Now that the holidays are over we all have time to get back to what's important - watching movies on Netflix streaming. It turns out that several of my favorites from 2013 are now available, so I'll be babbling more than usual about a few. These are by no
means the only worthy genre movies on Netflix, just a handful
of titles I'm familiar with that I believe are worthy of your attention.
Availability changes often, but all of the
following titles were available from Netflix at the time of
this posting. The genre listed after the title (Documentary, Horror,
Comedy, Action & Adventure, or Sci-Fi & Fantasy)
describes where you'll find each movie in your onscreen groupings.
Try doing a manual search if one seems to be missing. Please note: sometimes my thumbnails won't be exactly the same thumbnail that Netflix is using.
If you have recommendations of your own,
please share in the Comments section below. You can watch a
trailer for each movie by clicking its title.
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Maniac (2012)
Horror / 1hr28min / NR / HD
I've never really cared for the original
Maniac (1980). The late Joe Spinell was a little too convincing as the titular scalp collecting psycho. In what I suppose is a bit of a back-handed compliment,
Maniac was too sleazy for me to enjoy watching. I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. To my mind, then, the 2012 remake was one of those rare instances when I believed a remake had a genuine opportunity to eclipse the original. Sadly, I didn't care for it. The new
Maniac was too sleazy for me to enjoy watching. I felt like I needed a shower afterwards. It may not eclipse the original, but it at least equals it. Bravo?
Seriously, though, attention must be paid. The
Maniac redux may not be to my taste, but its first person point-of-view conceit is skillfully maintained and undeniably effective. There were several instances wherein I just wanted to turn away from the ugliness unfolding before me. It sounds like a good horror movie, doesn't it? Well I suppose it is. It certainly got under my skin more than any other movie this year. Star Elijah Wood is believably unhinged throughout. Wood had already demonstrated a simmering undercurrent of darkness in the often dour television comedy
Wilfred, so I knew he had it in him.
Maniac succeeds in being the most unremittingly grim and unpleasant viewing experience of 2013 for me. That's a compliment, by the way. It doesn't surprise me at all that it's turning up on a lot of year end best of lists. Whether or not you want to submit yourself to such a grim and unpleasant viewing experience is a question you'll have to answer for yourself.
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Aftershock (2012)
Horror / 1hr29min / R / HD
Multi-hyphenate Eli Roth seems to be every genre fan's favorite whipping boy if they're all done bitching about Rob Zombie. Roth is just a producer / actor here, but the
tone of
Aftershock is definitely of a piece with his own filmography as a director. In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in Chile, circumstances are made exponentially worse by a nearby collapsed prison spewing lots of very rapey hardened criminals into the streets. One wonders if the director of
Hostel has ever had a
good experience traveling abroad.
Aftershock isn't a great movie, but if you've enjoyed anything else with Roth's fingerprints on it, you'll probably enjoy this. I love that last shot.
The Green Inferno (2013), his forthcoming ode to Italian made gutmunchers like
Cannibal Holocaust (1980), seems poised to continue Roth's tortured travelogue.
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Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Drama / 1hr32min / NR / HD
I don't know art, but I know what I like. Even though it peters out before the end credits roll,
Berberian Sound Studio was the most fiercely original genre movie I saw last year. An homage to both Italian giallos and old school sound editing, director Peter Strickland's chronicle of a mild mannered sound engineer's descent into madness has haunted me. Not surprisingly, the movie's sound design is incredible, so be sure to watch it with the proper tech.
I unwittingly watched
Berberian Sound Studio without subtitles (much of the dialog is in Italian), and I actually think that enhanced the experience for me, accentuating the loneliness and paranoia of being a stranger in a strange land and not really knowing for certain what's happening around you. For the record, the version streaming on Netflix has subtitles, but I'm not sure I want to watch it that way. I suspect my own inferences were probably more sinister and upsetting than what actually occurs. With or without subtitles,
Berberian Sound Studio is beautiful to look at, disturbing to listen to, and highly recommended. I have no clue why Netflix has it listed as Drama rather than Horror.
