Back when I was a young lad in the very early 90’s, I was in college and working full time in a video store to help pay my tuition. You know what it’s like for a college student struggling to pay rent, buy groceries, and have enough pocket cash for a social life -- It’s not easy, but it’s also a lot of fun.
It was also back at this time that videos were usually not released at a sale through price point, and if you wanted to own a movie you had to shell out anywhere from 80-100 bucks. Well, it was about this time that a film that I had been reading about for years and had never managed to see was released on VHS. That movie was Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA. The video store I managed, a franchise based Ballbuster Video, at the time refused to carry the film due to it’s unrated nature. I could, however, order myself a personal copy for the rousing sum of $99.99.
It came down to a choice of buying the movie and eating nothing but egg sandwiches for a couple of weeks, or waiting a few months while I reasonably saved-up the funds to afford a copy. I was young and dumb so I chose to eat the egg sandwiches.
It was a tough couple of weeks, but when I opened the UPS box with my shinny new copy of Suspiria, all my hunger pains quickly vanished. That night, after class, I watched the film twice and was not disappointed. It was not my first Argento film, nor is it my favorite, but at the time I was completely blown away by its operatic colors and sounds. Also, I think I might have fallen a bit in love with Jessica Harper.
Well, times have changed. Today, Suspiria is available on Netflix Instant.
As they say, change is inevitable. It just saddens me that the young horror fans of today will not have many of the same experiences I had growing-up. They will never know the joy of riding around to mom & pop video stores searching for a copy of Lucio Fulci’s Zombie2. No, now they get to see its Zombie vs. Shark scene used to sell a computer operating system during prime-time.
I’m sure the horror kids of today will have their own fond experiences, but for the most part it want be out in the real world. Instead it will be in the confines of their home pirating movies or adding a film to their Netflix queue.
Will this change the appeal and magic of these films? I don’t think so. I do, however, believe it will lessen the overall experience.
So, technically, by only posting a blog only once a month, you are "giving" the same extra experience to your readers, right? If someone loves your blog and has to wait a ridiculously long time for the next post, what a joyous release when it finally arrives! Oh, how I wish it weren't so. Until next month then, tally ho mi amigo, tally ho.
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