It’s a new month, so that means many subscription-based streaming services have added a bucketload of new titles to their rosters! Scroll on down for a complete guide from I WAKE UP STREAMING!, or check out my top 5 picks for unique titles you may otherwise pass by!
DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE (Amazon Prime) – Whether or not you’re currently getting your weekly Twin Peaks fix, a conversation with its creator is always welcome. This 2016 documentary makes its subscription debut on streaming on Amazon before its physical media release later this year, and is bound to be an insanely compelling 88 minutes for cult film fans.
WATTSTAX (Brown Sugar) – Mel Stuart’s concert film (a benefit organized to commemorate the anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots) that deserves to stand alongside MONTEREY POP and STOP MAKING SENSE, WATTSTAX isn’t just a fantastic celebration of music (featuring The Dramatics, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, The Bar-Kays and more), added interviews with the likes of Richard Pryor and a pre-Love Boat Ted Lange make it a fascinating look at the experience of 1972 African-American Los Angeles residents.
THE ALCHEMIST COOKBOOK (Shudder, Amazon Prime) – From the director of BUZZARD comes this well-received festival favorite tale of incantations, as a young man works on something deeply sinister in his trailer. Check out Jason Coffman’s review here!
THE VOID (Netflix) – The film collective Astron-6 took a turn from their previous films (FATHER’S DAY, MANBORG, THE EDITOR) in treating their latest work with a more serious tone, and the results are one of the year’s most notable genre films, a John Carpenter-inspired tale of a folks trapped in a mostly-abandoned hospital while a Lovecraftian terror strikes.
TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN (Hulu) – Originally released as INVASION, 1999’s TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN is a woefully underseen sci-fi horror comedy in the vein of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS or STRANGE INVADERS, in which a Canadian town gets invaded by a force from another world. Directed by John (CRIME WAVE) Paizs, it’s a fun, self-aware, and enjoyably goofy exercise that seems to have fallen by the wayside. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing?
Netflix
Among the new titles, it’d be easy to miss that the new release DIAMOND CARTEL is actually a horribly misguided action pic that’s been shelved for a few years and features Armand Assante, Olivier Gruner, Michael Madsen, Bolo Yeung, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Peter O’Toole in his final film, but there it is on Netflix! Other new genre titles of note include the Spanish festival favorite thriller THE INVISIBLE GUEST (aka CONTRATIEMPO) and the Chinese crime thriller TIK TOK. The third season of iZombie is also available, as well as the fourth season of The Originals.
As for catalog titles, you can now check out Christopher Guest’s dog-umentary BEST IN SHOW, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s twisted sci-fi black comedy DELICATESSEN (1991), Steven Spielberg’s E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982), Ridley Scott’s entertaining MATCHSTICK MEN (2003) with Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell, the first POLICE ACADEMY (1984), P.T. Anderson getting a good performance out of Adam Sandler in PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002), Michael Jai White returns from the dead for justice in 1997’s SPAWN, Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen and Bruce Dern in Michael Polish’s THE ASTRONAUT FARMER (2006), Martin Scorsese’s family fantasy HUGO with Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee, and the boat drama TITANIC (1997).
Hulu
Hulu’s got no shortage of notable options new to the service. If you’re looking for horror sourced from other media, you can check out a trio of Stephen King adaptations (NEEDFUL THINGS, MISERY, and THE MANGLER), Anjelica Huston vamping it up in the kid-friendly (but still compellingly dark) Roald Dahl adaptation THE WITCHES, Ryuhei Kitamura’s take on Clive Barker’s MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, the 1981 adaptation of Whitley Streiber’s WOLFEN with Albert Finney, or Anton Yelchin in Stephen Sommers’ entertaining horror/action pic ODD THOMAS based on the Dean Koontz novel. For original creations, there’s Winona Ryder in the Janusz Kaminski-directed 2000 film LOST SOULS, John Carpenter’s VAMPIRES, Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn getting a devil child in 2004’s GODSEND, and last but not least, blind Karl Malden helping James Franciscus track down a killer in Dario Argento’s 1971 giallo film CAT O’NINE TAILS.
