Greetings, streamers! I’ll be passing on the Top 5 titles list for this week, as it’s a relatively slow time, but we’ve got over 200 noteworthy flicks below available on services you don’t even need a subscription for! (Granted, you get ads, but that’s the cost of free stuff.)
Subscription-Based Services
Netflix
This week’s new offerings in terms of bingeworthy television include the new animated series based on Castlevania (sadly, only 4 episodes) and The Legend of Bruce Lee, a 50-episode (!) series based on the life of the martial arts master. New feature-length additions include the Oscar-nominated drama LION, Billy Bob Thornton returning in the totally necessary BAD SANTA 2, Louis Theroux investigating the Hubbardian cult in the documentary MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE, Pat (CHEAP THRILLS) Healy directs the kidnapping dark comedy TAKE ME with Taylor Schilling, and Richard Schiff and Kip Pardue in the farm-based fantasy tale of morality AMERICAN FABLE.
Hoopla
A number of interesting titles slid by under my radar and onto the library-based streaming service, but you can now check out the horror anthology SOUTHBOUND, the solid examination of memory during an apocalypse EMBERS, the excellent tale of one night in the life of a working girl on Christmas Eve in TANGERINE, the atmospheric throwback sci-fi horror film BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW, the South African alien invasion film TAKING EARTH, the highly recommended story of a mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown MAD, Tony Jaa and Dolph Lundgren in the action pic SKIN TRADE, the recommended Norwegian disaster film THE WAVE, the nifty documentary DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF NATIONAL LAMPOON, the alien encounter documentary THE VISIT directed by Michael Madsen (not that one), and Jane Russell in Howard Hughes’ 1943 western THE OUTLAW.
Hulu
New titles on Hulu include the gay serial killer dark comedy YOU’RE KILLING ME with Mindy Cohn, Jack Plotnick and Drew Droege, the recommended alternate history mockumentary satire C.S.A.: THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, Lars Von Trier takes on the apocalypse in MELANCHOLIA, two straight guys try to make gay porn in HUMPDAY and the kid-friendly (but also watchable by adults) animated film REGULAR SHOW: THE MOVIE.
Dekkoo
New to our roster this week is Dekkoo, a streaming service specializing in content for gay men, available here for a mere $9.99 a month. (Their app is also Chromecast-enabled.) Content is very diverse in terms of film, ranging from the standard gay comedies to thrillers (FLIRTING WITH ANTHONY, OUT TO KILL) to documentaries (among those I can recommend are JOBIATH A.D., WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON and the Ralf Koenig doc KING OF COMICS), horror films (David Kittridge’s PORNOGRAPHY: A THRILLER, BITE MARKS, VAMPIRE BOYS, Tim Sullivan’s I WAS A TEENAGE WEREBEAR and Sean Abley’s SOCKET among them) and classics such as Wolfgang Petersen’s THE CONSEQUENCE, Steve Buscemi in PARTING GLANCES, and Ron Peck’s 1978 film NIGHTHAWKS. They’ve just added the well-reviewed road thriller YOU CAN’T ESCAPE LITHUANIA as well. We’ll be keeping an eye out for other titles in the future.
Revry
Another new platform to this column, Revry has a diverse selection of films, original series and podcasts for LGBT audiences, and is also Chromecast-enabled via their app. Check them out here! Among their more psychotronic offerings are Quentin Lee’s horror film ON HALLOWEEN, the noir-inspired DARK SEDUCTION, and the grimy Chicago-lensed horror pic CHICAGO ROT, Cheryl Dunye’s excellent tale of black lesbian cinematic history THE WATERMELON WOMAN, Steve Buscemi in PARTING GLANCES, the BOYS IN THE BAND documentary MAKING THE BOYS, and Jeffrey Schwartz’ highly recommended doc I AM DIVINE, along with music videos starring horror drag icon Sharon Needles. They’ll also be launching Michael Varrati’s horror podcast DEAD FOR FILTH next month.
Shudder
New titles to Shudder this week include the Danish cop thriller TERRIBLY HAPPY, the Australian supernatural horror pic INNER DEMON and Vincent Cassel in the French tale of ginger self-loathing OUR DAY WILL COME.
