Now Scream This: 10 Monster Movies To Stream After Watching ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’
(Welcome toNow Scream This, a column where horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato tell you what scary, spooky, and spine-tingling movies are streaming and where you may watch them.)Matt:Holybuckets, it’s time for another Now Scream This column? If Chris didn’t send a reminder, I’d still think we posted the last one a few hours ago. What is time? How is life? Can I just see King Shark in James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squadalready? Speaking of (typing of?) King Shark, we thought it’d be fun to honor Godzilla and King Kong this week with streaming monster selections. Maybe not to size, but still just as monstrous (by our definitions).Chris:It’sGodzilla vs. Kongtime, which gives Now Scream This an excuse to highlight some fun monster flicks that you can stream right now. We played fast and loose with the rules here – the movies we picked didn’t require gigantic, kaiju-sized monsters – just monsters in general. You may think that’s a cop-out, but buddy, let me tell you: writing these columns ain’t easy. Just go with it.
Now Streaming on Shudder
Matt:PerhapsI’ve written about this Taiwanese monster flick before, but I’m going to again because it’s grown on me since.Mon Mon Mon Monsters!is about a gang of schoolkids hunted by, you guessed it, a monster. That said, it’s more about the transformation that occurs as a once-victim becomes an abuser and the actual “monsters” of this hunt-and-standoff revealing themselves. As I said in my /Film ranking ofSudder’s firstoriginal content helping: “A bit long and all over the place, butGiddens Ko’s nastiness is sincere and unapologetic when reconstructing the horrors of childhood bullying. As painful that cyclical “victim turned abuser” depiction may be.” Monsters with a message!Chris:I haven’t seen this, but it’s exactly the sort of movie I’d expect Matt to start out with here. Good job, Matt.
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime
Matt:BeforeBrightburn, directorDavid Yaroveskydebuted with a psychological campground horror flick calledThe Hive. Poster quotes read “Evil DeadmeetsMemento,” but I’m going a step farther to say “Vincenzo Natali’s interpretation ofEvil Dadby way of a young-adultMemento.” Make sense of that how you will, but the monster (singular) here is a hivemind goop that takes over a summer camp run by honry adolescents. It’s much brighter than you’re expecting and maneuvers around the Nolanesque narrative with surprising precision.Gabriel Basso’s character must figure out why there’s thickened sludge all over his current accommodations, why there’s a dead body in the corner, and why his memories are jumbled. All questions posed within the first…five minutes?Chris:I saw Matt talking about this on Twitter Dot Com and immediately added it to my queue. Now, whether or not I watch it is another story. I’m a lazy, lazy man, and pressing PLAY takes effort.
Matt:Foundfootage monster flicks often use scale and size to scare (thinkCloverfieldorMonsters), butThe Monster Projectgoes another route. Documentarians are invited to interview three separate subjects who proclaim to be real-life monsters: a vampire, a skinwalker, and a demon. Between impressive makeup and camera manipulation, a lot could go wrong—but filmmakerVictor Mathieudoes a smashing job on an indie budget. Snarly animalistic costumes look pretty darn good in the greenish night vision overlay, while frights are legitimately freaky. It’s more a haunted house atmosphere than authentic immersion, but both work with the right attitude. I’m fine throwing onThe Monster Projectand having a blast despite not believing certain aspects—emphasis on the correct elements travels a long way.Chris:I am whiffing here. Usually there’s at leastonetitle from Matt I’ve seen. Sorry, folks, I am a completely fucking failure.
Now Streaming on Hulu
Matt:I’mhighlightingEgor Abramenko’sSputnikbecause it’s just been announced thatMatt Reeveswill be producing a remake. I understand why, and my stance on remakes is enthusiastic because audiences then learn about the original. That said? The Russian sci-fi thriller does a magnificent job creating an extraterrestrial creature that’s just as curious about Earth as government officials are of it. Mix in some Cold War-era blind nationalism, and you’ve got a thoughtful, well-animated creature feature that’s equally ponderous and vicious, albeit heavier on the former. It’s not anotherAlienwhere something stalks astronauts. Abramenko cages the unknown and empowers characters to remain curious from a laboratory standpoint, but not without a third-act release. One of my favorite horror films from last year!Chris:Matt Reeves is working on an English-language remake of this, which seems kind of unnecessary, in my humble opinion.
