Grinding the Stream July 2020 UPDATES: World Tour!
***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. Here's a SUPER-SIZED list of cult titles from Europe, Asia, and other non-North American regions available to stream RIGHT NOW, broken up by region and, where needed, performer or director.
Netflix and Hulu have plenty of newer choices, but Amazon Prime is better for older cult titles, as are various 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), Popcorn Flix, Crackle, Dark Matter TV (again, a "+" will be included wherever subscription fees apply). Other paid services, namely the Criterion Channel, HBO Max (which overlaps with Criterion a bit), and Shudder, have plenty to offer in this regard. I've also added Peacock this time (with a + where subscription fees apply), mostly because they have some Hammer titles.
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 and be aware that, despite my classifications below, complete director filmographies are not currently available free/subscription streaming.
UK Cult and Horror
Hammer Films
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (Terence Fisher, 1959) – Amazon Prime, HULU, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
The Brides of Dracula (Terence Fisher, 1960) – Peacock
The Curse of the Werewolf (Terence Fisher, 1961) – Peacock
The Phantom of the Opera (Terence Fisher, 1962) – Peacock
The Gorgon (Terence Fisher, 1964) – Tubi, Popcorn Flix, and Dark Matter TV
The Evil of Frankenstein (Freddie Francis, 1964) – Peacock
Rasputin the Mad Monk (Don Sharp, 1966) – Dark Matter TV
Twins of Evil (John Hough, 1971) – Amazon Prime and Shudder
Hands of the Ripper (Peter Sasdy, 1971) – Amazon Prime and Shudder
Countess Dracula (Peter Sasdy, 1971) – Amazon Prime
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (Michael Carreras and Seth Holt, 1971) – Dark Matter TV
Vampire Circus (Robert Young, 1972) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Tubi, Popcorn Flix, and Dark Matter TV
Satanic Rites of Dracula (Alan Gibson, 1973) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix (warning, this particular movie is in the public domain and image quality tends to suck)
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (Brian Clemens,1974) – HULU and Amazon Prime
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (Terence Fisher,1974) – HULU and Amazon Prime
Amicus Movies
Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix
The Skull (Freddie Francis, 1965) – HULU and Amazon Prime
The House That Dripped Blood (Peter Duffell, 1971) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Fandor, Shout Factory TV, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix
Tales from the Crypt (Freddie Francis, 1972) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix
Asylum (Roy Ward Baker, 1972) – Amazon Prime, Fandor, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV
And Now the Screaming Starts! (Roy Ward Baker, 1973) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV
The Beast Must Die (Paul Annett, 1974) – Fandor, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV
Richard Adams’ Distressing Animated Animal Double-Feature
Watership Down (Martin Rosen, 1978) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
The Plague Dogs (Martin Rosen, 1982) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV
BONUS: The less traumatic Watership Down CG animated series is on Netflix
Other UK Horror Movies/Thrillers
Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960) – The Roku Channel, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix
Death Line (aka: Ray Meat; Gary Sherman, 1972) – Shudder, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix (under Raw Meat alternate title)
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973) – Netflix
Horror Hospital (Antony Balch, 1973) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV
Exposé (aka: The House on Straw Hill; James Kenelm Clarke, 1976) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix
Prey (aka: Alien Prey; Norman J. Warren, 1977) – Fandor
Threads (Mick Jackson, 1984) – Tubi (WARNING: Maybe don't watch this if you're feeling anxious about the state of the world)
