Blockbuster and mom & pop video rental stores hold a special place in most cinephiles' hearts. In the 80s and 90s, video rental stores became the perfect places to hang out and the best way to find movies you had never heard of. Before the internet existed, the only way you could prove your knowledge about B-horror movies and underground sci-fi films was by picking up a summer job at one.

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Seeing films inside films is always a fun and nostalgic way to experience the magic of video rental stores all over again. Now that almost all of them are gone and replaced with streaming services, it's worth it to take a step back in time to shelves full of VHS tapes and DVDs.

Watching The Detectives (2007)

Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu talking in Neil's video store in Watching the Detectives.

Watching the Detectives takes all the fun of 90s video rental stores and puts it into the present. In a nostalgic setting filled with B-movie posters, cardboard character cutouts, and a group of friends to play film trivia with, Cillian Murphy plays Neil, a film noir buff obsessed with the excitement of movies. He spends his days trying to get strangers to sign up for a rental card, so he can steer them down a path of cinema enlightenment.

His life is turned upside down when the beautiful Violet, played by Lucy Liu, waltzes in one day as a modern-day femme fatale. She brings the excitement of movies that Neil lusts over and leads him down a road of petty crime. He realizes that maybe the life of movies is too much to handle.

Bleeder (1999)

Mads Mikkelsen sitting among video tape shelves in Bleeder.

In one of Nicolas Winding Refn's best films, toxic masculinity bleeds into violence in the life of hard-drinking Leo, played by Kim Bodnia. Leo lives with his long-term girlfriend and spends his days watching gory movies with his lonely video store clerk friend, Lenny (Mads Mikkelsen). Lenny looks the part of a video store clerk, in a graphic tee and grungy military-style jacket and hat. The rental store oozes 90s nostalgia, with shabby carpets and walls lined with the goriest films you can think of.

When Leo's girlfriend tells him she's pregnant though, he senses that his lifestyle is headed for change. His long-hidden hatred for her erupts into the same kind of violence that he witnesses in all the films he watches.

Air Doll (2009)

Bae Doona in a maid costume in the video rental store in Air Doll.

Air Doll is a unique take on the video rental store movie. The Japanese movie follows a blow-up doll that has been given a soul. Nozomi, played by Bae Doona, wanders around outside her apartment for the first time in wonder. She happens upon a video rental store and is hired to work there, where she falls in love with an employee, Junichi. The scenes inside the rental store are filled with candy-colored shelves and cardboard cutouts of couples in love, symbolizing Nozomi's desires.

She accidentally cuts herself at work and deflates, and Junichi repairs her. She returns the favor later in the movie, after Junichi tricks her into having sex with him, by trying to repair him as well. When cutting through him though, she realizes that he is human, and accidentally kills him. The screenplay is nothing short of brilliant and portrays a somewhat feminist arc in a fairy tale about a sex doll.

Last Action Hero (1993)

Arnold Schwarzenegger standing near his fake Terminator 2 poster in Last Action Hero.

Last Action Hero is, without doubt, one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movies of the 90s. In it, young Danny becomes obsessed with watching action movies after his father dies, especially those starring the action hero cop, Jack Slater. After a theater manager gives Danny a magic ticket one day, he gets sucked into the big screen as a sidekick to Slater. An evil villain gets a hold of a magic ticket as well though and jumps through the screen into real life, where Danny and Slater must follow.

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One of the most memorable scenes of the movie takes place in the 90s-style video rental store. Danny tries to convince Slater that he was the one who starred in movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which is humorously portrayed by Sylvester Stallone on the poster.

Remote Control (1988)

Kevin Dillon and Jennifer Tilly in the video store in Remote Control.

Remote Control is all the cheesy goodness you might expect from a sci-fi movie taking place inside a video rental store. Starring Kevin Dillon as Cosmos, the movie follows a video store clerk who stumbles upon an alien plot to take over humanity by brainwashing them with a faux '50s sci-fi movie.

The video resides in the store where Cosmos works. He and his girlfriend must race to stop the aliens before they can distribute the videotapes worldwide. Outside the kooky premise, the best parts of the movie are the sets and costumes. The film is pure 80s new wave style with colorful displays of movies, amazing posters on the wall, huge hair, and tacky, silver tracksuits.

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Jack Black looking electrocuted in Be Kind Rewind.

Jack Black is a treasure that brings warmth to every role he plays, but one of his best roles remains Jerry in Be Kind Rewind. The movie is an imaginative and heartfelt letter to days past when movie rental stores ruled America.

In the movie, the “Be Kind Rewind” VHS rental store is about to be demolished. The store's owner leaves on a trip and his employee Mike (Mos Def) takes charge. Mike's freeloading friend, Jerry, attempts to sabotage the power plant that will demolish the store and in the process, wipes all the videos at the rental store. In heartwarming buddy style, Mike and Jerry try to recreate the movies themselves.

Ghost World (2001)

Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson browsing movies in Ghost World.

While Ghost World doesn't inherently take place in a video store, one of its more memorable scenes does. And the scene is notable because most movies about video stores revolve around male characters and masculine stereotypes.

In the movie, Enid and Rebecca (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson), think they are above the rest of the world. Bored with life, their futures, and everything in between, the social outcasts find themselves inside a video rental store at one point where they are uninterested in everything they pass by. It perfectly defines their characters in a visually appealing setting.

Clerks (1994)

Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran being themselves in Clerks.
Image via Miramax

Clerks is the quintessential video store movie. It is considered a landmark in independent filmmaking, and it achieved cult film status among movie fans. It also introduced a slew of recurring characters in Kevin Smith's universe, like Jay and Silent Bob.

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With the tagline, “Just because they serve you, doesn't mean they like you,” Clerks follows a day in the lives of a convenience store clerk and video store clerk named Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), as they talk about films, play games, discuss their ex-girlfriends, and annoy as many customers as they can.

EDtv (1999)

Matthew Mcconaughey being picked as the winner to go on reality show in EDtv.

In EDtv, a cable channel tries to boost its ratings by ushering in a new show that documents someone's life. Ed (Matthew McConaughey) enjoys his life of movies and solitude, until one day that lucky someone is him. The TV series makes him an instant celebrity and wreaks havoc on his personal life with his girlfriend and brother.

The satirical comedy film pokes fun at the rise in reality TV shows at the time but does it in one of the best settings: a video rental store. One of the funniest parts of the movie is Ed's habit of throwing customers out of his store if they don't pay homage to Burt Reynolds.

Speaking Parts (1989)

Arsinee Khanjian looking for Lance's videos in Speaking Parts.

Speaking Parts revolves around a bit-part actor named Lance (Michael McManus), whose real job is that of a gigolo. One of his female co-workers, Lisa, becomes obsessed with him, and her obsession drives her to rent every movie that he's in at a video store.

The video store isn't just any rental store, it is one of the coolest-looking ones. The outside of it is lit up with a neon sign that illuminates everything in cyan and red. And when Lisa walks in, the place is decorated in black and white checkerboard tiles, sleazy horror posters, lava lamps, and shelves of all the best movies one could ask for.

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