Smart People Go to Vidiots: A Look at a Northeast Los Angeles Community Pillar

Located at 4884 Eagle Rock Boulevard, the local indie movie theater Vidiots blinks with inviting neon signs seven days a week. Step inside, and you might feel like you’ve DeLoreaned back several decades to a time where people actually watched movies together. Vidiots initially opened in 1985 in Santa Monica as an alternative video store, one which carried thousands of often-rare DVDs, VHS tapes, and other forms of analog film. Since then, according to the organization’s website, “Vidiots thrived, growing its unique collection, and serving a far-reaching, diverse, and devoted community of film lovers. In 2012, reacting to seismic changes in the film landscape, Vidiots became a 501(c)3 non-profit. In 2017, in the wake of rising costs, Vidiots’ Board of Directors elected to store Vidiots’ 50,000-title collection, and shutter the iconic storefront with a plan to create a new, sustainable business model, and relaunch in a new location” (Vidiots). And luckily for film buffs in the greater Eagle Rock area (this author included), Vidiots was able to raise substantial money in the community and reopened in 2023 at the Eagle Theater, which contains both a larger screening room with 271 seats and an additional microcinema (a smaller screening room, also in-house). Vidiots also runs a film store next door, with tens of thousands of DVD and BluRay titles for rent, if you’re so inclined. But for most, the draw is the now-uncommon experience of taking in a new, often obscure and quirky movie with dozens of others around you, breathing the same buttery air in a space full of popcorn and history.

Jack Melnick ’26 is often one of the people behind those cushioned Vidiots double doors. Melnick, who was introduced to Vidiots in the past year by a classmate, is a regular at the theater “a couple of times a month,” usually attending heartfelt comedies (The Breakfast Club, Almost Famous) or checking out a more recently discovered passion: foreign films. Melnick said, “I've seen City of God, which is another foreign Brazilian film and actually, at Vidiots, I've seen a lot of foreign films in different languages…it takes a lot of energy to read the subtitles and watch the movie, but I've enjoyed it.” But Melnick will happily go to Vidiots to enjoy movies in English as well, recounting a recent experience: “I saw this movie called Dude Bro Party Massacre III. And it's a comedic slasher film, very over the top, low budget, and the whole cast was there, as well as the director. And I didn't realize until after, but it was a big event. And it was just a special time there, and the crowd went wild.” 

Such events are surprisingly frequent at Vidiots, with directors, actors, producers, and others often making a special appearance to discuss their seminal films and engaging in Q&As with the audience. (This author has experienced two such events, firstly at a showing of Heathers that offered an additional, no-cost panel with director Michael Lehmann and screenwriter Daniel Waters; and secondly, an introduction by co-screenwriter Lilly Wachowski to her 2005 film V for Vendetta.) Melnick asserted that this kind of viewing experience is only accessible in Los Angeles: “Like, there's no other city where you can go to a movie and see the cast.” And as for the general Sequoyah community, Melnick had an important message to relay: “They have to go to Vidiots. It's not an option. They have to go, and it will actually change their moviegoing experience.” 

Liliana Abraham ’29 is an Eagle Rock local who lives “literally one street away from Vidiots.” She added, “When I go there, I enjoy the experience. But when it comes to living near Vidiots, it's a little bit interesting, because there is not a parking lot at Vidiots, so people will park on my street to go to movie premieres. And sometimes it gets a little loud at night.” She suggested that Vidiots look into renting the mostly-unoccupied parking lot from a nearby church in order to make the lives of both neighbors and customers easier. But she’s also frequently witnessed unexpected celebrity sightings at this underground movie hub, including the indie rock band boygenius and the Wednesday star Jenna Ortega; she views these experiences as a perk of living so close to the theater. And Abraham cites the community at Vidiots as another positive aspect of the viewing experience: “It's more community centered [than a mall theater]… If you want to bring your kids, and if you or your kid have any issues with noise, I think it's a lot easier and more excusable to leave. Or if, you know, you have a crying baby, people are gonna be chiller with that.” (Intrigued by Abraham’s point, this author researched the accommodations offered by Vidiots, and found that both physical and sensory accommodations are available through the theater, including but not limited to wheelchair seating in the macro- and microcinema, as well as devices for closed captioning and assisted listening for customer use.) And as for who you might see at a screening, according to Abahram, “there are tons of hipster parents with their hipster kids draped in little linen outfits from some small business… all the dang hipsters, they’re all at Vidiots.” 

At a recent screening of Ben Stiller’s 2001 comedy Zoolander, The Barefoot Times interviewed multiple customers who were happy to wax poetic about their favorite theater. If you ask one of them, he’ll tell you: “It [Vidiots] has everything. You can see any movie here that’s being newly released in bigger theaters, you might just have to wait a little longer. And there are so many obscure, crappy cult films that a very specific niche of LA cinephiles will show up for.” The second customer described the overall benefits of seeing tense psychodramas such as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs at Vidiots: “I like watching thrillers at a movie theater with other people, because when there’s a jump scare, I’m around other people who are also terrified out of their minds. I won’t watch thrillers at home, because I get too freaked out and then I can’t fall asleep. But it’s better at Vidiots.” Both interviewees also mentioned the work Vidiots does to engage with the wider Eagle Rock community, including an initiative after the Eaton Fires that involved 25 free screenings of beloved films (free popcorn and drinks also included) and the organization’s partnership with local liberal arts school Occidental College, in which film students can engage in Q&A with screenwriters and directors hosted at the Eagle Theater. When asked for their final thoughts, one patron recommended Vidiots as a good first date location—“I’ve gone on multiple first dates here. Did any of them go well? Maybe not, because I keep going on first dates.” But the movies are apparently worth it.

Those interested in exploring Vidiots for themselves can check out the list of upcoming films here. You’ll likely find this author at a few of them, crunching popcorn kernels and laughing at one or another Rob Reiner movie (may he rest in peace). To paraphrase guitarist Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap in the titular Reiner mockumentary, Vidiots turns the moviegoing experience up to eleven.