White of the Eye (Donald Cammell, 1987) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV (British filmmakers shooting in Arizona)
Dog Soldiers (Neil Marshall, 2002) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix
The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2005) – VUDU Free and Tubi
French Horror and Adjacent
Carnival of Sinners (Maurice Tourneur, 1943) – Criterion Channel
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) – Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, and HBO Max
Eyes without a Face (French: Les Yeux sans visage; Georges Franju, 1960) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Daughters of Darkness (French: Les lèvres rouges; Harry Kümel, 1971) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and VUDU Free
The Shiver of the Vampires (Jean Rollin, 1971) – Tubi
Grapes of Death (French: Les Raisins de la mort; Jean Rollin, 1978) – Midnight Pulp
The Living Dead Girl (Jean Rollin,1982) – Tubi
Haute Tension (Alexandre Aja, 2003) – VUDU Free and Tubi
Them (French: Ils; David Moreau and Xavier Palud, 2006) – Amazon Prime
Frontier(s) (Xavier Gens, 2007) – Tubi
Raw (French: Grave; Julia Ducournau, 2016) – VUDU Free
Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017) – Shudder
Let the Corpses Tan (Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet, 2017) – Amazon Prime
Ravenous (French: Les affamés; Robin Aubert, 2017) – Netflix
Ghostland (aka: Incident in the Ghost Land; Pascal Laugier, 2018) – Shudder (I actually just watched this while updating the list and hated it, so, uh...not recommended unless you are a Martyrs superfan)
Knife + Heart (French: Un couteau dans le cœur; Yann Gonzalez, 2018) – Amazon Prime and Shudder
BONUS: Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) – VUDU Free, The Roku Channel, Tubi, and Shout Factory TV (not horror, but fun for horror fans)
German and Austrian Horror
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920) – Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, Fandor, and Tubi
The Golem: How He Came into the World (Carl Boese & Paul Wegener, 1920) – Amazon Prime and Criterion Channel
Nosferatu (F.W. Murnau, 1922) – Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, Fandor, and Tubi
The Hands of Orlac (Robert Wiene, 1924) – Criterion Channel
Faust (F.W. Murnau, 1926) – Fandor
M (Fritz Lang, 1931) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Horrors of Spider Island (Fritz Böttger, 1960) – Amazon Prime
Nosferatu the Vampyre (Werner Herzog, 1979)– Amazon Prime, Fandor, Tubi, and Popcorn Flix
Angst (Gerald Kargl, 1983) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Tubi, and Midnight Pulp +
Nekromantik (Jörg Buttgereit, 1987) – Midnight Pulp +
Der Todesking (Jörg Buttgereit, 1990) – Midnight Pulp +
Nekromantik 2 (Jörg Buttgereit, 1991) – Midnight Pulp +
The Burning Moon (Olaf Ittenbach, 1992) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp + (shot on VHS)
Schramm (Jörg Buttgereit, 1993) – Midnight Pulp + and Tubi
Goodnight Mommy (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, 2014) – Shudder, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, and Tubi
Hagazussa (Lukas Feigelfeld, 2018) – Amazon Prime and Shudder
Luz (Tilman Singer, 2019) – Shudder, Crackle, and Popcorn Flix
Spanish Cult and Horror
Paul Naschy Movies
Fury of the Wolfman (Spanish: La furia del Hombre Lobo; José María Zabalza, 1972) – Amazon Prime
Count Dracula’s Great Love (Spanish: El gran amor del conde Drácula; Javier Aguirre, 1973) – Fandor and Midnight Pulp +
Vengeance of the Zombies (Spanish: La rebelión de las muertas; León Klimovsky, 1973) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Devil’s Possessed (Spanish: El Mariscal del infierno; León Klimovsky, 1974 – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Guillermo del Toro Horror Movies
I honestly don't know if we count these as Mexican, Spanish, or both
Cronos (1993) – Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Blade II (2002) – HBO Max
Pan’s Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno, 2006) – Netflix
Crimson Peak (2015) – HBO Max
Jess Franco Movies
Franco made movies for Spanish, German, and French companies, but was Spanish himself, so I’m putting him here. Be warned, his films are an...acquired taste.
