Terror on Tubi: Family is the Scariest Monster of All
Check out Terror on Tubi. This month, we’re spotlighting five of the scariest horror families ahead of the holiday season.

Check out Terror on Tubi. This month, we’re spotlighting five of the scariest horror families ahead of the holiday season.


Growing up is hard enough, doubly so when your dad is probably a serial killer. Inspired by the real life of Dennis Rader (the BTK Killer), Duncan Skiles filmmaking debut, The Clovehitch Killer, is like Zodiac meets Degrassi. Part coming-of-age story, part chilling, austere psychological thriller, star Charlie Plummer is astounding at grounding the audience in the realistic rhythms of what it might feel like if you started dating girls while also believing your dad is a notorious killer. Go in blind.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation used to be my least favorite in the series. Truthfully, I’d never vibed with the Sawyer family all that much outside of Hooper’s original, and this belated sequel was a tonal mishmash that left me sorely disappointed. Then our contributor Daniel Kurland penned an editorial earlier this year, arguing The Next Generation was meta, self-aware, and largely ahead of the horror curve. So, I revisited it. Now, I’m still not sure it’s a masterpiece, but I have a newfound respect for what Kim Henkel and company accomplished here. And, yeah, in a lot of ways, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a deliberate deconstruction of the TCM mythos, and a seriously messed-up family horror flick to boot. That’s a twofer!

Vampires are sexy. Feminist vampires are even sexier. Neil Jordan (Interview with the Vampire) returned to toothy terror two decades later with his modern-day, feminist take on long-established vampire lore, Byzantium. Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan are a mother/daughter duo on the run after Arterton’s Clara Webb, centuries before, absconded with a vampiric transformation from an order that expressly forbade women from transforming. Like The Clovehitch Killer, what’s most appealing is Jordan’s acute tonal balance, managing a tender coming-of-age story (courtesy of Ronan, one of this generation’s finest) alongside a gnarly, gory horror story of vampires run amok.

I’m always thrilled to have an opportunity to spotlight indie gems, and Lee Moss’ updated take on Frankenstein, Birth/Rebirth, was one of my favorites at the 2023 Sundance International Film Festival. Our review called it the “perfect re-telling,” though it’s largely flown under the radar since. I hope this encourages you to change that. Here, the story is stitched together with modern grit, this time following a mother, her deceased daughter, and the deranged doctor who promises to reanimate the girl and keep her alive. Easier said than done, of course, and amid the bloodshed is a tragic story that cuts to the heart, no different from Shelley’s original.
What are you most excited to watch on Terror on Tubi this month? Let us know in the comments below and stay scary.