Friday, October 21, 2016

I Stream, You Stream Vol. 6

by Patrick Bromley
As we gear up for the last full week of #ScaryMovieMonth, here are some more horror recommendations to stream into your eye holes.

Curse of Chucky (2013, dir. Don Mancini) I've been revisiting several entries in the Child's Play franchise this week (no reason), and though I haven't worked my way back to this one yet I remember thinking it was decent when I watched it upon its DVD release a few years ago. It's definitely a different approach to a Child's Play movie (in fact, it probably doesn't need to be a Child's Play movie at all), but I seem to recall digging the whole moody gothic mansion approach to the story. Fiona Dourif is really great as the protagonist, too. Just turn it off when the credits start so you miss that nonsensical coda. (Watch on Netflix)
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990, dir. John Harrison) I mean, Adam Riske literally just told you to watch this. If you haven't yet seen it, you have no excuse. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
A Blade in the Dark (1983, dir. Lamberto Bava) Typically crazy '80s giallo in which a film composer (Andrea Occhipinti) investigates a series of murders that -- surprise! -- have a psychosexual component. Lamberto Bava can be spotty as a director but is generally underrated, I think, and this is one of his better films that doesn't get mentioned as much as Shock or Demons. Even if you're not a fan of Italian horror, A Blade in the Dark is pretty accessible. (Watch on Shudder)
Trophy Heads (2013, dir. Charles Band) I was a fan of this project when it first premiered as a five-part series on Full Moon Streaming in 2014 -- the first original programming offered exclusively by the streaming service. It was later edited together into a full feature that feels cheap and often uneven but which is genuinely funny at times, particularly if you're a fan of Full Moon and Empire pictures and can appreciate all of the inside jokes at the expense of some of the biggest B-movie stars of the '80s and '90s. (Watch on Full Moon Streaming)
Deadgirl (2009, dir. Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel) This is one of those horror movies that really polarizes audiences who can't tell the difference between a movie that depicts behavior and a movie that endorses behavior. Two friends (Noah Segan and Shiloh Fernandez) find a female zombie and decide to tie her up, torture her and have sex with her. Get it? They're the monsters. Of course you get it. You're reading this site so you're not a reactionary simpleton. Just because you understand what the movie is getting at doesn't mean you have to like it -- that's still a matter of taste -- but at least you can take it or leave it on its actual terms. I think there's enough going for the movie (written by Trent Haaga, formerly of Troma) that it's worth a recommendation. I respect a horror movie that wants to challenge us and make us uncomfortable. (Watch on Hulu)

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the recommendations. If I found a "deadgirl" I would have sex with her, and THEN torture her....but that's just me.

    "I've been revisiting several entries in the Child's Play franchise"...you don't say....

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  2. Even with the Troma connection (shudder), I'm sold on "Deadgirl." It's one of the few horror movies streaming on Hulu that's unrated. Lots of potentially good horror flicks on Hulu are rated 'R' ("Intruder," "The Prowler," etc.), which depending on context could be a deal breaker.

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