***This is going to be a mid-monthly tradition now, I guess. At least until social distancing standards are completely abandoned. Maybe even after that. Some updates will be bigger than others – it all depends on what differences I can find.***
Are you self isolating? Are you thinking about broadening your cinematic horizons? Perhaps you’d like to learn about a specific genre? I’m here to help. I'm finishing up the regular Grinding the Stream columns with everything I found that wouldn't fit anywhere else (stay tuned for one last super secret entry, though).
Once again, we're looking at the big three, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, as well as up-and-comer HBO Max, and smaller boutique paid services Shudder, Criterion Channel, and Fandor, and a collection of free streaming services available via Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, et cetera. I compared a bunch and, for the sake of simplicity, I found the best in terms of content and video quality to be Tubi, Midnight Pulp (a "+" will be included wherever subscription fees apply), VUDU’s free selections, The Roku Channel, Shout Factory TV (though most of their titles can also be watched via Amazon Prime), Crackle, Popcorn Flix, Dark Matter TV (again, a "+" will be included wherever subscription fees apply). I've also added Peacock this time (with a + where subscription fees apply).
Be warned – all of the free apps have ad breaks (I know, it sucks) and the video quality is inconsistent from app to app. Sometimes it's genuine HD, other times, it's sub-VHS. Apologies if I’ve suggested something with particularly grim A/V quality. I've included links to my own reviews of some of these films.
Alien Rip-Offs
Movies inspired by Ridley Scott's film are simply a personal favorite specific subgenre and most of the "best" ones are, surprisingly, available streaming
Contamination (Luigi Cozzi, 1980) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi
Scared to Death (William Malone, 1980) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Inseminoid (Norman J. Warren, 1981) – Midnight Pulp and Tubi
Galaxy of Terror (Bruce D. Clark, 1981) – HBO Max and Shout Factory TV
Forbidden World (Allan Holzman, 1982) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
Creature (William Malone, 1985) – Amazon Prime, Fandor, and Tubi
Lily CAT (aka: LILY-C.A.T.; Hisayuki Toriumi, 1987) – Amazon Prime, Roku Channel, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi (super weird Japanese animated film)
Creepozoids (David DeCoteau, 1987) – Tubi
Shocking Dark (aka: Terminator 2; Bruno Mattei, 1989) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp +, and Tubi (this is actually a dual rip-off of Aliens *and* The Terminator)
Dark Side of the Moon (D.J. Webster, 1990) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp +, and Tubi
Syngenor (George Elanjian Jr., 1990) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp
Dead Space (Fred Gallo, 1991) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi (remake of Forbidden World)
Body Snatchers and Stolen Identities
Invaders from Mars (William Cameron Menzies, 1953) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
It Came from Outer Space (Jack Arnold, 1953) – Peacock
Project Moon Base (Richard Talmadge, 1953) – Amazon Prime
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956) – Popcorn Flix and Crackle
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (Hajime Sato, 1968) – Criterion Channel
The Stepford Wives (Bryan Forbes, 1975) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Shivers (aka: They Came From Within, 1975) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Philip Kaufman, 1978) – Amazon Prime
Dead and Buried (Gary Sherman, 1981) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, VUDU Free, and Tubi
The Stuff (Larry Cohen, 1985) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Lifeforce (Tobe Hooper, 1985) – HBO Max
Invaders from Mars (Tobe Hooper, 1986) – Tubi
The Borrower (John McNaughton, 1989) – VUDU Free and Popcorn Flix
Seedpeople (Peter Manoogian, 1992) – Tubi
Body Snatchers (Abel Ferrara, 1993) – VUDU Free
Star Trek: First Contact (Jonathan Frakes, 1996) – Popcorn Flix
Virus (John Bruno, 1999) – Amazon Prime
Before We Vanish (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2017) – HULU
Assimilate (John Murlowski, 2019) – Netflix
Post-Apocalyptic Trash & Treasures
An awful lot of these disappeared in May. Either rights happened to run out or companies thought it was in bad taste, given the pandemic.
