We’ve been keeping you ahead of the curve to all things horror that are streaming on various platforms.
March was pretty great for genre fans as Netflix and Hulu had some exciting new additions to their services.But it’s nothing compared to what you can expect next month. No April fooling.
NETFLIX
The biggest dump begins on April 1st when two Stanley Kubrick classics arrive. While 2001: A Space Odyssey isn’t horror, it has many elements including the nightmarish HAL 9000. Made in 1968, it’s one of the most gorgeous films I have ever seen. If you can’t get your hands on a lossless Blu-ray, having HD streaming capabilities is a must.
Kubrick’s classic A Clockwork Orange, starring Malcolm McDowell, also arrives and expects you to keep your eyes wide open. The 1971 film takes place in future Britain, where charismatic delinquent, Alex DeLarge (McDowell), is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society’s crime problem – but not all goes according to plan.
Now’s your chance to check out Lewis Teague’s 1983 adaptation of Stephen King’s Cujo, about a friendly St. Bernard who contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town. Netflix is also brining back the must-see Ethan Hawk-starrer Explorers, Joe Dante’s 1985 sci-fi also starring River Phoenix and Bobby Fite as friends who build themselves a spaceship.
We’re getting closer to The Running Man becoming a reality. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in the 1987 classic as a wrongly convicted man who must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a game show. The Blu-ray release had a lot of the grain removed, so this may actually look better than the physical release (depending the source).
Haven’t seen Bill Murray in Scrooged (1988) yet? Well, it’s best to save it for the holidays. But if you can’t wait, or are afraid it will exit the streaming service before then, Murray play a selfish, cynical T.V. executive who is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Lastly, James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta is a phenomenal comic adaptation that’s very much in the vein of The Matrix (The Wachowski Brothers did write the screenplay). In a future British tyranny, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of “V”, plots to overthrow it with the help of a young woman. It’s a superhero movie with a political agenda about fear and taking back our freedom. It may take place in the UK, but the message is for everyone.
As you should know by now, the home invasion slasher Hush (read our review), about a deaf woman who is stalked by a psychotic killer in her secluded home, will be streaming exclusively on Netflix April 8th. Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr, Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan star in Hush, the latest from Oculus director Mike Flanagan.
Lastly, the animated exclusive feature and series “Kong: King of the Apes” will drop on April 15th. This animated TV series for kids from Executive Producer Avi Arad is a fresh and modern take on the classic King Kong story.
HULU
I hope you’re ready for this, but Hulu has been coming on strong with their film releases. Yes, TV is their main prerogative, but they’re making sure that you’re getting your money’s worth.
Beginning on April 1st you will be able to stream all sorts of classics, with a huge chunk coming from Artisan/Lionsgate’s library.
Never seen Charlie Sheen in the 1996 The Arrival? It’s awesome and criminally underrated. David Twohy, who you may know as the filmmaker behind Pitch Black and Riddick, directed this sci-fi conspiracy thriller about an astronomer who discovers intelligent alien life.
Sheen also starred in Mike Marvin’s 1986 The Wraith in which a mysterious figure suddenly appears to challenge a gang of motorhead thugs.
The entire Cube trilogy has also been available (Cube, Cube 2: Hypercube, Cube Zero). Vincenzo Natali directed tge first film that’s a sci-fi thriller – with a ton of blood – that begins when six complete strangers are involuntarily placed in an endless Kafkaesque maze containing deadly traps.
Shit, there’s more? Yes. How about David Cronenberg’s 1983 masterpiece The Dead Zone, which was adapted from a novel by the great Stephen King? It stars Christopher Walken as a man who awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic detective ability. If you haven’t seen this film yet, make it a priority.
Here’s some more films arriving on April 1st:
- Robert Rodriguez’s original 1996 From Dusk Till Dawn, which was penned by Quentin Tarantino.
- The 2015 office comedy with vampires, Bloodsucking Bastards.
- Stephen King wrote and directed Maximum Overdrive, in which a group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.
- Lionsgate’s pulp-ish Nurse, starring Paz de la Huerta (2014)
- Stan Winston’s awesome effects heavy Pumpkinhead (1988)
- Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973)
- Crispin Glover in Simon Says (2009)
- Teen Wolf Too (1987)
- Zombies of Mass Destruction (2009)
April 4
– “11.22.63” series completes and can be binged-viewed.
– “Sleepy Hollow” Season 3 completes and can be watched in full.
– “iZombie” Season 2 completes and can be watched in full.
– Lionsgate’s Maggie stars Abigail Breslin as a teenage girl in the Midwest becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that slowly turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father (Arnold Schwarzenegger) stays by her side.
– Neill Blomkamp’s Short Circuit-esque Chappie: When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.
April 19
– Before 30 Days of Night, David Slade directed the indie Hard Candy, a breakout festival hit for Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page, in which a teenage girl raids a man’s home in order to expose him under suspicion that he is a sex offender.
April 23
– The 2014 horror smash It Follows creeps onto Hulu’s streaming service. Haven’t seen it yet? No more excuses.
Available April 26
– “Lucifer” Season One completes and can be watched in full.