Welcome to another special holiday edition of Grinding the Stream. It’s the spooky season and everyone’s looking for the best horror movies to get them in the mood. Instead of the usual lists upon lists broken down into genres, subgenres, and filmmakers, I’ve created an easy to use checklist featuring 30 of my personal favorite horror movies and the various streaming services they are available on. Why 30? Because all the streaming channels switched up content on the 1st and I had to compensate. I’ve tried to find titles that are available on at least two platforms, but didn’t always succeed.
Day 1: Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood (1973) – A unique underground twist on the carnival horror tradition. The one and only feature film directed by Christopher Speeth. Available via Arrow and Tubi
Day 2: Hell Fest (2018) – Speaking of carnival horror, editor-turned-director Gregory Plotkin’s Hellfest takes place in a fictional version of Knott’s Scary Farm and is an extremely effective modern slasher. Available via Netflix
Day 3: The Mutilator (Buddy Cooper, 1984) – One of the greatest dumb and hyperviolent slasher movies of the ‘80s, nay, of all time. Available via Arrow, Night Flight, and Tubi
Day 4: The Slayer (J.S. Cardone, 1982) – A trashy, but entertaining combination of slasher, supernatural horror, and John Hancock’s Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971). Available via Arrow and Tubi
Day 5: Housebound (2014) – Kiwi director Gerard Johnstone’s comedic and sweet natured twist on haunted house horror. Available via Shudder, AMC+, and Tubi
Day 6: The Woods (2006) – May (2002) director Lucky McKee’s initially shelved and later underseen ode to school girl horror, like Argento’s Suspiria (1977) and Narciso Ibáñez Serrador’s The House that Screamed (1969). Available via Amazon Prime and Pluto TV
Day 7: Raw (French: Grave, 2016) – Considering all of the discourse surrounding Julia Ducournau’s Titane (2021), it might be time to get in on the ground floor for Ducournau’s twisted feature debut. Available via Netflix and Tubi
Day 8: Contamination (aka: Alien Contamination, 1980) – Dario Argento protege Luigi Cozzi’s low-budget Alien rip-off that, inspired by Lucio Fulci’s Zombie (aka: Zombie Flesh Eaters, 1979), went overboard with the goey gore effects. Available via Arrow, Pluto TV, and Tubi
Day 9: The Stuff (1985) – Larry Cohen’s goofball take on conspiracy theories and consumer culture by way of The Blob. Available via Shudder, AMC+, Arrow, and Tubi
Day 10: Brain Damage (1988) – Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case (1982) follow-up explores drug addiction via psychedelia and a sardonic alien slug. Available via Arrow and Tubi
Day 11: Razorback (1984) – A trippy Ozploitation ecohorror classic about a killer boar from ‘80s music video pioneer Russell Mulcahy. Available via Shudder
Day 12: Next of Kin (1982) – Keeping it in the ‘80s Aussie bloodline, Tony Williams’ Next of Kin represents a more subdued and eerie brand of Ozploitation. Available via Shudder, AMC+, Night Flight, and Tubi
Day 13: Sugar Hill (1974) – Not to be confused with the Wesley Snipes crime thriller, Paul Maslansky’s blaxploitation classic sits among the world’s greatest voodoo zombie movies. Available via Amazon Prime and Shudder
Day 14: Censor (2021) – One of the year’s best and most creative horror films, Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor concerns a Video Nasties era BBFC censor who is haunted by her past and all the violent films she obsessively edits. Available via HULU beginning the 14th of October
Day 15: In Fabric (2018) – A one-of-a-kind weirdo horror comedy romp as only Berberian Sound Studio’s Peter Strickland’s can make them. Available via Pluto TV, VUDU FREE, and Tubi
Day 16: Inside (French: À l'intérieur; Julien Maury & Alexandre Bustillo, 2007) – Arguably the best of the 2000s New French Extremism horror movies, Inside is included as part of Criterion Channel’s 19 movie Home Invasion collection, alongside Gerald Kargl’s Angst (1983) and Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (1997). Available via Criterion Channel
Day 17: Tales of the Uncanny (2020) – Severin’s David Gregory, House Of Psychotic Women author Kier-La Janisse, and a cornucopia of experts look back at the portmanteau horror tradition in this documentary. Available via Arrow and Tubi
Day 18: Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) – Now that you’ve learned a bit about the history of portmanteau horror, check out the first of the Amicus anthology cycle, directed by world class cinematographer Freddie Francis. Available via Roku Channel and Tubi
Day 19: Cards of Death (Will MacMillan, 1986) – Most likely the best of the dozens of shot-on-video horror movies we watched for the four-part SOV Horror podcast. An acquired taste, to say the least. Available via Shudder
Day 20: His House (Remi Weekes, 2020) – An almost overwhelmingly sorrowful tale with only occasional supernatural elements to remind you that you're watching a fictional movie and not a sobering portrayal of the mundane horrors of parental guilt and refugee life. Available via Netflix
Day 21: Impetigore (2019) – A multi-award-winning modern folk horror tale from an Indonesian point-of-view. The best (so far) of Joko Anwar’s developing filmography. Available via Shudder and AMC+
Day 22: Mahakaal (Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, 1994) – I couldn’t find any of the Bollywood horror movies I’ve seen streaming anywhere “officially,” so I found Indian Nightmare on Elm Street on YouTube for you.
Day 23: Day of the Beast (Spanish: El día de la bestia, 1995) – Álex de la Iglesia wonderfully quirky satanic comedy is a must-see, so get on it! Available via Shudder, AMC+, VUDU Free, and Tubi
Day 24: Pieces (Spanish: Mil gritos tiene la noche;, 1982) – There are slasher movies and there are slasher movies and then there’s Juan Piquer Simón’s insane giallo-like chainsaw massacre. Available via Shudder, AMC+, and Tubi
Day 25: Don’t Torture a Duckling (Italian: Non si sevizia un paperino, 1972) – One of Lucio Fulci’s best gialli. Equal parts brutal, shocking, cruel, and melancholy. Available via Arrow and VUDU FREE
Day 26: Vampyr (1932) – Carl Theodor Dreyer’s first sound film is an evocative spook-fest of the highest order. Available via Criterion Channel, HBO Max, and The Roku Channel
Day 27: The City of the Dead (1960, John Llewellyn Moxey) – Not to be confused with Lucio Fulci’s City of the Living Dead (1980), this low budget, copyright-free gem is a perfect October matinee. If you watch it on Shudder, it is included as part of their Elvira 40th Anniversary collection. Available via Shudder, AMC+, Night Flight, and Tubi
Day 28: The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) – Piers Haggard’s folk horror classic is often overlooked in favor of Robin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973) and it deserves significant reevaluation outside of the UK. Available via Paramount+ and Tubi
Day 29: Onibaba (Kaneto Shindō, 1964) – One of Kaneto Shindō’s many horror masterpieces, few movies will prepare you for the scariest day of the year like this one. Available via Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Day 30: Black Sunday (Italian: La maschera del demonio; aka: Mask of Satan, 1960) – Mario Bava’s finest achievement, possibly the greatest Italian horror movie of all time. Watch it, love it, and happy Halloween. Available via Shudder, AMC+, Kino Cult, and Tubi
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