For the longest time 28 Days Later wasn’t available for streaming (including availability for digital rental or purchase) anywhere. The release of 28 Years Later changed that. For the following films, however, it certainly seems as though they’ll remain unavailable. It’s not fully clear why they aren’t available for streaming or rental, but they’re not…anywhere. It likely comes down to licensing issues, not unlike with HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. The key to inclusion here is that they’re not able to stream anywhere. So, the original The Evil Dead, which isn’t available to so much as rent on Amazon (which is unfortunate, considering the DVDs and Blu-ray are out of print), doesn’t count because it can be rented on Apple TV.
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It’s sad these excellent horror films can’t reach a wider audience. But here’s hoping it’s just for now.
4) Popcorn
Popcorn is a fairly niche slasher, but those who can get on its cinephile wavelength should have a good time. It has a more elaborate script than most entries of the subgenre and has a few casting connections to better known horror films in Critters and Cujo‘s Dee Wallace, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child‘s Kelly Jo Minter, and The Stepfather‘s Jill Schoelen.
That aforementioned elaborate script can mess with the film’s pacing a bit, but it’s worth it to have a fully fleshed-out villain. And, as far as villain performances in one-off slashers go, it’s pretty hard to beat Tom Villard’s work here.
3) Near Dark
Gorgeously shot, well scripted, and brilliantly performed, Near Dark was an impressive directorial debut for The Hurt Locker‘s Kathryn Bigelow. It’s one of the more revered vampire films out there, merging that classic horror monster with a Western vibe to great effect.
It’s surprising this one still isn’t available for streaming. It really never has been the easiest movie to find, with the DVD and Blu-ray versions going out of print rather quickly. It’s a shame, because this is a movie with a fairly mass appeal, be it the compelling love story at the center, the presence of Aliens vets Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jenette Goldstein, or the continued popularity of vampire-centric movies and TV shows. Near Dark is very much worth a Criterion Collection, Scream Factory, or Arrow Video release in the U.S.
2) Dead Alive
It may have been hugely important to Peter Jackson’s career trajectory, but Dead Alive (its U.S. title) is still incredibly difficult to watch. If you see a DVD copy, grab it up to witness one of the most hilarious and utterly disgusting zombie films ever produced.
Dead Alive is basically a New Zealand version of Evil Dead II with mommy issues. You can never quite tell where it’s going to go next, be it a weird rat monster or a highly unsettling dinner scene. And, if there’s a bloodier third act out there, it’s hard to imagine what it might be.
1) Just Before Dawn
While Just Before Dawn director Jeff Lieberman always claimed to have never seen The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes, he still made a movie that is perfectly in line with those two classics. Eerie and unsettling, it’s a backwoods nightmare done right.
Lieberman was inspired to make the film after seeing Deliverance, and one can see the similarities there just as one can see them with the aforementioned Tobe Hooper and Wes Craven horror fests. This is a slasher film that revels in building up suspense, and more often than not it succeeds in doing so. It also has The Naked Gun trilogy’s George Kennedy in a role not that far off from Friday the 13th‘s “Crazy Ralph,” James Gunn favorite Gregg Henry, and Sleepaway Camp‘s Mike Kellin in the cast, so it certainly has a certain pop culture interest factor. Some slasher movies have started franchises, others should have started franchises, and just as many function perfectly as one-offs. Just Before Dawn is the type that functions perfectly as a one-off, and more fans of the subgenre should have the opportunity to get creeped out by it.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