FilmStruck
The excellent arthouse service has added a number of new groups of films, such as the early works of Otto Preminger (including noirs like 1944’s LAURA, 1945’s FALLEN ANGEL and 1947’s DAISY KENYON), the films of Robert Altman (from 1957’s THE DELINQUENTS to 1973’s THE LONG GOODBYE and 1976’s BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS to 1990’s VINCENT AND THEO and 1992’s THE PLAYER), films starring Franco Citti (Pasolini’s ACCATTONE (1961) and MAMMA ROMA (1962), Enzo Castellari’s spaghetti western KILL THEM ALL AND COME BACK ALONE (1968) and BLACK JESUS (1968) with Woody Strode) and a batch of films featuring dirty cops, including Fernando Di Leo’s 1974 Eurocrime film SHOOT FIRST, DIE LATER, George Lautner’s 1979 FLIC OU VOYOU (aka COP OR HOOD) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bryan Singer’s 1995 THE USUAL SUSPECTS and Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s 1997 INSOMNIA with Stellan Skarsgaard. All are worth a look!
Tribeca Shortlist
The streaming service has added the movie poster documentary 24×36: A MOVIE ABOUT MOVIE POSTERS, which you can read all about here!
NightFlight Plus
NightFlight has added Mario Bava’s classic 1964 horror anthology BLACK SABBATH, along with, of course, a 1986 video profile of the band Black Sabbath. Other new additions include Video Profiles of Billy Idol (1985), a Radio 1990 Video Profile of The Eurythmics (1984) and a profile of Wendy O. Williams (1985). They’ve also launched a fundraising site here.
Sundance Now
Sundance Now has added the capability to stream from Amazon Fire TV, along with a series of nifty street art documentaries including the classic STYLE WARS, WALL WRITERS: GRAFFITI IN ITS INNOCENCE, STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED and JAMEL SABAZZ: STREET PHOTOGRAPHER.
Amazon Prime
The biggest news in Amazon Prime is clearly the addition of the 1971-77 syndicated television series Celebrity Bowling, allowing you to bask in the glory days of watching your favorite celebrities compete on the alleys. Among the celebrities involved are Adam West, Edy Williams, Anthony Newley, Bob Newhart, and a heck of a lot more.
New features to the service include Argento’s classic SUSPIRIA, the recent slasher flick PRESIDENT’S DAY, Jet Li in 2002’s CONTRACT KILLER, the Canuxploitation horror sequel HELLO MARY LOU: PROM NIGHT II, new horror pics THE WOODSMAN, ISLAMIC EXORCIST, DEATH STING and APOSTLE OF DRACULA, 2003’s vampire pic BLOODLETTING, the 1994 action pic L.A. WARS, the documentary SCENESTERS: MUSIC MAYHEM & MELROSE AVE 1985-1990, the Nazis on the moon pic IRON SKY, and the second season of the inventive hacker series Mr. Robot.
Catalog titles include 1956’s HOT ROD GIRL, the spaghetti westerns A BARREL FULL OF DOLLARS (1971, with Klaus Kinski) and A MAN CALLED GRINGO (1965), and a host of martial arts pics: BAT WITHOUT WINGS, THE BATTLE WIZARD, THE BELLS OF DEATH, BLACK LIZARD (1981), BLACK MAGIC 2, CAT VS. RAT, CASINO TYCOON II, KARATE FRIGHTMARE (1980), SHAOLIN KING BOXER (1977), ZODIAC FIGHTERS (1978), CLAN OF AMAZONS (1978), DEATH DUEL (1977), IRON NECK LI (1979), PURSUIT OF VENGEANCE (1978), THE PROUD TWINS (1979) and SWORDSMAN AND ENCHANTRESS (1978).
Free/Subscription Services
Midnight Pulp
New additions to Midnight Pulp include the well-received 2012 sci-fi flick VANISHING WAVES, Argento’s SUSPIRIA and PHENOMENA, Jeff Lieberman’s electric worm classic SQUIRM, Kinji Fukasaku’s 1980 apocalyptic contagion film VIRUS, the 2012 Swedish EVIL DEAD homage WITHER, J.P. Simon’s insane grindhouse flick PIECES, Korean horror pics SORUM and THE RED SHOES, the Thai hip-hop zombie flick DEAD BITE, the 1974 killer kid pic HORRIBLE HOUSE ON THE HILL (aka DEVIL TIMES FIVE), and Robert Preston and Lynn Redgrave in the 1982 thriller REHEARSAL FOR MURDER.
