If there’s one thing we love, it’s cocktails. We love drinking them, we love talking about them, we love selling them to you. But we also love Halloween. And movies. But until recently, we’d never quite put our finger on the perfect way to celebrate all three (3) of these wonderful things simultaneously.
Enter Videodrome. Atlanta’s iconic video store opened in 1998, eventually outlasting local competition, Blockbusters, grocery stores, and more. It’s an absolute gem, a local institution that Atlanta magazine once described as “an oasis for film buffs and the occasional visiting celebrity who are suckers for special features, director’s cuts, or not letting Netflix’s algorithms ration out their media diets.”
Because the Videodrome staff is as helpful and kind as they are hip and knowledgeable, we asked them to help us pair some spooky movies with our cocktails. The result is something worth watching—and drinking. Cheers!
Old Fashioned
Atmospheric psychological horror that slowly creeps and crawls into the viewer's subconscious. Brimming with paranoia, madness, and dread, this adaptation of Henry James’ novel Turn of the Screw is classic, old-fashioned horror at its finest.
Manhattan
Hybrid film noir/horror from master of low budget “terror” films, Val Lewton (CAT PEOPLE, CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE). A young woman’s search for her missing sister eventually crosses paths with a satanic cult that gathers in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village for—you guessed it—cocktails.
Negroni
A series of murders in Europe’s high fashion modeling industry sets off this groundbreaking Mario Bava Giallo film that features some of the reddest reds ever used in cinema. A landmark film, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE oozes style, pioneering an entire wave of 1970s and ‘80s Italian genre films.
Daiquiri
A killer cat infected by a mutant virus terrorizes a group of teens in this ridiculously campy ‘80s horror film that primarily takes place aboard a luxury yacht bound for the Cayman Islands. Invite friends over and crack open a few Daiquiris for this one, because it’s much better viewed with a crowd and a bit of the sauce.
Margarita
Bonkers Mexican horror film that channels Jodorowsky, Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS, and THE EXORCIST. Imaginative sets and wall-to-wall screaming pace this surreally sacrilegious piece of, ahem, “nun-sploitation.” It features demonic possession, torture, and lots of blood. Probably not for everyone, but the bold are in for a treat.
Bee's Knees
Bees, bees, bees. Bees!
The Finer Things is an unsolicited recommendations series brought to you by Tip Top’s team and friends. Be sure to visit Videodrome the next time you’re in Atlanta. Tell ‘em Tip Top sent you.