As far as action goes, check out THE SORCERER AND THE WHITE SNAKE with Jet Li, the Asylum mockbuster THE FAST AND THE FIERCE with Adrian Paul, The Rock in WALKING TALL, Bronson kicking drug dealer ass in DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN, and Tony Jaa in the ONG BAK trilogy, all of which are worth a look. Thriller fans can press play on Michael Douglas in the DIAL M FOR MURDER remake A PERFECT MURDER, Robert De Niro stalking Wesley Snipes as THE FAN, Keanu Reeves failing to compete with Al Pacino’s scenery chewing in DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, and Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill fend off a psychotic Billy Zane on a boat in the highly recommended 1989 DEAD CALM.
For science fiction, you can save the whales in STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME, Emma Roberts and Dave Franco in the techno-thriller NERVE, the animated pic KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV, Alex Proyas’s inventive 1998 film DARK CITY, Michael Douglas, Geneviève Bujold, Rip Torn and Richard Widmark in the 1978 adaptation of Robin Cook’s COMA, William Hurt getting trippy in Ken Russell’s wild 1980 film ALTERED STATES, and the 2015 found footage pic AREA 51. Dramas include David Gordon Green’s tale of friendship PRINCE AVALANCHE, David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, and the political corruption pic SYRIANA. Comedies include Tom Berenger in the musical western RUSTLER’S RHAPSODY, Jim Carrey in the comic book adaptation THE MASK, Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid go bowling in KINGPIN, Eddie Murphy stars in Reginald Hudlin’s BOOMERANG, featuring David Alan Grier, Robin Givens, Grace Jones, Eartha Kitt and Geoffrey Holder, and Lowell Dean’s nifty tongue-in-cheek horror comedy WOLFCOP, and Robert Redford and Paul Newman pulling off 1973’s THE STING.
Finally, there’s the music documentary WE ARE X (it is about the punk band, X, obviously) and Joan Crawford in Nicholas Ray’s cult classic 1954 western JOHNNY GUITAR. Jeez, man, what do you want? Start watching!
Brown Sugar
In addition to WATTSTAX, Brown Sugar has revved up their classic titles, adding Matt Cimber’s 1973 THE CANDY TANGERINE MAN starring BLACK SHAMPOO’s John Daniels, 1974’s obscure BLACK HOOKER (aka STREET SISTERS), Jim Brown, Stella Stevens and Rip Torn in 1972’s SLAUGHTER, Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash and the late Ji-Tu Cumbuka in William (BLACULA) Crain’s DR. BLACK, MR. HYDE, Richard Pryor and the Ace Trucking Company in the 1971 sketch comedy flick DYNAMITE CHICKEN, an all-star cast in the highly recommended 1976 Michael Schultz slice-of-life flick CAR WASH, and Donna Summer, Chick Vennera, Teri Nunn and Jeff Goldblum in the 1978 disco pic THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY.
Also new to the service are the 1984 Golden Harvest documentary BRUCE LEE: THE LEGEND, Bokeem Woodbine and Cynda Williams in the 1998 thriller CAUGHT UP, Mario Van Peebles in the 1985 action drama SOUTH BRONX HEROES, John Franklin Sawyer and Harvey Keitel in the 1998 period drama SHADRACH, and the 2012 hip hop horror pic YOU’RE NOBODY ‘TIL SOMEBODY KILLS YOU.
Tribeca Shortlist
As usual, pretty much everything on Tribeca Shortlist’s very curated addition list is worth a look, and if you need extra advice, they’ve got personalized suggestions from the likes of Wyclef Jean and director Liz Garbus.
New titles to the service include comedies in the form of Walter Matthau in the original, foul-mouthed THE BAD NEWS BEARS, Alicia Silverstone in Amy Heckering’s CLUELESS, the “everyone-agrees-that-the-Robert-Rodriguez-one-is-the-best” anthology flick FOUR ROOMS, Reese Witherspoon in Alexander Payne’s ELECTION, Jemaine Clement in Taika Waititi’s romantic comedy EAGLE VS. SHARK, a trio of Inspector Clouseau flicks (THE PINK PANTHER, RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER, A SHOT IN THE DARK) and Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd in David Wain and Michael Showalter’s hilarious THEY CAME TOGETHER. You can also catch Robin Williams in either funny mode (THE BIRDCAGE) or in an underappreciated dramatic role (BOULEVARD).
