Killer Video opened in November 2024 as an homage to horror movies and the golden age of VHS. Now, owner Jonathon Carmichael is ready to expand.
Introducing: Totally Killer Video.
Carmichael and co-owner Erika Fritz recently took over the entire first floor of the historic Selle Generator Works building on South High Street. Previously, Killer Video shared the first floor space with other tenants. With the recent acquisition, Carmichael said they plan to add an expanded rental library, a microcinema and a boutique storefront.
The additional retail space will allow the nonprofit to convert Killer Video’s gift shop into more exhibit space. (The museum will remain named Killer Video, and the expansion will be called Totally Killer Video. Both will be under the same nonprofit.)
“It was to the point where we needed more space because we were running the rental operation out of our gift shop,” Carmichael said.
Killer Video launched its membership-based rental operation last August, offering a variety of film genres. Since then, the collection has grown from 600 titles to more than 10,000 movies and TV shows, available to rent on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K. Of that, about 2,500 are horror titles. Memberships range from $50 to $150 a year.
“We wanted to provide the same amount of inventory for like a fifth of the price for what you’d pay for four or five streaming services,” Carmichael said. He expects to have the expanded rental operation up and running by January.
With the boutique storefront, Carmichael wants to offer collectors of physical media (DVDs, VHS, Blu-ray, etc.) a local place to shop.
“There’s really nowhere locally to go buy boutique physical media,” he said, mentioning film distributors such as Terror Vision, Arrow and Vinegar Syndrome.
He continued, “They’re the companies obtaining the rights and doing high-quality restoration and rereleasing movies in 4K and Blu-ray format.”
With an expanded retail footprint, Totally Killer Video will have room to stock collectible items, limited edition releases and iconic film soundtracks.
Totally Killer Video’s microcinema will feature local films, flashback screenings
Killer Video already hosts events such as film screenings, media markets and trivia nights, both on- and offsite. The microcinema will serve as another way to interact with the community and bring together movie fans.
Carmichael said they are still solidifying the ticketing options for the microcinema. But expect an intimate space that will host local filmmaker showcases, weekly flashback screenings, private events and educational workshops.
Ideally, Carmichael would like to have the microcinema open by the first quarter of 2027. He’s already got a list of movies he wants to screen: “True Romance,” “Big Trouble in Little China” and “The Goonies” are at the top.
“There’s something about getting a crowd together that just has a love for certain films and putting them all in a room together and watching the films,” he said. “It’s electric.”
To help fund the expansion, the nonprofit will launch a Kickstarter campaign on Thursday. The goal is to raise $35,000, which will go toward building out the cinema ($15,000), retail shelving and rental fixtures ($9,000) and space renovations ($6,500). The additional $4,500 will pay for Kickstarter fees and rewards for project backers. The campaign will run until midnight on Nov. 1.
“The good thing is the space is almost perfect,” Carmichael said. “We’re working with the current layout, so there’s a very minimal amount that needs to be done.”
The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, he added. For Carmichael, this just shows that people still care about physical media — and that streaming platforms will never replace one-on-one experiences.
“I think that there’s a real desire for the rental experience, especially with the annoyances of streaming that people are starting to face, whether it’s losing movies or the cost of membership,” he said. “And also not getting that human interaction. We don’t want to operate on algorithms.”
