Column: Netflix Horror
Staff: Eric Havens |
May not be suitable for younger readers. |
Description: Join Eric as he helps you pluck horror films from Netflix that are actually worth watching. With so many selections you could waste hours of time sorting through all of your options. Check out Haven's review before you push the play button. All films below can be found through Netflix streaming. Ratings are based on a 1 - 5 creepy kid scale.
|
| |
|
 |
The Horde
A renegade group of police officers storm a building controlled by a crime syndicate in order to dole out an especially violent breed of justice. The first twenty minutes or so fits that trope nearly shot for shot, but then something strange happens: a zombie film breaks out. |
| |
|
 |
Lisa and the Devil
Lisa and the Devil isn't quite a masterpiece in horror itself. It's meandering, confusing, and a bit hokey enough that it can't be called a complete success. It is, though, an interesting film with moments of true horror and thematic elements that give the film the feeling it deserves to exist. |
| |
|
 |
The Hole
The style of Dante on display in The Hole shouldn't really be a surprise considering his pedigree. This is the man who made the original "Piranha" with Roger Corman and "Gremlins" with Steven Spielberg. |
| |
|
 |
Prince of Darkness
How do you follow up a directing career that includes "Halloween", "The Fog", and "The Thing"? You follow it up with a quantum physics investigation of Satan, obviously. |
| |
|
 |
Nude For Satan
Released in 1974, Nude for Satan, written and directed by Luigi Batzella, was an attempt to cash in on the booming Italian Giallo movement. Unlike Argento or Bava, however, Batzella was intent on adding the one thing that was sorely missing from Giallo; lots and lots of exposed jiggly parts. |
| |
|
 |
Lake Mungo
Lake Mungo, written and directed by Joel Anderson, sets itself up as a documentary about a family dealing with the loss of their teen daughter and the events this loss leads to. |
| |
|
 |
Session 9
Anderson has continually shown skill in creating and utilizing the set pieces of his film to not only supplement the emotion of the movie, but to sometimes elevate a standard, borderline sloppy script into an effective experience. |
| |
|
 |
Tale of Two Sisters
Like its Asian peers, A Tale of Two Sisters doesn’t depend on anything as overt as a hulking killer preying on young women. Instead it takes time ambling through dark and creepy atmosphere, always waiting for what is in the shadows to make an appearance. |
| |
|
 |
The House of the Devil
The House of the Devil follows Samantha(Jocelin Donahue) as she tries to find the money to escape her dorm room, and her roommate, and procure her own apartment. This leads to an ominous babysitting job that may or may not be devil related. |
| |
|
 |
Dead Snow
Dead Snow knows that you’ve seen this movie before and instead of rehashing everything with a blind seriousness it takes its time winking to the audience. Basically stopping to say, “I know you’ve seen this, but isn’t it a hell of a lot of fun?” And in the case of Dead Snow, it really is. |
| |
|
 |
Peeping Tom
The major difference between Peeping Tom and the modern slasher is it doesn’t shy away from explaining the monster. There is no mask, there are no shadowy motivations. He is a damaged man, nothing more. |
| |
|
 |
Audition
What makes Audition so unique, and fantastic, is the time it takes to develop the characters and the story. There is no argument that this film would fall under the “slow burn” category. It’s safe to say that any scenes that could be considered horrific don’t happen until the final third of the movie. |
| |
|
 |
Bubba Ho-Tep
Bubba Ho-Tep tells the story of an aged Elvis Presley(Bruce Campbell) who, despite popular belief, is alive and well, residing in a Texas retirement home. He finds an unlikely bond with a fellow resident, John F. Kennedy(Ossie Davis), who is also alive and now a black man. |
| |
|
 |
Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, explores the history of Roger Corman’s cinematic career, which included introducing the world to Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Peter Bogdanovich, William Shatner, and Ron Howard. |
| |
|
 |
Grave Encounters
The movie begins with the obligatory introduction of the “actual found footage” of a television crew that is producing a television show, Grave Encounters: a show that is more than a little similar to Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State and their ilk.
|
| |
|
 |
Humanoids from the Deep
Humanoids from the Deep tells the story of what happens when you try to manipulate nature with genetic experimentation. Think of it as Jurassic Park with salmon, and humanoids. |
| |
|
 |
The Woman
You either love Lucky McKee’s movies or you haven’t seen Lucky McKee’s movies. From May to The Woman, today’s Netflix Instant pick, he continues to not only make quality horror movies, but manages to reinvent the genre into a sometimes comedic, but always shocking exploration of the human condition. |
| |
|
 |
Deep Red
Deep Red is the first of its kind in many ways. Firstly, and probably most noticeably, is the influence it has on the visual style and themes of the slasher movies that were released a few years later in the United States. |
| |
|
|