Free Services
Shout Factory TV
Shout Factory’s streaming site has added a good roster of flicks to their freely-available offerings. If you want to laugh along at movies, you can watch RiffTrax take on JACK THE GIANT KILLER, ICEBREAKER, SAMURAI COP, ABRAXAS GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE, MIAMI CONNECTION, WONDER WOMEN, ZINDY THE SWAMP BOY, HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE or PRISONERS OF THE LOST UNIVERSE, or watch old-school MST3K take on OPERATION KID BROTHER or RACKET GIRLS. If you want to make your own commentary, however, you can check out the 1985 women’s prison flick HELLHOLE (with Ray Sharkey, Judy Landers, Mary Woronov and Marjoe Gortner), Chuck Norris in the 1977 trucker flick BREAKER! BREAKER!, the director’s cut of Clive Barker’s 1990 NIGHTBREED, Mariel Hemingway in Eric Red’s 1996 werewolf pic BAD MOON, or John Stamos, Vanity, George Lazenby and Gene Simmons in 1985’s epic NEVER TOO YOUNG TO DIE.
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PopcornFlix
Among the most notable cult film offerings on PopcornFlix are Jodorowsky’s wonderful 1989 film SANTA SANGRE, David Lynch’s seminal 1980 film THE ELEPHANT MAN, Andrea Bianchi’s ridiculous 1981 zombie flick BURIAL GROUND, Dee Wallace and Danny Pintauro fighting off a St. Bernard in Lewis Teague’s 1983 CUJO, and Michael Laughlin’s 1981 horror in a small town classic STRANGE BEHAVIOR with Michael Murphy and Louise Fletcher.
Other notable titles include the recent apocalypse drama YOUNG ONES, Van Damme in 1988’s BLOODSPORT, the twisted French flick BROOKLYN BIZARRE, Cameron Crowe’s OPEN YOUR EYES remake VANILLA SKY, an all-star cast in the classic GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, Jack Black in Richard Linklater’s SCHOOL OF ROCK, Harrison Ford in Kathryn Bigelow’s K-19 THE WIDOWMAKER, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the recommended drama HESHER, Charlize Theron in the dark comedy YOUNG ADULT, and Tom Tykwer’s beautifully-shot adaptation of the dark crime thriller PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER. New TV series available include Loren Bouchard’s classic Home Movies, the Mike Judge-produced The Goode Family, and the original British miniseries TRAFFIK.
TubiTV
You want horror flicks? TubiTV’s got you covered with SAW (2004), Bill Paxton’s highly recommended 2001 thriller FRAILTY, Adam Wingard’s great 2011 home invasion film YOU’RE NEXT, the third Tales from the Crypt film RITUAL with Jennifer Grey and Tim Curry, and Ben Affleck being da bomb in PHANTOMS (1998). They’ve also added a number of nifty documentaries, including the Bruce Vilanch doc GET BRUCE!, the Latin Jazz documentary CALLE 54, the LCD Soundsystem doc SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS and Michael Moore’s THE BIG ONE.
Other notable titles include Mario Van Peebles’ 1993 western POSSE, Ethan Hawke in Michael (NADJA) Almereyda’s 2000 HAMLET, Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 2013 terrorism thriller A MOST WANTED MAN, Kenneth Branagh’s musical Shakespeare adaptation LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST, Brooke Shields in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1981 ENDLESS LOVE, Pierce Brosnan in the 1999 THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd in the romantic comedy satire THEY CAME TOGETHER, Christopher Lambert in the 1999 sci-fi adaptation of BEOWULF, Elliot Gould and Robert Blake in Peter Hyams’ 1974 cop comedy BUSTING, James Caan in Michael Mann’s seminal 1981 crime film THIEF, the 1990 fantasy action flick LEGION OF IRON, Albert Pyun’s 1986 sci-fi rock music flick VICIOUS LIPS, Charlie Sheen and D.B. Sweeney in the Dick Wolf-written 1987 crime thriller NO MAN’S LAND, Jeff Fahey and Sherilyn Fenn in the 1989 gang drama TRUE BLOOD, and Vincent Spano and Michael Winslow in Amos Poe’s 1984 drug dealer thriller ALPHABET CITY. The TV series Gene Simmons Family Jewels, about the life of actress Shannon Tweed and her family, has also been added.
Crackle
New horror and supernatural titles added to Sony’s streaming service include THE QUIET, I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, THE CAVE, LEGION (the Paul Bettany film), the original FLATLINERS, John Turturro in Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2003 serial killer film FEAR X, DEEP BLUE SEA and ALIEN VS. PREDATOR. Action additions include the Bruce Willis heist flick HUDSON HAWK, Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s REVOLVER, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in MONEY TRAIN, Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li in Zhang Yimou’s 2006 CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, a quartet of late-era Steven Seagal films (FLIGHT OF FURY, TODAY YOU DIE, OUT FOR A KILL, BLACK DAWN), Snipes again in PASSENGER 57, Van Damme in BLOODSPORT, Tony Scott’s Tarantino-scripted TRUE ROMANCE, Takeshi Kitano’s BROTHER, Dennis Rodman in SIMON SEZ, and ill-conceived sci-fi pics FREEJACK, BATTLEFIELD EARTH and JOHNNY MNEMONIC.
