Remember your favorite CDs and DVDs? If you feel like walking further down memory lane, what about cassette and VHS tapes?
Well, those relics are now called physical media.
They’re also in demand – move over vinyl records and record players.
Metro Detroiters are rediscovering the joy of physical media from DVDs and VHS tapes to cassettes and vintage receivers.
Whether it’s renting a movie for $3 or hunting for a rare VHS at a community swap, the appetite for tangible entertainment is growing, and local businesses are taking notice.
Occult 83: Michigan’s last video rental store
Doran Konja is the owner of Occult 83 located in Dearborn Heights.
Formerly known as Video Exclusive, he claims it is the last video rental store in Michigan, offering both DVDs and VHS tapes for rent.
“People are always very shocked we still get new released videos,” Konja said.
Memberships are free to sign up, and rentals are $3 each. New release movies are available for a two-day rental period, while older titles can be checked out for five days. Typically, movies remain on the new release shelf for six months to a year.
“A lot of people are experiencing that if you want to watch Wicked or Sinners or some of those big hits again at home — if you didn’t see it in theaters and you want to catch up on the hit movie — it might be like $35, $40, $30 on Prime to rent it for just two days. But if you come here, you can get it for like three bucks," Konja said.
Occult 83 celebrated its one-year anniversary on April 1. Under previous names, including Video Exclusive, the store has served the community for approximately 35 years.
Konja took over the business from his father.
“Over the history, I was just looking over some papers earlier. It’s at 34,000 people in the community have signed up for membership at one point or another,” Konja said.
Younger generations drive the resurgence
Historically, video rental stores catered to an older, male-leaning audience. But Konja says that has changed since the rebrand.
“We’ve been getting a lot more Gen Z and younger millennials coming in. People who are like in their 20s to 35-year-olds, especially a lot of younger couples will come in here and make this their like traditional date night,” Konja said.
Fridays and Saturdays remain the busiest days, though Konja has noticed Mondays and Wednesdays gaining popularity. Interestingly, the newer, younger customers are gravitating toward older titles rather than new releases.
Horror films remain the store’s biggest draw, with an entire back wall dedicated to the genre.
A pivot that saved the business
For years, the store struggled financially. Konja says the business had been operating in the red for the past five or six years, and had barely broken even for the decade before that.
“Me and my dad have always had conversations about how the store needs to close down, but how much we don’t want to do that because having the last video rental and having the history of the store is very important to us and our family,” Konja said.
A creative rebrand as an adult novelty store helped turn things around for the video rental location.
“The pivot and the weird idea of it all has really saved the business,” Konja said.
Beyond the transactional side of the business, Konja finds meaning in the human connections the store fosters.
“A lot of the older customers — for some of the men — it’s like we’re the only regular daily interaction they have. And so having those tiny conversations and touch moments for people... there’s even people in the past year that ended up forming deep friendships with,” Konja said.
VCR repairs still in demand
Getting your hands on a VHS tape is one thing.
Finding a working VCR is another challenge entirely.
Starlit TV in St. Clair Shores still handles VCR repairs regularly.
“I’d say weekly, someone will kind of bring one, maybe every couple of weeks. It goes in spurts,” said Peter Collias of the electronic repair shop.
Peter and his brother George Collias say mechanical parts and belts are typically what fail.
Repairs range from $95 to $150. The brothers say parts are not difficult to source.
“The customer brought in eight VCRs that he’s collected from resale shops, I think, or online and wants to get some working,” Peter Collias said.
George Collias added that vintage receivers and turntables have also been coming through the shop in high numbers.
“There’s a mad dash for finding units in the 1970s,” George Collias said.
The brothers say the interest spans generations.
“Most of the younger generation is starting to bring them in and look for them in resale shops,” Peter Collias said. “They’re finding out that that music, the sound of it is pretty awesome,”
VHS Detroit: A community built on tape
Mitch Socia is a print shop owner and the founder of VHS Detroit, a community dedicated to swapping VHS tapes and watching movies together.
He stumbled into collecting while working long hours in his garage.
“I started this out of my garage, and there’s no Wi-Fi in my garage. And so, I had a friend who had an old tube TV with a VCR attached to it, and I hooked it up and got a stack of tapes from the thrift store and it just... exploded from there,” Socia said.
Socia launched an Instagram account under the name VHS Detroit to connect with other collectors in the area.
The response surprised him.
“I put it out on Instagram. I started the Instagram account VHS Detroit specifically to say, ‘Hey, I’m collecting VHS in the Detroit area’ and I wanted to see who was there and, surprisingly enough, there was a ton of people,” Socia said.
The swap, which has been running for nearly four years, draws new participants regularly.
Socia also hosts a monthly event he calls a comedy show blended with a movie screening.
“We show a movie and we do play it on tape too. We have a VCR hooked up to the projector. The show is called Tapes Only because we’re not gonna show anything that was not released on tape,” Socia said.
Why Gen Z is gravitating toward physical media
Socia has a theory about why younger generations are drawn to VHS.
“I think it’s partly not growing up with it. If you have never seen that before, it’s probably kind of amazing to be like, wow, this is how you watch the movie — this plastic [rectangle] that you put into a machine — and it’s moving parts,” Socia said.
Ownership is also a driving factor.
Both Socia and Konja point to the impermanence of streaming as a key reason consumers are turning back to physical formats.
“If you own the movie and you enjoy the movie, it’ll always be yours because if it’s on streaming, there’s going to come a day where it’s no longer streaming. They do that all the time,” Socia said.
Konja echoes the sentiment, noting that even purchased digital content isn’t truly owned.
“Streaming has made it so it’s like a theoretical license that they own for just a few years. And then it’s gone. It’s off the platform. Even if you bought something on some services, it will disappear one day if they don’t have the right contracts. So, you don’t own anything,” Konja said.
Trend or here to stay?
Whether the physical media movement has lasting power remains an open question.
“It does feel a bit like a trend. But we also were saying this in like 2008 about vinyl records. So, you never know,” Socia said.
“I mean, I think the people that I’ve met through this swap have always been collectors and always been collectors of tapes,” he said. “So, I do think no matter the size of the group of people, there’s always going to be love for VHS.”
Note: Occult 83 is open to adults only. Visitors must be 18 or older.