PEACE, LOVE & VIDEO TAPES. The Beyond is Eau Claire's resident video rental and retail spot, boasting mounds of VHS tapes, DVDs and BluRays, plus books, zines, art and more. After two years, it's clear there's a local market for the weird and old-school. 

“Not even close,” Adam Stiglich said when I asked if The Beyond, his oddity and VHS and DVD shop on North Dewey Street, was nearly complete. “I mean, I would say I’m, like, 65 (percent) there. Maybe 70.”

As an frequent patron of the shop, this answer surprised me, given the transformation The Beyond (218 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire) has undergone since its opening about two years back. 

Then, the foundation was laid (and remains in-tact today): blacked-out walls and flooring serve as the contrasting backgrounds against kooky or creepy-cool artwork, horror books and local zines, and of course, VHS tapes, DVD and BluRay movies. But there was less stock to peruse, for sure.

Now, though, there are multiple aisles of flicks to shop; tilting your head just so, to read the titles of each one. Horror films are on one of the first shelves seen when people enter The Beyond, but Stiglich carries every kind of film under the sun – spanning old Pixar and Disney movies to thrillers, sci-fi, rom-com, noir, drama, super niche or random tapes, etc.

I think (the resurgence of interest in physical media) is a culmination of things; not just in movies, but art in general. I think a lot of places – bigger places – feel super stale or boring. You go into those stores and it feels like you're going to the doctor's office. It's sterile. –Adam Stiglich, owner of The Beyond

Take my boyfriend and I’s haul from last week, for instance. We walked away with a couple piles of VHS movies ($1-$5 pricing makes 'em hard to pass on), some we’d been on the hunt for and others that were pleasant surprises we, as individuals, couldn’t pass on: Shrek 2, It’s a Wonderful Life, Mulan, The Day After Tomorrow, Do The Right Thing, Scooby-Doo: The Movie, Excalibur, Blair Witch Project among them.

While the markets he used to frequent are not part of his routine anymore, Adam says he still gets new tapes through trades with people – feel free to bring your own movies into The Beyond for the potential cash or movie trade – and still has a ton of his own stuff to put out yet.

There’s even an aisle for rentals, which just makes my inner child geek out with joy (RIP Family Video and Blockbuster). Still, after two years, there’s no specific movie genre or item that serves as the “top seller” or main draw for The Beyond.

“It’s a lot of regulars but there’s new people that find (The Beyond) all the time,” Adam said of the foot traffic to his brick-and-mortar store.

That may be partially due the exterior of the shop, which looks like a house, or the first bit of business when The Beyond didn’t have outdoor signage, he said.

“I think (the resurgence of interest in physical media) is a culmination of things,” Adam started, while a family decked out in Fourth of July-themed clothes walked into the shop, whom he greeted.

“Not just of (re-interest in) movies, but art in general,” he continued. “I think a lot of places – bigger places – feel super stale or boring. You go into those stores and it feels like you’re going to the doctor’s office; it’s sterile.”

The one thing The Beyond certainly is not, is stale. Weird, sure. Eclectic, yeah. Creepy? Maybe, if you’re not comfy around the occasional taxidermy display.

In the near-ish future, some of the shelving along the far left side of the shop – which currently holds some arts and oddity pieces up for sale, plus an old TV that's always playing a DVD – will be replaced by full display cases.

In them, folks can expect to find way more art and oddities, like bones and taxidermy, Adam said.

While I haven’t weaseled my way upstairs or into the basement of The Beyond, where Adam says an explosion of more movies is currently residing, The Beyond consistently puts out more product – mainly VHS tapes.

Swing by soon to find some new-to-you thing, be it books, flicks or art. And if you find Spiderman (2002) on VHS, don’t buy it, just let me know so I can finally get my paws on it.

Keep up with The Beyond (218 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire) on Instagram to see the latest VHS tape drops and more. Current operating hours are 11am-7pm on Monday; 11am-7pm, Thursday-Saturday; 1-5pm on Sunday.