The Gorehound's Playground features art at its finest and most free!

 

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ABOUT

The Gorehound's Playground is the premier retail store and community dedicated to turning the people of the world on to obscure cult classic movies; particularly thriller and horror.  Currently focused on Northern Colorado in beautiful Fort Collins, it carries a massive collection of titles, collectibles, comics, art and more, while also featuring a theater space for fun, unusual events, games, gatherings, and screenings every week!  Check out the event and now showing calendar, or just stop in to experience all the counterculture weirdness in store for you.

 

There is also a sponsored artist and filmmaker group for those interested in creating, sharing, and just participating in crafting the next wave of social artistic movements from every angle and perspective.  Got a "strange" idea?  They'd love to hear it, even broadcast it through our social media channels such as the podcast and blog.  Build a set, make a craft, draw a comic book, create a costume/fursuit, draft that script, become an actor, shoot that scene, compose that score, edit those clips, speak your mind, and hone your skills with others.  The more subversive and unexpected the better!  You might even end up featured in our future ongoing artistic festival (stay tuned)

 

History (The Lore)

 

Do you love Halloween?  Because The Gorehound's Playground was fittingly founded on Halloween of 2017. The concept was borne out of the owner, Jeff's, general love for cinema, specifically his obsession with the horror genre, and his desire to turn people on to obscure cult classic movies.  Of course, only the best!

 

The Past

 

As Jeff writes, "As a teenage punk rocker growing up in Northern Colorado in the '80s, my friends and I wanted to immerse ourselves in the underground counterculture. We quickly realized that what we were seeking only existed outside of Northern Colorado.

 

"If we wanted a dose of culture the only option we had available to us was driving south to Boulder or Denver so we could shop at retail stores, and attend concerts or movies. We did have the luxury of a couple live music venues and a theater that showed midnight movies in Fort Collins, but if we wanted to see big-name artists or bizarre cult classic movies in a theater we had to travel a bit."

 

There just has to be a better way!

 

The Present

 

Fast forward a few decades, and now we have a fantastic amateur and professional music scene here and a growing indie film scene as well. There are several businesses that cater to the art scene in Fort Collins but none solely dedicated to the counterculture and the horror community. 

 

Not only is the exhibition side of the independent film industry growing in Northern Colorado; there are several filmmakers looking to start a networking web of influence here as well. That is where we come in. 

 

On top of providing quality artistic products to the world at large in many genres, we are creating an actual living, working community for all of the artists within the counterculture scene. This is a community that is currently thriving and growing because of its internal support, motivation, and encouragement for all local artists.

 

The Gorehound's Playground provides a supportive environment along with a facility where the loyal, dedicated fans of Horror, Sci-Fi and Cult Classic genres can shop for unique retail items, buy and sell their art or collectibles, watch movies, network and socialize. 

 

The Future

 

We want to thank you for the outpouring of support; both from the horror scene and independent artists as well as our dedicated customers and superfans. As we continue to grow more products and services are added in response to the requests of our customers and the needs of independent artists in our community.  You have a voice, and together we can make this a fantastic year for the scene!

 

 

The Owner (Jeff)

 

Jeff Abbott retired from a thirty-four-year career in the hospitality industry to pursue one of his greater passions: sharing great, often overlooked, art with others. As a life long collector of movies, music, comics, and more Jeff has always loved sharing new, quirky, wonderful stuff with people. 

 

"My goal with this project is to turn people on to new things they may have never heard of before. To give people who share the same passion for the counterculture a place to hang out and meet new friends.

 

"There is something else that has been deeply satisfying since making the decision to follow this dream. That is being able to help independent artists make a name for themselves by making their products and services available to the public."

 

Mission

 

The Gorehound's Playground's mission is to provide our customers with an alternative source of multimedia products, collectibles, home decor, and apparel items all based on counterculture themes. This is accomplished by:

 
 
 

01/

Product Reinvestment

Continuing to reinvest in ourselves by acquiring new products every month.

03/

Comprehensiveness

Striving to fill the holes in our rental collection so we can have a complete, comprehensive horror library.

02/

Upkeeping Rental Library

Adding movies to our rental section on a regular basis keeping up on new releases from the indie film community and Hollywood.

04/

Artist Consignments

Providing space within the retail store and the theater for artists to sell their creations.  We only ask for a small consignment fee; we also ask that you help by cross-promoting The Gorehound's Playground on your website or social media profile.

Core Values

 

The Gorehound's Playground, as well as the artist and filmmakers network, hold and share a number of core values, including:

 

01/

High-Quality Retail and Event Experience

The Gorehound's Playground strives to be the best it can with care, products, and service for the counterculture, and wider, scene of Northern Colorado.  It is open to suggestion, comment, and new ideas and constantly evolves to meet the needs and interests of its great fans.  From the best and most obscure movies to the ultimate in pop culture and collectibles and fanfare, the store aims to deliver.

03/

Artistic Exploration, Quality, and Sharing

I think we can all agree there are non-mainstream creative works out there of every genre imaginable (sometimes genre-defining) that are just priceless, whether incredibly hilariously bad or top-notch, that everyone should just see!  Even in genres that are terribly stereotypical, there's always that one that just gets it perfect, breaks the mold, or just goes that weird extra step and we love them.  Think zombie films set to upbeat seventies jazz music, random werewolf lesbian pornos, bizarre genetic animalistic ubermensch martial-artists with mommy issues, heart-string pulling feature-length animations, aliens gathering humans as fast food delicacies, or just straight up Frankenhookers, and you got it.  The Gorehound's Playground is here to share these beautiful nightmarish visions with everyone and enrich their lives.

