The Tape Escape

Outside the March gives QUEEN VIDEO a re-birth with an immersive escape room experience that invites you to PUT YOUR LIFE ON PAUSE.

Most video stores let you take the movies home. But at THE TAPE ESCAPE, the rentals happen to you, pulling you deep inside its collection of thousands of VHS Tapes. Disappear back into 1999 with this love-letter to the lost art of browsing. See if you can escape into (and out of) some of your favourite movies by selecting from our collection of “in store rentals”.

The Tape Escape has gone the way of the VHS… we’re closed for now!

THREE IN-STORE RENTALS TO CHOOSE FROM:

Love Without Late Fees
Six Tapes to Find the One

More than just a video store, The Tape Escape runs its own matchmaking service—pairing up movie-lovers in its customer date-a-base. Two single renters jumpstart their relationship by sharing six video rentals. Because, as we all know, watching the right movie, at the right time, can ensure that ride off into the sunset. So many tapes to choose from, so many possible futures. Can you rent your way to happily ever after?

Capacity: 8 customers.

Rent this if you like: When Harry Met Sally, Sliding Doors, Run Lola Run

 *Rated BN for Branching Narrative

A Grown-Up’s Guide to Flying
Second shelf on the right and straight on ‘til morning

Every year Gene’s older brother Kelly plans a special birthday treasure hunt for her in The Tape Escape – her favourite place. But Gene’s experience of the world is changing, and her 9th birthday calls for a different kind of present. Created in collaboration with blind artist Devon Healey, this rental experience explores how we experience movies – and each other – when our sighted experience changes. To read more about Devon’s work, check out this interview. For more information about accessibility, scroll down to our FAQ below. 

Capacity: 4 customers.

Rent this if you like: Hook, Scent of a Woman, Singing in the Rain

 *RATED X for Marks the Spot

Yesterday’s Heroes
Embark into What Was

Some say that physical objects have a better memory than a hard drive. Buried somewhere inside the walls of The Tape Escape, a whispering voice calls out to you again and again. Venture on a quest through shelves overflowing with stories, to find the one that can’t be recorded over. There’s something deeper in store, but you might have to uproot the past to unlock the future.

Capacity: 5 customers.

Rent this if you like: Groundhog Day, Fern Gully, 12 Monkeys.

 *Rated DV for Deja Vu

*This project received development workshops and public showings in 2017 and 2018 in partnership with The Kick and Push Festival in Kingston, Ontario.