vinegar Syndrome and more. They sold off limited edition merchandise, and Argosy offered a special Videodrome-themed beer made by local brewery Halfway Crooks.
The party was a blur for Booth, but he said he was lucky everyone pitched in.
“We all help with each other’s events,” Booth said.
For people like Sonenreich, the reason was obvious. “We want Videodrome to last forever.”
What happened to that cool video movie shop in L5P right off Euclid on that little side street cut across the street from the big public school ? What happened to that guy ? At 1st I thought that’s who this was but not if he opened in 98, yikes ..