Only one movie has been released in the last couple weeks (Jason X), but there are quite a few flicks expiring soon, including several that might be worthy of an instant view (The Burrowers, Amityville Horror, Warlock, and Wicked Little Things). And if you can’t find anything about to expire that suits your desire I’ve included a few recommendations. Check out the details below.
Netflix Instant Horror In Your House
February 17th, 2011

New Releases:

JASON X (2002)

400 years into the future, Earth is a desolate. Alien explorers have arrived on Earth and look for signs of life. They go below the planet’s surface and discover a series of tunnels that lead to an underground facility. There they discover two people cryogenically frozen. One is female and the other is just a hulking mass. They open them up and are unprepared for the evil they will release. Look out, Jason is back!

Expiring Soon (within the next two weeks):

COOL AIR (1999) (2/20/11 expiration date)

In this film based on H.P. Lovecraft’s famous short story, aspiring author Randolph Carter (Bryan Moore) takes a room in a cheap boarding house and befriends the mysterious Dr. Muñoz (Jack Donner), who resuscitates the writer after he suffers a near-fatal heart attack. When the doctor shares a terrifying secret, Carter must reexamine his ideas of life and death. Several shorts adapted from Lovecraft tales are also included.

DREAMS OF CTHULHU: THE ROUGH MAGIX INITIATIVE (2000) (2/21/11)

In this horrifying film based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the Night Scholars, a secret society dedicated to protecting the world from the evil of Cthulhu, are stunned to realize that the long-dormant Sleeping God may be waking up. After investigating a ritual sacrifice, the mysterious Mr. Moon (Paul Darrow) visits a former Night Scholar who shares a terrible secret. The collection also includes two shorts based on Lovecraft tales.

DARKNESS FALLS (2003) (2/21/11)

A vengeful spirit has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her 150 years earlier. Her only opposition is the only child, now grown up, who has survived her before.

SERUM (2006) (2/28/11)

Dr. Kanopolus (David H. Hickey) stands at the edge of a medical breakthrough but needs more time. Unfortunately, a greedy pharmaceutical company is pressuring Dr. K to bring his serum to market, and soon enough, ambition, desperation and a critical misstep result in the creation of a horrifying monster. When the abomination escapes from the lab, its bloody killing spree begs the question: Who’s responsible for drug research gone wrong?

WARLOCK (1989) (3/1/11)

In 17th century Boston, a warlock (Julian Sands) escapes death and magically leaps 300 years into the future, where he searches in Los Angeles for the three parts of the Devil’s Bible that will unmake the world. Meanwhile, the witch hunter (Richard E. Grant) who brought him to trial — aided by one of the warlock’s victims (Lori Singer) — is in hot pursuit to stop his heartless path of violence and foil his destructive plans.

MICAH SAYS: It’s an `80s mismatched pair / fish out of water road movie with witch hunters and mindless mayhem. Most quotable line in the flick, “My dad hates Jesus and the 12 apostrophes.”

THE CALL OF CTHULHU (2005) (3/1/11)

While sorting through a pile of documents he inherited from his great-uncle (a professor at Brown University), a Boston anthropologist learns secrets about the mysterious Cthulhu cult that fascinated the late professor and likely decided his fate. Adapted from one of writer H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous stories, this silent picture blends vintage and modern cinematic techniques to reproduce the look of a classic 1920s horror film.

DEEP STAR SIX (1989) (3/1/11)

Complete with a crew of intrepid explorers, the vessel DeepStar Six sets sail on a daunting mission to establish a top-secret nuclear Navy base on the ocean floor in this 1989 thriller starring Greg Evigan, Miguel Ferrer and Nancy Everhard. But as the courageous team works to finish its near-impossible task, they inadvertently disturb a terrifying alien life form that could kill them all at any moment.

MICAH SAYS: 1989 was the year or underwater monster/alien horror with THE ABYSS, LEVIATHAN and DEEP STAR SIX. This one is the third best, but has way more unintentional humor than the others.

THE BURROWERS (2008) (3/1/11)

After a family is brutally murdered in their home, a group of ranchers and infantry men embark on a crusade to find the killers. When a mysterious killer attacks their ranks, they discover that carnivorous creatures are hiding beneath the surface of the earth waiting to feed on their flesh.