Action and thriller fans can check out Shane Meadows’ revenge thriller DEAD MAN’S SHOES, Arnold Schwarzenegger in John Irvin’s RAW DEAL, Hype Williams’ batshit mobster pic BELLY, Dominic Cooper in the biopic THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE, Jet Li in Zhang Yimou’s period action spectacle HERO, Daniel Craig in Matthew Vaughn’s Brit crime thriller LAYER CAKE, and Gary Fleder’s all-star character actor spectacle THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, with Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Steve Buscemi, Treat Williams, Jack Warden, Christopher Walken, Fairuza Balk and Gabrielle Anwar. Oh, and you can see something called ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, which I’ve heard is pretty okay.
Also new and recommended are Helen Mirren in Peter Greenaway’s highly recommended black comedy THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER, the stylish 1982 French thriller DIVA, Lars von Trier’s excellent 1991 dramatic thriller EUROPA (aka ZENTROPA), Neil Jordan’s Irish thriller THE CRYING GAME (which is a great film even beyond its well-known “twist”), Jim McBride’s influential 1967 mockumentary DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY, Jennifer Jason Leigh as a failing barroom singer in the underseen 1995 film GEORGIA, Kevin Spacey costing Al Pacino six thousand dollars in 1992’s film adaptation of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger in the Oscar-winning crime drama IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, Darren Aronofsky’s classic paranoid thriller PI, the one-take miracle of Russian history RUSSIAN ARK, the all-Native American Sherman Alexie adaptation SMOKE SIGNALS, and Willem Dafoe’s Max Schreck causing problems for John Malkovich’s F.W. Murnau on the set of NOSFERATU in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE.
Other notable additions include the Oscar-winning musical CHICAGO, Scorsese’s THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, Robert Rodriguez’s pulpy alien invasion pic THE FACULTY, recommended mumblecore pics HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS and THE PUFFY CHAIR, the Evel Knievel documentary BEING EVEL, the surfing documentary STEP INTO LIQUID, the Jack Kerouac adaptation ON THE ROAD and the meditative final chapter in the QATSI trilogy, NAQOYAQATSI.
Troma Now
New titles this month in Tromaville include the premiere of the lesbian horror musical (you have my attention) SPIDARLINGS, the erotic horror pic MEMENTO MORTIS, MEATHOOK MASSACRE 2, the documentary PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR (featuring Tim Ritter, Todd Jason Cook, Todd Sheets, Donald Farmer, and, of course, Lloyd Kaufman), the 1981 slasher pic GRADUATION DAY, Ray Wise, Sonya Smith, Paget Brewster and Greg Proops in the meta-sci fi comedy CYXORK 7, Joseph Merhi’s 1988 action sequel L.A. CRACKDOWN II, the 1988 fantasy pic PRINCESS WARRIOR, Joel Stoffer in the 1997 kickboxing pic KICK OF DEATH, the 2004 grimy horror pic THE RUINING, and the 1939 family comedy FISHERMAN’S WHARF.
Hoopla
The library-backed streaming service has added the medieval board game fantasy/horror pic 13 DEMONS, the Vietnamese heist pic BITCOIN HEIST, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson and 50 Cent in the action pic FIRE WITH FIRE, Robert De Niro and Forest Whitaker in the action drama FREELANCERS, the Asylum mockbuster OPERATION DUNKIRK and sequels KICKBOXER 2, KICKBOXER 3: THE ART OF WAR and KICKBOXER 4: THE AGGRESSOR to its roster.
Sundance Now
Sundance Now has added Tim Burton’s BIG FISH as well as ALIENS, a short by Michael Almereyda (NADJA) shot in PixelVision.
FilmStruck
New titles to FilmStruck include Jean Renoir’s 1937 unforgettable antiwar tale GRAND ILLUSION, Nicole Kidman in the atmospheric horror pic THE OTHERS, Charlie Chaplin in 1921’s classic silent THE KID, Francois Truffault’s first feature THE 400 BLOWS (1959), and Kinji Fukasaku’s 5-part THE YAKUZA PAPERS series of films from 1973-1974.