02/

Freedom With Inclusivity

The Gorehound's Playground is a place where everyone from all walks of life can peruse, hang, and express themselves.  Since it is a place for the strange, some expressions may be odd and there is potential for disagreement, but not hostility.  Toxicity, darkness, and dysfunction don't have a place except in the art itself.

04/

Diverse Community Involvement and Collaboration

The Gorehound's Playground is about personal physical social interactions such as playing games, watching movies, enjoying art, hanging out, and discussing projects/dreams.  The internet is great, but perhaps you might stop hiding out in your living room from society and make an entrance into an understanding space with others.

 

Grindhouse Theater and Event Space

 

The theater exists to build a community around what we are doing. In fact, a portion of the ticket sales is donated on a regular basis to help various social awareness programs in our community. The theater is open to any amateur filmmaker who would like to screen their movie to the public, and we work to help independent filmmakers by selling physical copies of their movies and merchandise along with showing the films to a paying audience. The ticket sales for all indie films are given directly to the filmmakers themselves, reinvested into other indie crowdfunding campaigns, or in some cases donated to a charity organization. The grindhouse theater also doubles as a networking hub, as a good grindhouse does; being a social space that you can use to meet other filmmakers in our community, organize projects, and help each other with specialized skills and services.

 

This web of influence is not just limited to the Northern Colorado area. We welcome anyone from around the country or around the world to contribute any insight or wisdom that may help inform and inspire young filmmakers.

 

Products and Services

Want to know what you might expect to find in the store? We offer an array of retail products that specifically appeal to consumers who identify with the counterculture underground.  Our retail store sells primarily horror themed merchandise.  There is also a great selection of sci-fi and cult classic items as well. The Gorehound's Playground offers a wide array of products and services including:

 

Movies

 

We currently have and list new & used DVDs and Blu-rays from the following companies: Arrow, Blue Underground, Mondo Macabro, Hammer, Redemption, Severin, Synapse, Troma, Vinegar Syndrome, and many more!  Be sure to check out the Criterion collection as well.

 

Movie Posters

 

We feature 24" x 36" rolled posters, 11" x 17" posters, and full-sized framed movie posters.

 

Art Prints

 

There are matted prints, framed prints, and original art from independent and established artists.

 

T-Shirts and Apparel

 

We have an exclusive line of Gorehound's Playground prints along with several other selections to choose from.  In the future, keep your eye out for potential pet apparel for your furry little friends!

 

Collectibles

 

Of course, there are statues, busts, figurines, and prop replicas... did you expect any less?

 

Games

 

Magic: The Gathering, Fluxx, Munchkin, Gloom, to highlight some card games.  There are also many various full-on board games such as Eldritch Horror, Runewars, Pandemic, Elder Sign, Runebound, Firefly, Guildhall, Epic Kingdoms, VS System, Star Wars: The Card Game, Smallworld, Legendary and DC Comics Deck Building Card Game, and more.

 

Toys

 

There is Pop Vinyl, and a substantive action figurine collection as well.

 

Comics

 

Obviously, there are unrated independent horror comics, and currently, there is also a large back catalog of quite old and collectible superhero and other comics from Marvel, DC, and more.

 

Small Swag

 

We're talking magnets, stickers, patches, buttons, key chains, and everything you could want.

 

Services

 

The Gorehound's Playground offers several services that will appeal to local artists, musicians, filmmakers and definitely film buffs.  These include:

 

Consignment Services

 

The store sells art, music, and merchandise from local artists for a small consignment fee of 20%.  This helps The Gorehound's Playground cover the monthly operational costs, labor, and sales tax.

 

Educational Classes & Groups

 

Have a skill or knowledge you wish to share with like-minded individuals?  The theater and networking group provides a space and audience respectively for you to showcase your skills and talents.

 

Event Space (Theater) Rentals

 

Want to host a birthday party, special event, or ongoing meeting?  The theater is available to book for any private function you wish to host.  Set a meeting with Jeff to discuss the options available and the cost of this service.

 

Rentals

 

The Gorehound's Playground rents from the entire collection of titles.  Want to rent a title from our new selections?  Jeff will open any title in the inventory with a refundable cash deposit covering the difference between the rental cost and the price of the new movie.  If you take it home and decide you want to keep it, call us and the movie is yours!  Don't want to keep it?  Bring it back, receive your deposit, and voila, a new title for our rental section.

 

Rental Prices

 

Catalog Titles: 1 Night - $2.99 / 3 Nights - $3.99

New Titles: 1 Night - #3.49 / 3 Nights - $4.49

 

What You Need

 

We require a credit card and a valid Driver's License to begin an account.  Did you have a Village Vidiot account? You are already in our system! Yay!

 

Returns

 

Please return movies during business hours: 12 PM - 9 PM Monday - Thursday, 12 PM - 10 PM Friday - Saturday, and 12 PM - 5 PM on Sunday.  The drop box is located on our southern door.  Re-rental Fee: you will be charged $1 / day after the due date.

 

Thank You!

We hope this answered any and all of your questions, but if for some reason you're left wanting more info or want to drop a suggestion/comment then head on over to the Contact Form page and fire away keyboard warrior!

 

Until next time, same goreshow, same gorechannel...