Spring has officially sprung, and the natural world is slowly waking up after a chilly winter hibernation. The season is associated with rebirth and regrowth, themes well-suited to horror. This week’s ‘Stay Home, Watch Horror’ streaming picks are dedicated to springtime horror movies that capture the essence of the season, whether through more modern celebrations […]
Spring has officially sprung, and the natural world is slowly waking up after a chilly winter hibernation. The season is associated with rebirth and regrowth, themes well-suited to horror.
This week’s ‘Stay Home, Watch Horror’ streaming picks are dedicated to springtime horror movies that capture the essence of the season, whether through more modern celebrations of spring break or spring’s ancient pagan roots. Here’s where to stream them this week.
Writer/Director Gareth Evans brings every bit of the bone-crunching brutality of The Raid and The Raid 2 to his period folk horror film. The Guest’s Dan Stevens stars as Thomas, a man who travels to a remote island in 1905 to infiltrate the cult that’s kidnapped his sister for ransom. The cult leaders claim that the barren island was made fertile through blood sacrifice, and in his quest, Thomas learns the grim truth behind those sacrifices. It’s here where the folk horror movie’s ties to spring really begin to come into focus. The twists and visceral violence make for a gripping, gory final act with torrential bloodletting. Apostle is a slow-burn intent on building mystery, and it’s worth the wait.
Hatching – Hulu, Kanopy
Director Hanna Bergholm’s feature debut is a pastel modern horror fairy tale, a coming-of-age creature feature born of the pressures of maintaining an idyllic façade. Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) struggles to measure up to her Mother’s (Sophia Heikkilä) tireless demands of perfection and poise for her digital audience. The pressures morph into something otherworldly and dangerous when Tinja finds a strange egg in the woods and decides to nurture it at home. It hatches, giving birth to a monstrous thing that irrevocably shatters the picture of perfection. Bergjolm hatches a contemporary coming-of-rage horror story that exudes spring in every way, from theme to aesthetics.
Piranha 3D – Hoopla, Tubi
A loose update on the 1978 film, Piranha 3D lets loose a school of prehistoric man-eating fish on unsuspecting spring breakers partying on Lake Victoria. Alexandra Aja’s take injects a lot of humor and gore into the proceedings. Starring Elizabeth Shue as Sheriff Forester and Adam Scott as the seismologist investigating the earthquake that opened a chasm that unleashed the carnivorous fish, this one is an entertaining summer gorefest. Look for fun cameos, like Jaws’ Richard Dreyfuss, and a rare film to properly embrace the 3D format (hello severed member). It’s a fun, gory romp that highlights the sun-soaked revelry of spring.
Rawhead Rex – Kino Film Collection
It’s an unwitting farmer, with some divine assistance from a lightning strike, who unleashes the monstrous pagan deity Rawhead Rex upon an idyllic Irish countryside. Clive Barker adapts his own short story, though the final cut bears little resemblance to the source material. The story’s 8-foot tall, slender phallus version of the deity gets reinterpreted on screen as a sort of punk-rock bulked-out animalistic beast who rampages and murders his way through the rural area in ’80s rubber monster suit fashion. It’s folk horror meets ’80s creature feature, filled with amusing moments, including the infamous scene that sees a priest getting urinated on. It’s nothing like Barker’s gory tale, but it does scream “spring.”
Spring – Fandango at Home, Tubi
The title says it all; nothing says fresh starts or new beginnings like springtime. Evan Russell (Lou Taylor Pucci) is on a significant tailspin after losing his mother to cancer. His friend recommends he travel to clear his head, so he flees to Italy. There he meets the enigmatic Louise (Nadia Hilker), a guarded woman who eventually gives in to Evan’s feelings. Louise harbors a dark, monstrous secret that will irrevocably change both of their lives. Filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead use sci-fi and horror to deliver a romantic, Lovecraftian reminder that change might be scary, but it can also be beautiful. The filmmakers capture the essence of spring, and the transformative horror themes, through closeups of nature.