Other notable titles are Snipes (again!) and Robert De Niro in THE FAN, Sandra Bullock vs. technology of THE NET, genre parodies HIGH SCHOOL HIGH and 2001: A SPACE TRAVESTY, the 1999 GODZILLA, Wes Anderson’s recommended BOTTLE ROCKET, Nicolas Cage in Spike Jonze’s ADAPTATION, the 2008 Bret Easton Ellis adaptation THE INFORMERS, the anime film APPLESEED ALPHA, Terence Malick’s THE THIN RED LINE, Bryan Barber’s 2006 speakeasy musical IDLEWILD and Johnny Depp in Ted Demme’s 2001 true story BLOW.
Vudu
The Walmart-funded streaming service has added a number of titles available to stream without cost. New horror titles include HOSTEL, POLTERGEIST II and III, 1999’s KING COBRA with Pat Morita, SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK AGAIN and SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK FOR MORE, TROLL and TROLL 2, and 2005’s revenge flick TAMARA. Other nifty psychotronic titles include Charlie Sheen and D.B. Sweeney in the Dick Wolf-written 1987 crime thriller NO MAN’S LAND, Mario Van Peebles’ 1993 western POSSE, Elliot Gould and Robert Blake in Peter Hyams’ 1974 cop comedy BUSTING, James Caan in Michael Mann’s seminal 1981 crime film THIEF, Jeff Fahey and Sherilyn Fenn in the 1989 gang drama TRUE BLOOD, and Vincent Spano and Michael Winslow in Amos Poe’s 1984 drug dealer thriller ALPHABET CITY, the original RED DAWN, Brad Johnson in the alternate history pic PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT 2, Tom Berenger as THE SUBSTITUTE, Nicolas Cage and Judge Reinhold in Sam Pillsbury’s 1991 erotic drama ZANDALEE, sex comedies SOUTH BEACH ACADEMY (with Corey Feldman) and MY TEACHER’S WIFE, Alicia Silverstone in the 1995 thriller TRUE CRIME, future sports pics THE BLOOD OF HEROES (1989, with Rutger Hauer) and ROLLERBALL (1975, with James Caan), GAMERA fighting the likes of BARUBON, GUIRON, GYAOS, JIGER, VIRAS, ZIGRA, THE SUPER MONSTER and THE GIANT MONSTER, William Ragsdale joins Hollywood in MANNEQUIN TWO ON THE MOVE, Michael Pare in the Lebanon-set 1991 action pic KILLING STREETS, Susan St. James, Jessica Lange and Jane Curtin in 1980’s HOW TO BEAT THE HIGH COST OF LIVING, Donald Sutherland investigates 1987’s THE ROSARY MURDERS, the 1982 parody flick NATIONAL LAMPOON’S MOVIE MADNESS, Sean Connery in Sidney Lumet’s 1973 detective thriller THE OFFENSE, the John Sayles-written 1987 street gang drama WILD THING, Peter Fonda’s 1979 drama WANDA NEVADA, and Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman face off in 1990’s CRIMINAL LAW.
All this, plus Hype Williams’ insane BELLY, the 1999 THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, the original BAD NEWS BEARS, Peter Jackson’s THE LOVELY BONES, the musical classic FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, H.B. Halicki’s original 1974 car crash pic GONE IN 60 SECONDS, Kenneth Branagh’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, the underrated chess drama SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISHER, the Dan Clowes adaptation ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, Woody Allen’s SHADOWS AND FOG, Jennifer Jason Leigh in the 1991 drug drama RUSH, the 1957 TWELVE ANGRY MEN, the 2012 Spanish crime thriller 7 BOXES, Susan Hayward in Robert Wise’s 1958 prison film I WANT TO LIVE, the 1994 cult comedy THE STONED AGE, animated specials THE GIFT OF WINTER and WITCH’S NIGHT OUT, Tom Berenger and Bob Hoskins in Wolfgang Petersen’s 1991 thriller SHATTERED, Forest Whitaker in Bill Duke’s 1991 Chester Himes adaptation A RAGE IN HARLEM, Burt Lancaster in the 1971 western VALDEZ IS COMING, and James Spader hires Maggie Gyllenhaal in 2002’s highly recommended SECRETARY.
Sheesh, you’ve got a lot to catch up on!
- JIM WYNORSKI RETURNS WITH THE CREATURE FEATURE ‘GILA’ - May 1, 2014
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