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…