The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) – Amazon Prime
Two Undercover Angels (1969) – Amazon Prime
Venus in Furs (1969) – Tubi
The Girl from Rio (1969) – Tubi
Kiss Me Monster (1969) – Amazon Prime
The Bloody Judge (1970) – Amazon Prime
Count Dracula (1970) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Midnight Pulp +
Vampyros Lesbos (1971) – Midnight Pulp +
She Killed in Ecstasy (1971) – Midnight Pulp +
Jack the Ripper (1976) – Amazon Prime
The Sadist of Notre Dame (Spanish: El sádico de Notre-Dame, 1979) – Midnight Pulp +
Devil Hunter (Spanish: El caníbal; aka: The Man Hunter, 1980) – Midnight Pulp +
White Cannibal Queen (aka: Mondo Cannibale, 1980) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Bloody Moon (1981) – Midnight Pulp + and Tubi
Oasis of the Zombies (1982) – Midnight Pulp and Tubi
Golden Temple Amazons (co-directed with Alain Payet) 1986 – Tubi
Other Spanish Horror Movies
Fangs of the Living Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1969) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
The Blood Spattered Bride (Spanish: La novia ensangrentada; Vicente Aranda, 1972) – Amazon Prime
The Cannibal Man (Spanish: La semana del asesino; Eloy de la Iglesia, 1972) – Amazon Prime
Tombs of the Blind Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1972) – VUDU Free, and Popcorn Flix
Bell from Hell (Claudio Guerín & Juan Antonio Bardem, 1973) – Tubi
The Ghost Galleon (Amando de Ossorio, 1974) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (Spanish: Non si deve profanare il sonno dei morti; aka: Let Sleeping Corpses Lie; Jorge Grau, 1974) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, and Midnight Pulp +
The Possessed (aka: Demon Witch Child; Amando de Ossorio, 1975) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Pieces (Spanish: Mil gritos tiene la noche; Juan Piquer Simón, 1982) – Shudder, Midnight Pulp,and Tubi
In a Glass Cage (Spanish: Tras el cristal; Agustí Villaronga, 1986) – Midnight Pulp + and Tubi
Slugs (Juan Piquer Simón, 1988) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
The Rift (Juan Piquer Simón, 1990) – Amazon Prime
Timecrimes (Nacho Vigalondo, 2007) – Tubi
[REC] and [REC 2] (Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza; 2007 and 2009) – Crackle
Fragile (Spanish: Frágiles; Jaume Balagueró, 2005) – Amazon Prime and VUDU Free
Veronica (Paco Plaza, 2017) – Netflix
Errementari: Blacksmith of the Devil (Paul Urkijo Alijo, 2017) – Netflix
South Korean Cinema
Park Chan-wook Movies
Joint Security Area (aka: JSA, 2000) – Midnight Pulp
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) – Shudder, Fandor, VUDU Free, Popcorn Flix, Tubi, and Midnight Pulp +
Oldboy (2003) – Shudder, Fandor, and Midnight Pulp
Three...Extremes (with Fruit Chan & Takashi Miike, 2004) – Amazon Prime
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) – Shudder, Midnight Pulp + (also “fade to black & white version”), Tubi, and Popcorn Flix
The Handmaiden (theatrical cut, 2016) – Amazon Prime
Bong Joon-ho Movies
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) – HULU and Tubi
The Host (2006) – Amazon Prime
Tokyo! (with Michel Gondry & Leos Carax; 2008) – Tubi
Mother (2009) – HULU
Snowpiercer (2013) – Netflix
Okja (2017) – Netflix
Parasite (2019) – HULU
Kim Ki-duk Movies
The Isle (2000) – Fandor and Midnight Pulp
Bad Guy (2001) – Fandor and Midnight Pulp
The Coast Guard (2002) – Tubi
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) – Amazon Prime
3-Iron (2004) – Amazon Prime
Samaritan Girl (2004) – VUDU Free and Midnight Pulp
Time (2006) – Fandor and Tubi
Dream (2008) – Tubi
