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An investigation into horror offers on broadcast platforms.
By Elisabeth Vincentelli
While others escape in wonderful adventure films and romantic comedies, others prefer the cathartic outing of imaginary terror. Terror has thrived on our screens since the age of silence, and has adapted to times and the public, and modes of distribution, from ghostly stories told by candlelight to graphic gore transmitted on a tablet.
Here’s a look at the horror deals of major streaming services. (Note that, with the exception of streaming originals, titles are based on a continuous basis and would possibly appear or disappear overnight.)
Amazon Prime subscribers have a bulge at their fingertips. You can easily find, for example, recent favorites such as Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” remake and Ari Aster’s “Hereditary” and “Midsommar”.
But genuine pleasures have deepened. Oh, the scary blows: from the “Nosferatu” silencer (it still works) to Roman Polanski “or not?” the classic “Rosemary’s Baby” and the underrated B-movie “The Crazies”, in which Timothy Olyphant fights the hordes holding a zombie. Pure abundance can be overwhelming, but interest is rewarded.
And more to come: Amazon recently announced an eight-film co-production agreement with Blumhouse Productions, the “Insidious” and “Get Out” corporations.
HBO Max’s small horror strain is well organized, meaning you may not have to search through dozens of horrible titles to find gold nuggets. For completeists who like to devour franchises, the platform’s catalog reads like a twisted awning of “The 12 Days of Christmas”: the first 4 thrillers from “Alien”, the first two refrigerators from “Hostel”, 4 observations from “Shark”, five Premieres of “Nightmare on Elm Street”, seven “Leprechaun” films in full swing, 8 videos of “Godzilla” old flooring.
Want to catch up on influential classics? HBO has David Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” and Georges Franju’s “Eyes Without a Face,” whose effect has not been reduced 60 years after its release. Overall, this platform will give horror beginners a forged base, while complex scholars will find many videos (and series like “Lovecraft Country”) to sting.
Hulu doesn’t have a massive horror catalog and focuses basically on recent releases. However, the platform is a haven for the public who needs to be afraid but does not have the abdomen for ultraviolence or who prefers art-house styles: think of “A Quiet Place”, “The Cabin in the Woods”, the heartbreaking “The Nightingale’ or the provocative’ Hellraiser’ (from 1987, which qualifies as an antiquity in Hulu). It is worth adding to your tail two tricks subtitled in the main subgenres: the Swede “Let the Right One In” (vampires) and the Vietnamese “The Housemaid”.
Finally, Hulu broadcasts the seasons of “American Horror Story”, unlike the 8 seasons of Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The streaming monster doesn’t have the most prominent horror movies; there are many horror movies, no more than 10 or 15 years old. Notable titles come with “The Witch”, “Sinister” and influential figures such as “Poltergeist”, “Candyman” and “Paranormal Activity”.
Netflix has also brought valuable originals such as the cult favorite “The Platform”, a very dark Spanish sci-fi allegory that will make you think twice before dining your next meal; the French Canadian “Ravenous”, a superlative interpretation of the zombie apocalypse; and Stephen King’s adaptation of “Gerald’s Game,” directed through a brilliant Carla Gugino. (Other King adaptations on Netflix come with “1922,” the 2002 remake of “Carrie” and the animated series through “The Mist”).
Finally, Netflix has also delivered two series that well value a look: the subtly ghostly “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Black Summer”, a rendition of the zombie epidemic genre. (“Stranger Things” includes horror elements, but it’s more of a sci-fi thriller. Don’t hesitate to disagree).
Shudder, owned by AMC Networks, is an ideal niche service for those who have already noticed most horror classics; If they haven’t, it has the original versions of “Night of the Living Dead,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” and “Halloween.”
For rarer experiences, the foreign segment has many blood-soaked delights: “Zombie” and “City of the Undead” through Italian gore master Lucio Fulci, the brutal French survival tale “Revenge” and the new Guatemalan critic “La Llorona”.
In terms of the series, Zachary Quinto shines like an evil soul-eating being in AMC’s supernatural “NOS4A2”. The sublime original “Deadwax” through Shudder, on a vinyl album that kills those who pay attention to it, loses vigour as it progresses, but the first 4 (out of the eight) episodes are stellar and only last 15 minutes. Speaking of cursed media: You can associate “Deadwax” with Hideo Nakata’s classic horror “Ring” J in a killer videotape.
Of course, Shudder has some possible low-end options (who doesn’t?), but it’s the ultimate elegance compared to its competitor Screambox, which relies heavily on microbudget operating videos (fare example: “Virgin Cheerleaders in Chains , “”Size Z”).
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