It’s a Little Shop of Horrors and Campiness : Unearthing Words and Images Fit for Alien Consumption

For Ana Dahlen, life is a never-ending treasure hunt. As the owner of Unearthly Videos and Books in Long Beach, Dahlen spends much of her free time searching high and low for hard-to-find science fiction and horror videos, books and memorabilia.

“I go everywhere ,” she says with a look of feigned exhaustion. “I go to garage sales; I go to other video stores (looking for rare videos), I go to library sales up and down the Coast.”

Dahlen’s diligence has paid off. Though her tiny shop is only a fraction of the size of a Blockbuster store, she’s managed to squeeze together a fairly impressive collection of about 1,400 mostly rare horror and science fiction videos for rent and about 2,000 similarly themed books. In addition, she has for sale a number of collectible items such as a “Star Wars” plastic model space ship and a rare alien anatomy manual from the original “Star Trek” TV series.

When it comes to these cinematic genres, the former structural planner for the Lockheed Corp. seems to have something to satisfy just about every possible taste. Looking for a camp classic? She’s got “Queen of Outer Space,” a ‘50s sci-fi doozy in which Zsa Zsa Gabor plays a man-starved Venusian. Want Japanese cyberpunk? Try “Tetsuo: The Iron Man.” In the mood for a terrifying, modern-day vampire movie? Take a peak at the bloodcurdling “Near Dark.”

“Each customer seems to have a different video that excites them the most,” says Dahlen, who opened Unearthly Videos and Books about 1 1/2 years ago. “It’s an individual thing. There are people who come here who love incredibly bad B movies. It’s like the worse the better. Some want only special effects. Other people want older campy films like ‘The Brain From Planet Arous.’ ”

Dahlen seems most proud of her display of used science fiction and horror paperbacks and hardbacks. Among the books for sale are a number of valuable first editions and complete book series by such authors as science fiction-fantasy writer Robert Adams and horror scribe Piers Anthony.

The decision to deal in books as well as videos was easy for Dahlen.

“Selling the books is what I really enjoy doing,” she says. “It’s just more rewarding to me, because I don’t think there is anything you can put on a screen that can match an individual’s imagination. There isn’t anything more exciting than reading a book and allowing your imagination to just soar.”

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Unearthly Videos and Books is at 210 Orange Ave., Long Beach, (310) 437-3317. Store hours are Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m.; Monday and Thursday through Saturday, noon to 8.