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Writer's pictureGabe Powers

Grinding the Stream UPDATES: World Tour!

***I ran back through the streaming services for May, deleted what was removed since March, and added a couple of new things. A decent update this time!***


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 and Shudder, have plenty to offer in this regard.


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 and be aware that the availability is based on the research I did on May 6, 2020. Given the nature of streaming media, I imagine very few of these titles will be available in perpetuity. 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 Horror

  • The Man Who Could Cheat Death (Terence Fisher, 1959) Tubi

  • The Gorgon (Terence Fisher, 1964) – Tubi, Popcorn Flix, and Dark Matter TV

  • 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, and Popcorn Flix (warning, this particular movie is in the public domain and image quality tends to suck)


Amicus Movies

  • Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965) – Tubi and Dark Matter TV

  • The Skull (Freddie Francis, 1965) – Hulu and Amazon Prime

  • The House That Dripped Blood (Peter Duffell, 1971) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Fandor, Shout Factory TV, and Popcorn Flix

  • Tales from the Crypt (Freddie Francis, 1972) – Tubi and Popcorn Flix

  • Asylum (Roy Ward Baker, 1972) – Amazon Prime, Fandor, and Shout Factory TV

  • And Now the Screaming Starts! (Roy Ward Baker, 1973) – Shout Factory TV

  • The Beast Must Die (Paul Annett, 1974) – Fandor and Shout Factory TV


Richard Adams’ Distressing Animated Animal Double-Feature

  • Watership Down (Martin Rosen, 1978) – Criterion Channel

  • The Plague Dogs (Martin Rosen, 1982) – 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 and Dark Matter TV (under Raw Meat alternate title)

  • The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973) – Netflix

  • Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) – Popcorn Flix

  • Horror Hospital (Antony Balch, 1973) – Shout Factory TV

  • Exposé (aka: The House on Straw Hill; James Kenelm Clarke, 1976) – Popcorn Flix

  • Prey (aka: Alien Prey; Norman J. Warren, 1977) – Fandor

  • Threads (Mick Jackson, 1984) – Shudder (WARNING: Maybe don't watch this if you're feeling anxious about the state of the world)

  • White of the Eye (Donald Cammell, 1987) – 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) – HULU and Amazon Prime

  • The Duke of Burgundy (Peter Strickland, 2014) – HULU (not horror, but adjacent)



French Horror

I was pretty disappointed by the lack of good French horror streaming. This is what I could dig up.

  • Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932) – Criterion Channel

  • Carnival of Sinners (Maurice Tourneur, 1943) – Criterion Channel

  • Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) – Amazon Prime and Criterion Channel

  • Eyes without a Face (French: Les Yeux sans visage; Georges Franju, 1960) – Criterion Channel

  • Daughters of Darkness (French: Les lèvres rouges; Harry Kümel, 1971) – Amazon Prime

  • Immoral Tales (French: Contes immoraux; Walerian Borowczyk, 1973) – Netflix

  • Grapes of Death (French: Les Raisins de la mort; Jean Rollin, 1978) – Midnight Pulp

  • 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

  • Ravenous (French: Les affamés; Robin Aubert, 2017) – Netflix

  • Knife + Heart (French: Un couteau dans le cœur; Yann Gonzalez, 2018) – Shudder

  • BONUS: Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012) – Shout Factory TV (not horror, but fun for horror fans)


German and Austrian Horror

  • Angst (Gerald Kargl, 1983) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, 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) – Midnight Pulp + (shot on VHS)

  • Schramm (Jörg Buttgereit, 1993) – Midnight Pulp +

  • Hagazussa (Lukas Feigelfeld, 2018) – Amazon Prime and Shudder

  • Luz (Tilman Singer, 2019) – Shudder

  • BONUS: Basically all Germany's silent era horror is public domain and sitting on YouTube



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

  • Devil’s Possessed (Spanish: El Mariscal del infierno; León Klimovsky, 1974 – Amazon Prime


Blind Dead Series

  • Tombs of the Blind Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1972) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, and Popcorn Flix

  • Return of the Blind Dead (Amando de Ossorio, 1973) – Amazon Prime

  • The Ghost Galleon (Amando de Ossorio, 1974) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Night of the Seagulls (Amando de Ossorio, 1975) – Amazon Prime


