Netflix All Hail Halloween: What’s Suspenseful To Watch On Streaming Services (1 Viewer)

[Todd Gilchrist]

Although there’s certainly enough real-life horror occurring in the world right now to leave us all pale and shivering, Halloween offers an opportunity to explore evil forces that are frightening but thankfully fictional (we hope) – especially on streaming services. Horror has exploded in popularity over the last decade thanks to films and filmmakers who were not content to simply follow the same formulas that others invested years before them – or to take those formulas and turn them upside down. Monsters, slashers, and spirits used to be the genre’s bread and butter, but whether inside or outside of those conventions, storytellers are terrifying viewers by adding new elements and creating new ways to leave them startled and upset.
There are of course actual horror-focused streaming services like Shudder that offer a combination of original programming, distribution acquisitions and curated older titles. And to celebrate the creepiest month of...

Continue reading...

 

[Malcolm R]

Nice list. It's one of my favorite vampire films, but I'm not sure I've ever really thought of Fright Night as a "horror comedy"? Aside from Evil Ed's wisecracks, it seems played mostly straight, IMO.

I've also had great fun with some zero-budget efforts, often filmed by a group of friends and family, that can show up on these streamers. Many of them can be real clunkers, but a few I've enjoyed include I Had a Bloody Good Time at House Harker, Coons! Night of the Bandits of the Night, and Bigfoot the Movie (2015, Dir: Jared Show).

The Bigfoot movie mostly gets points for one of the better Bigfoot costume/effects I've seen in any movie, though the script itself and the acting are pretty flat. It's also set in western Pennsylvania, so it may play better if you're from that area or familiar with some of the cadences and quirks.

 

[Ejanss]

Poltergeist II: the Other Side has joined the original (and the sloppy pack-it-up third mess) in MGM orphan status on Amazon, Netflix, and just about every darn where else--And while it's a self-indulgent "serious" straight-sequel for the screenwriter, without the sly Spielberg wit of the first one, it's got a few underappreciated creepy moments courtesy of the supremely creepy Julian Beck.

Poor wandering MGM/UA orphans have also put the classic 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake all over streaming, for those who weren't already traumatized by its freaky lost-70's paranoia during their childhoods, and Hellraiser I & II, for those who weren't around in the 80's.
Roger Corman's 60's Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe epics are also selling matches on streetcorners, and while everyone's got their favorite, IMO, they never got better than Tales of Terror on Amazon.