MICAH SAYS: Good stuff, J.T. Petty’s solid slow burning Old West creature feature themed horror flick. I personally enjoyed this one quite a bit. Give it a whirl.

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (3/1/11)

This 1979 chiller is based on the reportedly true story of George Lutz (James Brolin) and his wife, Kathleen (Margot Kidder), who move into their Long Island dream house with their children. But the Lutz’s lives turn into a hellish nightmare as the legacy of a murder committed on the premises gradually affects the family. Even the priest they call in, Father Delaney (Rod Steiger), cannot exorcise the demonic presence from the home.

WICKED LITTLE THINGS (2006) (3/1/11)

Recently widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, move to a remote mountain home which Karen has inherited from the family of her late husband. However, she is unaware that the home is situated near an old mine, the site of an early 20th century tragedy in which many children were buried alive…

AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION (1982) (3/1/11)

This chilling sequel (more of a prequel, really) to The Amityville Horror relates the events that led up to arrival of the Lutz family at 112 Ocean Avenue, as detailed in the first film. Soon after the Montelli family moves into the Amityville house, they notice strange occurrences, and before long the eldest son (Jack Magner) becomes possessed and kills the entire family. James Olson plays a priest determined to perform an exorcism on the boy.

FROM WITHIN (2008) (3/1/11)

Set in a small, God-fearing town, story focuses on a young girl caught between her Christian upbringing and a desire to experience the outside world. Her desire to break free is amplified when residents begin to die suspiciously.

AMITYVILLE 3-D

To debunk the Amityville house’s infamous reputation and take advantage of a rock-bottom asking price, skeptical journalist John Baxter (Tony Roberts) buys the place and settles in to write his first novel. But as soon as the ink on the deed has dried, people who have come into contact with John and the house (including Meg Ryan) begin to meet with shocking fates (2D version on Netflix).

MICAH SAYS: This one ended up only being available for a one month period of time. The weird things you find out when you start tracking this stuff…

SLAUGHTER (2009) (3/1/11)

On the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend, Faith (Amy Shiels) bonds with Lola (Lucy Holt) in a bar and agrees to take refuge in her new friend’s farmhouse. But the men Lola brings home every night just can’t seem to stick around. As Faith’s suspicions grow, she and Lola decide to leave — but Lola’s bizarre brother and father are none too happy about the plan. Craig Robert Young and David Sterne co-star in this horror flick based on actual events.

Recommendations:

MONSTER DOG (1985)

Musician Vincent Raven (rocker Alice Cooper) ends up in trouble when, girlfriend (Victoria Vera) in tow, he heads to his boyhood home to film a video with his band. Soon after they arrive, a string of horrific deaths occur, seemingly caused by a pack of wild dogs. Two decades earlier, an angry mob killed Vincent’s dad, who was thought to be a werewolf; naturally, the townsfolk presume like father, like son. Will Vincent suffer his father’s fate?
MICAH SAYS: Need a little bad `80s rocker horror in your life? Look no further than this slice of cheese. Recommended double feature with 2009’s SUCK.

FROM BEYOND (1986)

After inventing a way for creatures from the fourth dimension to come into his own world, Dr. Edward Pretorious (Ted Sorel) suffers a gruesome decapitation at the hands of those he brought “from beyond.” But authorities suspect his assistant (Jeffrey Combs) is to blame. Barbara Crampton co-stars as a beautiful psychiatrist brought in to help police solve the case in this classic 1980s thriller based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.

MICAH SAYS: With all those crappy Lovecraft movies expiring soon it got my pineal gland stimulated for this flick. It also allowed for me to make a terrible joke that only people who have seen the movie will find even remotely humorous.

CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)

After a priest’s suicide in the church’s cemetery, the gates of Hell open and the dead begin to rise. Peter (Christopher George), a New York City reporter, and Mary (Catriona MacColl), a young psychic, race to close the gates of Hell before All Saint’s Day passes. If they fail, an onslaught of zombies will rise to feast upon the flesh of the living.

MICAH SAYS: Fulci’s Italian splatterfest masterpiece is ripe with vomiting guts and warranty-voiding usage of drills.