Now Streaming on Hulu/Shudder
Matt:Rememberthe children’s bookIf You Give A Mouse A Cookie? Well, if you give Donato a chance to talk about monsters, he’s going to mentionWolfCop. It’s stuffed with Lycan puns, includes a flesh-shredding transformation sequence, and nails the midnighter comedy-horror balance.Lowell Deancould make nothing butWolfCopsequels the rest of his life, and I’d die happy—as selfish as that request may be (it is). I’m going to shout about this dirtier, furrier law enforcement flick that plays by its own outrageous rules and defines the phrase “full commitment.” When in doubt, you always go full WolfCop.Chris:I loveWolfCop. I know there’s a sequel, and I confess I haven’t gotten around to that one yet, but this original is a lot of fun and features some wonderful make-up effects.
Chris: Bong Joon-hohelms this thrilling, inventive, and often bleak monster movie about leaking chemicals that create a mutated monster in South Korea’s Han River. The monster rises from the water and wrecks havoc, abducting a girl (Ah-sung Ko) in the process. The girl’s family takes it upon themselves to rescue her, but it won’t be easy.TheHostis not your average monster movie, and there’s a sadness running through this thing that caught me completely off-guard when I first saw it.Matt:It’s Bong’s monster movie. You’ve all at least seenParasiteat this point. Now find out why international film fans have spoken Bong’s name for so long.
Chris:Digging Up the Marrowis a fun, under-the-radar indie horror pic finds directorAdam Green(Hatchet) playing a fictionalized version of himself. While attempting to make a documentary about monsters, Green comes across a retired detective (Ray Wise) who says he knows how to prove monsters are real. As the story goes, there is an entire underground world known as The Marrow, and that’s where the monsters live. Sure enough, this is no tall tale – the monsters are indeed real, and they eventually reveal themselves, at which point they’re presented as ghastly beings created via some really nifty make-up effects.Matt:BetweenFrozenandHatchet, I was pro Green. ThenDigging Up The Marrowcomes along and changes…nothing. Another win for Green in my book, with Wonka-wild creature design that bursts from Alex Pardee’s artistic vision (legend states. Pardee sent Green his artwork as fan mail and put into motion what would becomeDigging Up The Marrow).
Now Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Chris:A gnarly monster movie that deserved more attention (it did moderately well at the box office),Overlordfollows American soldiers who go behind enemy lines and discover that some Nazi experimentation has created zombie-like monsters. Fun, gory, and featuring a fun turn byWyatt Russell(who seems to be channelling his father Kurt),Overlordis the type of movie that would’ve spawned at least five direct-to-VHS sequels if it had been released a few decades ago.Matt:A mainstream B-Movie that I still don’t understand in terms of green lights, but boy-howdy am I glad it exists. It’s my favorite pull-quote to date, walking into a theater and seeing my name with a /Film byline across wall-to-wall banners (humble brag, what of it).
Now Streaming on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max
Chris:The ninth entry in the originalGodzillaseries,Destroy All Monstersis a gloriously goofy sci-fi extravaganza. Set in the futuristic world of 1999 (it was released in 1968),Destroy All Monstersreveals that Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and all the other kaijus are living peaceful on an island called Monsterland. But that peace is interrupted when an alien race known as the Kilaaks – who all look like women wearing glittery capes – come to Earth and set the monsters loose. The Kilaaks are controlling Godzilla and his monster pals via remote control, and humanity has to find a way to stop them or face certain doom. Goofy, brightly-colored, and full of scenes where people make phone calls to the moon, this is an utter joy to watch.Matt:I am horrendously understudied when it comes to classic kaiju content, but one day will sit down and marathon all the originalGodzillamovies. Today is not that day, week, or year.
Now Streaming on HBO Max
Chris:The 1976King Kongisn’t even the bestKing Kongremake (that would be Peter Jackson’s bloated, beautiful movie), but it has its charms! It’s basically the same story – Americans go to a remote island and bring a big ape back to America – and then the ape runs amok. But all of this unfolds with the sheen of a ’70s flick, and features a giant Kong robot that was supposed to be cutting-edge but really just…looks like a Kong robot. Throw in Jessica Lange looking utterly gorgeous and Jeff Bridges cashing a paycheck, and you’ve got yourself a movie.Matt:Please see comment above.