A Boy and his Dog (L.Q. Jones, 1975) – Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, VUDU Free, Shout Factory TV, Popcorn Flix, and Tubi
Black Moon (Louis Malle, 1975) – Criterion Channel
Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartel, 1975) – Criterion Channel, Fandor, Popcorn Flix, and Tubi
Deathsport (Allan Arkush, Roger Corman, and Nicholas Niciphor, 1978) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
The Aftermath (Steve Barkett, 1982) – Midnight Pulp
Warlords of the 21st Century (aka: Battletruck; Harley Cokeliss, 1982) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
1990: The Bronx Warriors (Italian: 1990: I guerrieri del Bronx; Enzo G. Castellari, 1982) – VUDU Free and Tubi
Escape from the Bronx (Italian: Fuga dal Bronx; Enzo G. Castellari, 1983) – VUDU Free and Tubi
Endgame (Italian: Endgame - Bronx lotta finale; Joe D’Amato, 1983) – Amazon Prime
The Exterminators of the Year 3000 (Italian: Gli sterminatori dell'anno 3000; Giuliano Carnimeo, 1983) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
Prisoners of the Lost Universe (Terry Marcel, 1983) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi
Warriors of the Year 2072 (Italian: I guerrieri dell'anno 2072; Lucio Fulci, 1984) – Amazon Prime
Wheels of Fire (Cirio H. Santiago, 1985) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Steel Dawn (Lance Hool, 1987) – VUDU Free, Tubi, and, Popcorn Flix
Mutant Hunt (Tim Kincaid, 1987) – Tubi
The Sisterhood (Cirio H. Santiago, 1988) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
Bronx Executioner (Vanio Amici, 1989) – Amazon Prime
Dune Warriors (Cirio H. Santiago, 1991) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
Raiders of the Sun (Cirio H. Santiago, 1992) – Shout Factory TV and Tubi
Tank Girl (Rachel Talalay, 1995) – Amazon Prime and HULU
Other B-Sci-Fi and Fantasy
StarCrash (Luigi Cozzi, 1978) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
Message from Space (Kinji Fukasaku, 1978) – Amazon Prime
Eyes Behind the Stars (Italian: Occhi dalle stelle; Mario Gariazzo, 1978) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
Battle Beyond the Stars (Jimmy T. Murakami, 1980) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, VUDU Free, and Roku Channel
Hawk the Slayer (Terry Marcel, 1980) – Shout Factory TV
Space Raiders (Howard R. Cohen, 1983) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
Deathstalker (James Sbardellati, 1983) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom (Héctor Olivera, 1985) – Shout Factory TV
Sorceress (Jack Hill, 1986) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV (a personal favorite)
Deathstalker II (Jim Wynorski, 1987) – Amazon Prime and Shout Factory TV
Nightfall (Paul Mayersberg, 1988) – Amazon Prime, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi
Doctor Mordrid (Charles and Albert Band, 1992) – Midnight Pulp and Tubi (originally designed as a Dr. Strange movie, before the Band's lost the rights)
Revisionist Westerns
I’m going to assume folks have already seen the Quinten Tarantino, P.T. Anders, and Coen Bros westerns.
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948) – HBO Max
Blood on the Moon (Robert Wise, 1948) – Criterion Channel
Station West (Sidney Lanfield, 1948) – Criterion Channel
I Shout Jesse James (Sam Fuller, 1949) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
The Walking Hills (John Sturges, 1949) – Criterion Channel
Lust for Gold (S. Sylvan Simon, 1949) – Criterion Channel
The Furies (Anthony Mann, 1950) – HULU
Rancho Notorious (Fritz Lang, 1952) – Criterion Channel
The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 1953) – Criterion Channel
Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954) – HULU and Amazon Prime
Man with the Gun (Richard Wilson, 1955) – Criterion Channel
A Man Alone (Ray Milland, 1955) – HULU
The Violent Men (Rudolph Maté, 1955) – Criterion Channel
Man of the West (Anthony Mann, 1958) – Amazon Prime and Criterion Channel
Day of the Outlaw (André De Toth, 1959) – Criterion Channel and Tubi
The Deadly Companions (Sam Peckinpah, 1961) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
One-Eyed Jacks (Marlon Brando, 1961) – Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) – Amazon Prime
The Shooting (Monte Hellman, 1966) – Amazon Prime, HBO Max, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
Ride the Whirlwind (Monte Hellman, 1966) – Criterion Channel and Tubi
The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) – HBO Max
Little Big Man (Arthur Penn,1970) – Amazon Prime
Hannie Caulder (Burt Kennedy, 1971) – HULU and Amazon Prime
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971) – HBO Max
The Hunting Party (Don Medford, 1971) – The Roku Channel
Chato's Land (Michael Winner, 1972) – Amazon Prime and The Roku Channel
China 9, Liberty 37 (Monte Hellman, 1978) – Amazon Prime (almost a spaghetti western!)
Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980) – Amazon Prime
The Long Riders (1980, Walter Hill) – Amazon Prime
Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Lone Star (John Sayles, 1996) – VUDU Free
The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, Tubi, Crackle, and Popcorn Flix
Meek’s Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010) – HULU, Criterion Channel, Amazon Prime, Tubi, Dark Matter TV, Crackle, and Popcorn Flix
Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012) – Netflix
The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent, 2018) – HULU
Documentaries About Cult Movies
Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 1982) – Criterion Collection (the making of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (Brad Shellady, 1988) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (Ted Newsom, 1994) – Tubi
My Best Fiend (Werner Herzog, 1999) – Fandor, Shout Factory TV, and Tubi (Herzog explores his relationship with Klaus Kinski)
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels (Kevin Sean Michaels, 2008) – Amazon Prime, Fandor, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (Mark Hartley, 2008) – The Roku Channel and Tubi
Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea, 2009) – Amazon Prime (the story behind Clouzot’s unfinished film)
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (Richard Shepard, 2009) – Fandor
Best Worst Movie (Michael Stephenson, 2009) – Amazon Prime and Tubi (retrospective doc about the legacy of Troll II)
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (Andrew Monument, 2009) – Amazon Prime and Tubi (general look at ‘60s/’70s American horror movies)
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (Andrew Kasch and Daniel Farrands, 2010) – Shudder
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (Frank Henenlotter and Jimmy Maslon, 2010) – Criterion Collection
American Grindhouse (Elijah Drenner, 2011) – Tubi
Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (Gilles Penso, 2011) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Birth of the Living Dead (Rob Kuhns, 2013) – Amazon Prime and Tubi (the making of Night of the Living Dead)
Milius (Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson, 2013) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
The Search for Weng Weng (Andrew Leavold, 2013) – Midnight Pulp and Tubi
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (Daniel Farrands, 2013) – Shudder
That Guy Dick Miller (Elijah Drenner, 2014) – Amazon Prime, Popcorn Flix, and Tubi
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (David Gregory, 2014) – Amazon Prime and Popcorn Flix
Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Randall Lobb, 2014) – Popcorn Flix
Why Horror? (Nicolas Kleiman and Rob Lindsay, 2014) – Shudder (horror fandom and psychology)
Monster Madness (three parts: The Golden Age of the Horror Film, The Gothic Revival of Horror, and Mutants, Space Invaders & Drive-Ins; Jeff Herberger, 2015) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi (these are mediocre, but enjoyable)
Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (Kevin McDonagh, 2015) – Shudder (in two parts)
Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (Jason Baker, 2015) – Shudder
De Palma (Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow, 2015) – Netflix
Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four (Marty Langford, 2015) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, Popcorn Flix, and Tubi
At the Drive-In (Alexander Monelli, 2017) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi (about drive-in theaters, not the band from El Paso)
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story (Derek Dennis Herbert, 2017) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Crackle, and Tubi
78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2017) – HULU
Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (John Campopiano and Justin White, 2017) – The Roku Channel, Popcorn Flix, and Tubi
Becoming Bond (Josh Greenbaum, 2017) – HULU
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (Steve Mitchell, 2017) – Shudder
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (Morgan Neville, 2018) – Netflix (the making of Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind)
Shirkers (Sandi Tan, 2018) – Netflix (story of an unfinished, teen-made Singaporean indie movie)
All the Colors of Giallo (documentary about gialli; Federico Caddeo, 2019) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp +, and Tubi
The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga (Jonathan Bellés, 2019) – Midnight Pulp (mostly about Godzilla movies)
Memory: The Origins of Alien (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2019) – Crackle and Popcorn Flix
Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (Xavier Burgin, 2019) – Shudder
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film (William Conlin, 2019) – Amazon Prime and Tubi (documentary about Planet of the Apes make-up)
Cursed Films ( Jay Cheel, 2019) – Shudder (five part series)
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen, 2019) – Shudder
Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (David Gregory, 2019) – Tubi
Not Sure How to Categorize These Ones!
Eating Raoul (Paul Bartel, 1982) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max (Bartel's brilliant class and cannibalism comedy)
Peanut Butter Solution (Michael Rubbo, 1985) – Amazon Prime and Tubi (utterly bizarre Canadian-made kiddie adventure/comedy/coming-of-age pseudo-horror movie)
The Stunt Man (Richard Rush, 1980) – Shout Factory TV and Popcorn Flix (a unique genre mash-up)