In October, I counted down to Halloween by writing up one (or more) horror movies per day that were available on Netflix Instant Watch. Here’s a rundown of everything I watched:
This was a chance for me to watch a ton of obscure horror movies I never would have taken a look at before, and here are the top ten discoveries I made, all waiting for you on Netflix Instant Watch.
INITIATION OF SARAH – this mash-up of Carrie, a sorority girls movie, and a Satanic panic cult film might just be the greatest made-for-TV movie ever made. Plus: Shelley Winters! (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
HAUNTING OF JULIA – understated and chilling, this gloomy, beautifully-crafted ghost story (based on Peter Straub’s Julia) stars Mia Farrow and is one of the great lost horror movies of the 70′s. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
BAY OF BLOOD – if you haven’t seen Mario Bava’s proto-slasher film you’re in for a treat. Still getting ripped off decades later, this is what you’d get if Robert Altman directed one of Hammer’s gothic horror movies with super-gory special effects by Tom Savini. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM – the anthology film is a horror movie staple (and don’t miss Tales from the Hood) but this one stands out because of its filthy-minded nastiness (the first segment alone involves more necrophilia and queasy near-incest than most entire movies) and because it’s all set in the same Tennessee town, giving everything a thick coating of Southern sleaze. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
THE BABY – the tale of a grown man treated like a baby by his sadistic mom and sisters, this is the kind of movie that you will not believe someone actually made. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
AND SOON THE DARKNESS – this slow burn thriller feels like something Hitchcock might have directed while vacationing in Southern France. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
ULTRAVIOLET – this six-part British TV series is the best take on vampires since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, only deadly serious where Buffy is really funny. The fact that it also stars Idris Elba doesn’t hurt. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
THEATER OF BLOOD – if ever there was a perfect Vincent Price horror vehicle, this is it. A fabulously bloody, devilishly smart, black comedy showcase for horror’s most iconic actor. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
MONKEY SHINES – I had never seen this before but the finale left my jaw on the floor, and that doesn’t happen very often. George Romero brought his A-game to this character-driven horror movie about a paraplegic versus his homicidal helper monkey. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
DEAD HEAT – if you want a truly trashy, 80′s fabulous horror schlock-fest on Netflix Instant then there are really only two choices. One is Klaus Kinski’s bizarre Crawlspace, and the other is this Treat Williams/Joe Piscopo buddy cop movie in which they take on zombies. I’m giving the advantage to Dead Heat because it is endlessly inventive, always upping the ante in every scene, and it features a cameo from Vincent Price. Also, a reanimated liver attacks Treat Williams’s face. (Read my blurb! Watch it!)