Shudder
In addition to THE ALCHEMIST COOKBOOK, Shudder has added the solid horror-western THE BURROWERS, the short film series SHOW PIECES written by Alan Moore, and the short films DOLL HOUSE and LET ME OUT.
Exploitation.tv
New to Vinegar Syndrome’s streaming service are the 1974 hardcore spoof SURELICK HOLMES starring Harry Reems and Zedeby Colt as the time-traveling detective duo, and the 1976 tale of revenge REUNION.
Amazon Prime
Beyond DAVID LYNCH: THE ART LIFE, the new releases on Prime are slim, but they have added the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winner THE SALESMAN, from the director of the excellent A SEPARATION, to their ranks, as well as the Dave Franco techno-thriller NERVE, the lurid Lifetime movie STALKED BY MY MOTHER, directed by Doug (ZAPPED AGAIN!, CUPID) Campbell, and Massimiliano Cerchi’s horror pic THE NIGHT SHIFT.
Catalog releases, however, are plentiful. Among the notable vintage titles that require no introduction are THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, 48 HRS. and ANOTHER 48 HRS., BRAVEHEART, THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, PAYBACK, PI, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, CUTTHROAT ISLAND, FLASHDANCE, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANCER, ROSEMARY’S BABY, SCROOGED, Jonathan Demme’s MARRIED TO THE MOB, KINGPIN, all of the original STAR TREK film series, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, BULL DURHAM, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB, BOOMERANG, DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN, GODSEND, EIGHT MEN OUT, Chuck Norris in TOP DOG, Sean Connery in THE PRESIDIO, AREA 51, and THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN.
Other notable flicks that may require some acknowledgement include Lance Crouther in the hilarious cult fave POOTIE TANG, a trio of Tarantino-sploitation films (Eric Stoltz and Julie Delpy in Roger Avary’s 1993 Parisian heist flick KILLING ZOE, Christopher Walken, Denis Leary and Sean Patrick Flanery in the 1997 mafia kidnapping black comedy SUICIDE KINGS, and Marlon Brando, Donald Sutherland and Thomas Haden Church in the whacked-out 1998 crime flick FREE MONEY), Joan Crawford in Nicholas Ray’s cult classic 1954 western JOHNNY GUITAR, William Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait, Tate Donovan, Zach Galligan, Barry Newman, Gary Busey, Robert Goulet and more in Christopher Coppola’s pulpy, underseen adaptation of Michael Allred’s G-MEN FROM HELL, Mark Dacascos as a butt-kicking priest in Tibor (THE GATE) Takacs’ 1998 SANCTUARY, Craig Sheffer and John Heard in 1997’s EXECUTIVE POWER, and C. Thomas Howell getting into trouble via DILEMMA (1997, with Danny Trejo) and BIGFOOT WARS (2014, with Judd Nelson).
Going further back, there’s the obscure 1974 Sidney Lumet drama LOVIN’ MOLLY starring Anthony Perkins and Beau Bridges, Ed Asner in the 1974 TV-movie THE WRESTLER, Charles B. Pierce’s 1972 classic fortean tale THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK, the 1972 family flick GEORGE THE ST. BERNARD, 1974’s Turkish EXORCIST rip-off SEYTAN (this may not have subtitles), Lorne Greene in DEATH FOLLOWS A PSYCHO (a compilation of two episodes of the short-lived TV series Griff), 1977’s killer bear pic CLAWS and a pair of martial arts flicks (FIGHTING DUEL OF DEATH and 1974’s SHAOLIN LONG ARM)
All this plus a batch of Rifftrax episodes (DEATH PROMISE, TO CATCH A YETI, THE BUFFALO RIDER, ALIEN OUTLAW, REEFER MADNESS, FUTURE FORCE, ATTACK FROM SPACE and the Night of the Shorts program from SF Sketchfest 2016) and Season 2 of The Ray Bradbury Theater!
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- JIM WYNORSKI RETURNS WITH THE CREATURE FEATURE ‘GILA’ - May 1, 2014
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