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Grabbers (2012)
Horror, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy / 1hr34min / NR / HD
Sometimes you just need a good, old fashioned, well crafted, meat and potatoes creature feature. Refreshingly free of self-reflexive irony and boasting surprisingly good FX (both CGI and practical),
Grabbers was easily the best of the lot in 2013. Horror / comedy is a hard combo to nail, but you just can't go wrong with drunk Irishmen battling tentacled beasties. Though not yet available on Netflix,
Big Ass Spider (2013) has a similar vibe and is also worth checking out.
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Room 237 (2012)
Documentary / 1hr43min / NR / HD
More of a stream of consciousness game of "what if?" than a proper documentary,
Room 237 explores various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece
The Shining (1980).
Those expecting a traditional documentary structure will be sorely
disappointed, but viewers more interested in the interpretations
themselves than the talking heads spouting them will have a blast. At
the very least,
Room 237 will spark an urgent need to give
The Shining another watch to see if any of these theories here hold water.
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American Mary (2012)
Horror / 1hr42min / R / HD
Yet another movie that's making a lot of year end best of lists,
American Mary chronicles medical student Mary Mason's descent into a subculture of individuals seeking a qualified physician to perform elective "modification" surgeries not covered by their HMOs. It's a testament to how good Katharine Isabelle's lead performance is that you'll find yourself rooting for her even after Mary goes off the rails. As good as Isabelle is, though, supporting player Tristan Risk steals every scene she's in as Beatress, a sweet natured stripper who's had herself surgically altered to resemble Betty Boop.
I'm always a sucker for body horror, and filmmaking duo Jen and Sylvia Soska have crafted a unique and well mounted entry that leaves me excited to see what they can make of their next assignment. A second chapter in the
See No Evil franchise-that-nobody-asked-for doesn't seem as ambitious a follow-up as I might have hoped for, but more power to them if they can make a silk purse of that sow's ear.
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Dredd (2012)
Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy / 1hr35min / R / HD
Remember when the good guy was the good guy from frame one, the bad guy
was psychotically evil, and you knew the bad guy would ultimately have
justice served to him by the good guy in the most sadistic, gratuitous,
and gratifyingly ironic way possible?
Dredd even figured out a
way to serve that justice in slow motion and make it a pertinent plot
point rather than pointless grandstanding.
Dredd shoulda been way more successful at the box office, and it has "cult film" written all over it now. Mark my words - a
Cult Of Dredd will rise up in a decade or so and demand a sequel.
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Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)
Documentary / 1hr33min / NR / HD
The late visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen pioneered his own form of stop motion animation called Dynamation that brought fantastic creatures to life in movies as varied as
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953),
20 Million Miles To Earth (1957),
Jason And The Argonauts (1963), and
Clash Of The Titans (1981). He was truly a visionary, and this fine documentary is a fitting tribute to his work. Harryhausen's influence on genre films is incalculable.
Adrienne caught me crying while watching this, and I felt obliged to explain to her why I was so touched. I struggled to find the words. If you've ever seen and enjoyed
any genre movie then you owe this man a debt of gratitude. Respect.
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Sightseers (2012)
Comedy / 1hr28min / NR / HD
My previous assessment of
Sightseers:
"(It) delivers pitch black humor, random acts of violence, and two versions of Tainted Love. 'Nuf said. See it."
I stand by that.
Sightseers (2012) delivers pitch black humor, random acts of violence, and two versions of "Tainted Love".
'Nuf said. See it. - See more at:
http://www.moviesatdogfarm.com/2013/05/movies-at-dog-farm-trailer-park-volume.html#sthash.iiHLgVAm.dpuf
Sightseers (2012) delivers pitch black humor, random acts of violence, and two versions of "Tainted Love".
'Nuf said. See it. - See more at:
http://www.moviesatdogfarm.com/2013/05/movies-at-dog-farm-trailer-park-volume.html#sthash.iiHLgVAm.dpuf
Sightseers (2012) delivers pitch black humor, random acts of violence, and two versions of "Tainted Love".
'Nuf said. See it. - See more at:
http://www.moviesatdogfarm.com/2013/05/movies-at-dog-farm-trailer-park-volume.html#sthash.iiHLgVAm.dpuf
Sightseers (2012) delivers pitch black humor, random acts of violence, and two versions of "Tainted Love".
'Nuf said. See it. - See more at:
http://www.moviesatdogfarm.com/2013/05/movies-at-dog-farm-trailer-park-volume.html#sthash.iiHLgVAm.dpuf
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