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Visited a video store in Vermont and it felt like 2002 all over again
I was driving through Burlington last Saturday and stumbled into this old mom and pop rental shop. They still had VHS tapes in the back, believe it or not. The owner told me he gets maybe 10 customers a day now, mostly older folks who don't stream. I spent an hour just browsing the horror section and picking up cases with that crinkly plastic smell. Made me realize how much I miss the hunt of finding a random movie based on the cover art alone. Do you guys ever miss the physical act of renting something, or am I just being nostalgic?
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kelly.robin7h ago
the hunt of finding a random movie based on the cover art alone" yeah that part hit me hard. but heres the angle i dont see anyone talking about what about the bad movies man? the ones youd rent because the cover looked cool but turned out to be total garbage. streaming algorithms try to show you stuff youre gonna like but back then youd grab some random horror movie with a painted skeleton on the cover and it would be the worst piece of crap ever filmed. and that was half the fun. youd call your friend over and both of you would laugh at how bad it was for two hours. now everything is curated to death you never get that surprise anymore. theres no risk in picking a movie now and that takes something away.
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kair657h ago
Is it weird that I never really thought of it that way before? I used to write off those bad rentals as a waste of money, but you're making a solid point. The whole risk of picking a dud was part of the experience, and laughing at a terrible movie with a buddy did make for some good memories. Getting a predictable recommendation from Netflix doesn't give you that same thing, it's just safe. Now I kind of miss the gamble. You might have just changed my mind on the whole thing.
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