Pieta (2012) – VUDU Free and Tubi
Moebius (2013) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix
One on One (2014) – Amazon Prime
The Net (2016) – Amazon Prime
Kim Jee-woon Movies
The Quiet Family (1998) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp
The Foul King (2000) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp
A Tale of Two Sisters (2005) – Shudder, Midnight Pulp +, and Popcorn Flix
Bittersweet Life (2005) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, and Popcorn Flix
I Saw the Devil (2010) – VUDU Free and Crackle
Doomsday Book (co-directed with Yim Pil-sung, 2012) – Amazon Prime and Dark Matter TV
The X (2013) – Amazon Prime
Illang: The Wolf Brigade (2018) – Netflix
Korean Horror/Thrillers
Acacia (Park Ki-hyung, 2003) – Midnight Pulp (under Root of Evil title)
A Bloody Aria (2006) – Midnight Pulp
Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (Kim Tae-kyung, 2007) – Midnight Pulp
Bedevilled (Jang Cheol-soo, 2010) – Amazon Prime, Roku Channel, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi
Horror Stories (Lim Dae-Woong, Kim Gok, Kim Sun, Jung Bum-shik, Hong Ji-young, Min Kyu-dong, 2012) – Midnight Pulp
The Wailing (Na Hong-jin, 2016) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, VUDU Free, Crackle, and Tubi
Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho, 2016) – Netflix, Amazon Prime, Shudder, VUDU Free, Crackle, and Tubi
Seoul Station (Yeon Sang-ho, 2016) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, VUDU Free, Roku Channel, and Tubi (animated prequel to Train to Busan)
Ghost School Horror Series
Whispering Corridors (Park Ki-hyung, 1998) – Midnight Pulp
Memento Mori (Min Kyu-dong & Kim Tae-yong, 1999) – Midnight Pulp
Wishing Stairs (Jae-yeon Yun, 2003) – Midnight Pulp
Bollywood Horror Movies/Fantasy Movies/Thrillers
Note that there is a subscription service call YuppTV that has a lot of Bollywood cult films, but I cannot speak to its quality. There are also dozens more movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime that I've not seen, so if you're enjoying the movies listed here, give them a shot too.
Woh Kaun Thi? (Raj Khosla, 1964) – Amazon Prime
Gumnaam (Raja Nawathe, 1965) – Amazon Prime
Saboot (Shyam & Tulsi Ramsay, 1980) – Amazon Prime
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Chehre Pe Chehra, 1981) – Amazon Prime
The Old Temple (Shyam & Tulsi Ramsay, 1984) – Amazon Prime
Nagina (Harmesh Malhotra, 1986) – Amazon Prime
Mansion of Evil (aka: Purani Haveli; Shyam & Tulsi Ramsay, 1989) – Amazon Prime
Raat (Ram Gopal Varma, 1992) – Amazon Prime
Suryavanshi (Rakesh Kumar, 1992) – Amazon Prime
Bhoot (Ram Gopal Varma, 2003) – Netflix and Amazon Prime
1920 (Vikram Bhatt, 2008) – Netflix and Amazon Prime
Horror Story (Ayush Raina, 2013) – Netflix
The House Next Door (Milind Rau, 2017) – Netflix
Mohini (Ramana Madhesh, 2018) – Amazon Prime
Tumbbad (Rahi Anil Barve, 2018) – Amazon Prime
Ghost Stories (Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap & Zoya Akhtar, 2017) – Netflix
BONUS: Mahakaal or "Indian Nightmare on Elm Street" (Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, 1994) is streaming on YouTube
BONUS: Sangharsh or "Indian Silence of the Lambs" (Tanuja Chandra, 1999) is streaming on YouTube
Indonesian Action and Horror
Satan's Slave (Sisworo Gautama Putra, 1980) – Shudder
Takut: Faces of Fear (Riri Riza, Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Stamboel, Rako Prijanto, Ray Nayoan, Raditya Sidharta & Ertanto Robby Soediskam, 2008) – Amazon Prime
Merantau (Gareth Evans, 2009) – VUDU Free and Tubi
The Raid (Gareth Evans, 2011) – Tubi