Today's picks are all available to stream for free on HULU. I'm not sure if HULU is available everywhere so if you don't get HULU, seek out these flicks anyway. HULU is pretty annoying. You gotta deal with commercials, pathetic attempts to convince you to upgrade to HULU-plus and the generally loud and unappealing look of the joint. It's like the place is lit with industrial florescent lights. Have I mentioned I loathe the color white more than hydrangeas? Who cares because they have FREE movies and we're all about that! Here are five flicks that deserve your attention.
ENTER NOWHERE (2011)
I took this one out from the library a while back (support your local library!) and now I'm so glad I can share this find via HULU. The only reason I wanted to see this was because of THE INNKEEPERS' SARA PAXTON but I ended up liking everybody in it and digging it more than I expected. It's about three strangers who inexplicably find themselves lost in the woods. I was all convinced I was being set up for ye old "We're already dead!" routine but ENTER NOWHERE has a whole other batch of tricks up its sleeve. There's a very interesting TWILIGHT ZONE vibe going on here and I found the limited setting and the eventual camaraderie between the characters highly enjoyable. PAXTON is predictably charming, KATHERINE WATERSON is genuine and convincing and SCOTT EASTWOOD is exactly the right level of handsome to get away with clunky acting every one in a while. The camera loves him like it loved his pa CLINT circa THE BEGUILED, and that goes a long way. ENTER NOWHERE is so story and character driven that it could easily work as a stage play and I'd put it up along with THE DARK HOURS (2005) and DEAD END (2003) as a worthwhile head-trippy independent keeper.
ISOLATION (2006)
This one was recommended to me a while back (review HERE). It was something I could have very easily passed over and I'm so thankful I didn't. You'd never know it but ISOLATION is an engaging, wonderfully slimy monster movie.
TESIS (1996)
Released the same year as SCREAM, TESIS did not make anywhere near a comparable impact but it's amazing what a better predictor it is of themes that are popular in horror today. It's also interesting to consider it predates THE RING and BLAIR WITCH with its preoccupation with VHS/found-footage horror. Director ALEJANDRO AMENABAR would go on to deliver OPEN YOUR EYES and the hit THE OTHERS, but the darkest road he has traveled remains this quietly influential debut.
YELLOWBRICKROAD (2010)
I have quite the love/hate relationship with this movie (full review HERE.) As much as I refuse to outright like it, here I am still thinking about it. I don't get it. It's very possible that this movie just has some real, undiluted crazy in it and therefore I shall never truly be capable of fully scraping it off of my shoe. It may be more fun to think about than it is to actually watch but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
TOWER OF EVIL (1972)
We previously covered this one in our SEVEN FROM THE SEVENTIES post. I love me some seaside horror and this movie has the coolest seventies clothes, deliciously grisly death scenes and plenty of fog infused atmosphere. The original story comes courtesy of GEORGE BAXT who's responsible for another favorite I can always count on to put me in the desired creepy mood, CITY OF THE DEAD (1960). This is a must see but you might want to wait till its dark out to get the full effect.
Hope you guys enjoy these and try not to let those pesky commercials ruin the fun!
cool! thanks! i never seem to be able to find anything i want to watch on Hulu.
and i've watched stuff on Hulu Plus and the commercials are STILL there! not very plus as far as i'm concerned.
Awesome! The only two I've seen are Isolation (which was way better and more enjoyable than I expected it to be – always a plus) and Yellowbrickroad (which, like probably everybody else who's seen it, I found frustrating as hell, but also provocative and unshakable). The others definitely sound worth a look.
As for the commercials – I developed my taste for horror in an era when watching movies interrupted by commercials was pretty much unavoidable, and even now that experience is kind of nostalgic for me. Given a choice, I'd prefer to watch a movie without commercials; but I'll take what I can get and enjoy it! I guess growing up during the 70s made me a lot more flexible in general…
Carol,
If you haven't seen TOWER OF EVIL you must. It's right up your alley and you're going to go nuts for the groovy '70s vibe.
Karswell,
I'm usually patient with commercials too. I don't mind the one before the feature but the ones that cut in are a pain. That said, I don't believe the movies are edited for content so that 's a plus. I guess I shouldn't look a free movie horse in the mouth!
I'm probably just getting old but online commercials seem so much more jarring and abrasive than the mellow ones I grew up with. I miss Mr. Whipple!
Thanks for the "Enter Nowhere" recommendation, I really enjoyed "Dark Hours" so am psyched to check this out.I'd also like to suggest a few titles that might help streaming horror scavengers find the diamonds in the turd that is HULU/HULU plus:
"Jugface"
This is a nifty indie southern gothic that mixes a little bit of Ambrose Bierce with a dash of H.P. Lovecraft, also features Sean Young playing the white trash mom from hell.
"Hidden in the woods"
An over the top Chilean offering that manages to deliver sympathetic portrait of three cannibal children trying to make their way in a world where the "normal" people are the true maniacs.
"Thale"
If you are like me and totally unfamiliar with Norwegian myths and legends concerning their woodland monsters, this one is for you.
"Genocide"
Insect horror movies buffs, you are in for a treat.One of the craziest, un-PC and most colorful nature's revenge against man movies ever made.A 1960's Japanese masterpiece made by the man that brought you "X from outer space."
Enjoy, and keep up the great work!!!
herrsundvall68,
Thank you SO MUCH. Your comment would make a great post! I have not seen any of those!
I will have to check out JUGFACE especially. I love me some Sean Young.
Hey, just had to mention one last HULU gem that I almost forgot about:Chris Walas' (Fly 2) 1992 paranoid freak-out fest "The Vagrant".Bill Paxton gets put through his sweaty paces as he tries to extricate a (real or imagined?) creepy hobo from his abode.Michael Ironside is also along for the ride as a scummy cop putting the screws to poor ol' Bill. It's Paxton at his "game over, man!" best!