Guillermo del Toro Horror Movies

I honestly don't know if we count these as Mexican, Spanish, or both

  • Cronos (1993) – Criterion Channel

  • Mimic (1997) – HULU

  • Pan’s Labyrinth (Spanish: El laberinto del fauno, 2006) – Netflix

  • Crimson Peak (2015) – HBO GO/NOW (probably not for long)


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

  • Count Dracula (1970) – Tubi and Midnight Pulp +

  • Vampyros Lesbos (1971) – Midnight Pulp +

  • She Killed in Ecstasy (1971) – Midnight Pulp +

  • Jack the Ripper (1976) – Amazon Prime

  • White Cannibal Queen (1980) – 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) – Midnight Pulp +


Other Spanish Horror Movies

  • 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

  • Bell from Hell (Claudio Guerín and Juan Antonio Bardem, 1973) – 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 and Midnight Pulp +

  • In a Glass Cage (Spanish: Tras el cristal; Agustí Villaronga, 1986) – Shudder and Midnight Pulp +

  • Slugs (Juan Piquer Simón, 1988) – Amazon Prime

  • The Rift (Juan Piquer Simón, 1990) – Amazon Prime

  • [REC] and [REC 2] (Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza; 2007 and 2009) – Crackle

  • Fragile (Spanish: Frágiles; Jaume Balagueró, 2005) – Amazon Prime

  • 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, and Midnight Pulp +

  • Oldboy (2003) – Shudder, Fandor, VUDU Free, Tubi, and Midnight Pulp

  • Three...Extremes (with Fruit Chan and Takashi Miike, 2004) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005) – Shudder, Midnight Pulp + (also “fade to black & white version”), and Popcorn Flix

  • The Handmaiden (theatrical cut, 2016) – Amazon Prime


Bong Joon-ho Movies

  • Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) – HULU, Roku Channel, and Tubi

  • The Host (2006)Amazon Prime and HULU

  • Tokyo! (with Michel Gondry and Leos Carax; 2008) – Tubi

  • Mother (2009) – HULU and Fandor

  • 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

  • Samaritan Girl (2004) – VUDU Free and Midnight Pulp

  • Pieta (2012) – VUDU Free

  • 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 and Midnight Pulp

  • The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) – HULU

  • I Saw the Devil (2010) – Crackle

  • 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) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp

  • Muoi: The Legend of a Portrait (Kim Tae-kyung, 2007) Midnight Pulp

  • Bedevilled (Jang Cheol-soo, 2010) – Amazon Prime, Roku Channel, and Midnight Pulp

  • 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) – Shudder, VUDU Free, Crackle, and Tubi

  • Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho, 2016) – Netflix, Amazon Prime, Shudder, Crackle, and Tubi

  • Seoul Station (Yeon Sang-ho, 2016) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, 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 and Kim Tae-yong, 1999) – Midnight Pulp

  • Wishing Stairs (Jae-yeon Yun, 2003) – Midnight Pulp



Bollywood Horror Movies

Note that there is a subscription service call YuppTV that has a lot of Bollywood cult films, but I cannot speak to its quality.

  • Woh Kaun Thi? (Raj Khosla, 1964) – Amazon Prime

  • Gumnaam (Raja Nawathe, 1965) – Amazon Prime

  • Saboot (Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay, 1980) – Amazon Prime

  • Nagina (Harmesh Malhotra, 1986) – Amazon Prime

  • Mansion of Evil (Shyam and 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


Indonesian Action and Horror

First, I must note the distressing lack of ‘70s/’80s Indonesian action and horror on streaming services. Truly a massive loss for us all. Here are some newer movies I can vouch for, though. They’re good too.

  • Satan's Slave (Sisworo Gautama Putra, 1980) – Shudder (pretty much the only classic era Indonesian cult movie available for "legal" stream)

  • 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, The Roku Channel, and Tubi

  • Killers (Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, 2014) – Netflix

  • Badoet (Awi Suryad, 2015) – Amazon Prime

  • Headshot (Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, 2016) – Netflix

  • Danur (Awi Suryadi, 2017) – Netflix

  • Santet (Helfi C.H. Kardit, 2018) – Amazon Prime

  • Kuntilanak (Rizal Mantovani, 2018) – Netflix

  • May the Devil Take You (Timo Tjahjanto, 2018) – Netflix

  • The Night Comes for Us (Timo Tjahjanto, 2018) – Netflix

  • Triple Threat (Jesse V. Johnson, 2019) – Netflix


Mexican Horror

  • The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La momia azteca contra el robot humano; Rafael Portillo, 1958) – Amazon Prime

