Vincent Santis has a formidable collection of VHS tapes and DVDs. He’s been cultivating his selection since his teenage years, searching for going-out-of-business sales at old video stores, attending physical media fares and keeping an eye on eBay.
Now, that collection makes up much of the initial stock at Lost Lizard Video. The Lawrenceville shop brings movies on VHS and DVD to a new generation, specializing in cult classics, B-grade horror, sci-fi, action and more.
Media and Community at Lost Lizard Video in Lawrenceville
The name harkens back to one of the long-gone rental stores Santis visited in his youth. Safari Video, he says, was a tacky, themed store decorated with fake palm trees; tropical bird noises played over the speakers and employees donned safari hats. Santis wanted his store to have a theme as well; he borrowed the lizard from Safari Video, and added lost as a nod to the once-vanishing nature of physical media.
Memberships at Lost Lizard are available in tiers: Gecko is $10 for three rentals per month; Chameleon is $20 for five monthly rentals; and Komodo is $35 for unlimited rentals and free access to events. Santis plans to host weekly events, including “dinner and a movie” style gatherings, partnerships with local breweries and businesses, and Q&A screenings with local filmmakers.
“I hope that it gets accepted by the community,” says Santis, who envisions Lost Lizard as a third space and “a gathering hub for people who enjoy and love film and old media.”
Lost Lizard Video Offers Movies You Won’t Find on Streaming
So far, some of the typical customers have surprised Santis.
“A big group of people that come in are usually younger kids,” he says. “They come in and they say that they were just introduced to this technology. They just got a VCR. They’re trying to figure out the world of it, but they’re also trying to discover new movies and something different that’s not presented by [streaming].”
Many of the films at Lost Lizard are hard to find on streaming and cable today.
“A lot of the older films are buried beneath original programming [produced] by a lot of these streaming services. So, it’s like a rediscovery of things — not only technology-wise, but movies in general,” says Santis.
Santis went to college for film during the “collapse of physical media,” as he puts it, but he now believes the time has come for people to rediscover movies at a video store — just as vinyl record stores have experienced their own revival.
“People just want that interaction, not only with movies, but with other people,” he says. “Back in the day, video stores were kind of like a gathering spot where you can go, you look at the back of the box, discover something that’s new.”
Some Lost Lizard customers are already engaging in community building by leaving written reviews of films inside of the VHS box for the next renter to find. If a review is particularly funny or clever, Santis will tape it to the outside of the box for browsers to see.
Aside from movies, Lost Lizard sells rare action figures, out of circulation video games and vintage candy — and they plan to add lizard-themed merch. They also rent out VCRs and adaptors for people that don’t own their own equipment.
Trying Out the Lost Lizard Movie Night Experience
I’m an elder member of Gen Z, so my childhood featured plenty of VHS tapes and DVDs; all our home movies were taken on a VHS camcorder. Today, though, my family’s VCR player, massive box-style TVs and our physical collection of movies and shows are long gone. The home-movie cassette tapes with first birthdays, softball games and Christmas mornings exist somewhere in my parents’ home — with no way to watch them.
It’s likely been two decades since I’ve used a VCR, so I was personally excited to see how the quality of the VHS tape would hold up against streaming. To start, I rented Sleepaway Camp III, an ’80s slasher film in which serial killer Angela Baker is back for another year to terrorize campers and staff. I saw the first Sleepaway Camp earlier this year at a friend’s Summerween party and was pleased to find one of the sequels in stock. I read up on what I missed from the second chapter before popping the third installment of the series into my rented VCR.
The movie had a grainy quality, and the slight pixelated movement you only get from VHS tapes. It skipped once (only for about two seconds), but the picture quickly returned on its own. Watching an old cult classic on VHS added to the nostalgic feel … as did the unwise amount of sugar I consumed from Pop Rocks, candy cigarettes and Chicklets gum I picked up at Lost Lizard. It felt like the proper way to honor the golden age of slasher films.
Whether you’re looking for a new take on movie night, you’re a collector interested in niche film or a kid who’s never seen a movie on VHS or DVD, Lost Lizard has plenty in store for you.
Story by Rachel Windsor
About the Photographer
Sean Collier is the editor-in-chief of Shady Ave and the arts and culture editor of TABLE Magazine. Before joining the TABLE Media team, he spent nearly 15 years as a writer, editor and columnist at Pittsburgh Magazine. As the in-house film critic for the top-rated WDVE Morning Show since 2009, he’s been Pittsburgh’s most widely heard voice on movies for nearly two decades. A Pittsburgh native, Sean has since 2020 appeared weekly on KDKA-TV’s popular Pittsburgh Today Live talk show. He’s the co-founder of Vigilance Theater Group and an active stand-up comedian and event host. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter at @seancollierpgh.