  • The Curse of the Doll People (Spanish: Muñecos infernales; Benito Alazraki, 1961) – Tubi

  • Santa Sangre (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1989) – Fandor, and Popcorn Flix

  • We Are What We Are (Spanish: Somos lo que hay; Jorge Michel Grau, 2010) – HULU, Amazon Prime, and VUDU Free

  • Come Out and Play (Makinov, 2012) – VUDU Free, The Roku Channel, and Popcorn Flix (remake of the superior Spanish film, Who Can Kill a Child, 1976)

  • Tigers are Not Afraid (Spanish: Vuelven; Issa López, 2017) – Shudder


Eddie Romero’s Filipino Horror

  • Brides of Blood (1968) – Amazon Prime

  • Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1969) – Amazon Prime

  • Beast of Blood (1970) – Amazon Prime

  • Beast of the Yellow Night (1971) – Amazon Prime

  • Twilight People (1972) – Amazon Prime

  • BONUS: The Blood Drinkers (Gerardo de Leon, 1964) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp +



Australia and New Zealand


Oz/Kiwisploitation

  • Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, 1971) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, VUDU Free, Midnight Pulp, and Popcorn Flix

  • Inn of the Damned (Terry Bourke, 1975) – Tubi

  • Long Weekend (Colin Eggleston, 1978) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp

  • Patrick (Richard Franklin, 1978) – Midnight Pulp +

  • Thirst (Rod Hardy, 1979) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, and Fandor

  • Harlequin (aka: Dark Forces; Simon Wincer, 1980) – Amazon Prime

  • Nightmare (John D. Lamond, 1980) – Amazon Prime

  • Dead Kids (aka: Strange Behavior; Michael Laughlin, 1981) – Amazon Prime, Shudder, Fandor, and Midnight Pulp +

  • The Survivor (David Hemmings, 1981) – Midnight Pulp +

  • Turkey Shoot (aka: Escape 2000; Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1982) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, Shout Factory TV, and Midnight Pulp +

  • Next of Kin (Tony Williams, 1982) – Shudder and Midnight Pulp +

  • BMX Bandits (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1983) – Amazon Prime, Fandor, The Roku Channel, Shout Factory TV, and Popcorn Flix

  • Death Warmed Up (aka: Death Warmed Over; David Blyth, 1985) – Amazon Prime, Dark Matter TV, Midnight Pulp +

  • The Quiet Earth (Geoff Murphy, 1985) – Shudder

  • Frog Dreaming (Brian Trenchard-Smith Movies, 1986) – Amazon Prime

  • Bad Taste (Peter Jackson, 1987) – Amazon Prime

  • The Howling III (Philippe Mora, 1987) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, The Roku Channel, Shout Factory TV, and Popcorn Flix

  • Body Melt (Philip Brophy, 1993) – Amazon Prime and VUDU Free


Modern Aussie Cinema

  • Lake Mungo (Joel Anderson, 2008) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • The Loved Ones (Sean Byrne, 2009) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent, 2018) – HULU



International Grab Bag


Estonia

  • November (Rainer Sarnet, 2017) – Shudder and VUDU Free


Finland

  • Dogs Don't Wear Pants (2019) – Shudder


Greece

  • Island of Death (Nico Mastorakis, 1976) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp +

  • Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009) – Shudder, Fandor, and Tubi

  • The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2017) – Amazon Prime


Iran/Persian Language

  • A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014) – Criterion Channel and Shudder

  • Under the Shadow (Babak Anvari, 2016) – Netflix


Jamaica

  • The Harder They Come (Perry Henzell, 1972) – Criterion Channel and Fandor (Patrick found a nice HD bootleg on YouTube)

  • Shottas (Cess Silvera, Lyndale V. Pettus, and Adam Doench, 2002) – Amazon Prime, VUDU Free, and The Roku Channel

Netherlands

  • The Lift (Dick Maas, 1983) – Shudder

  • The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988) – Criterion Channel

  • Amsterdamned (Dick Maas, 1988) – Shudder

  • Saint (Dick Maas, 2010) – HULU

  • Borgman (Alex van Warmerdam, 2013) – VUDU Free, The Roku Channel, and Popcorn Flix


Russia

  • Viy (Georgiy Kropachyov and Konstantin Ershov, 1967) – Shudder

  • The Bride (Svyatoslav Podgaevsky, 2017) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, and Tubi

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