Stream Warriors: February 9, 2024
Each week, Neon Splatter contributors offer up some viewing options found on streaming (U.S. unless otherwise noted). Movies, TV shows, specials, and more. New and old, from all sorts of genres and nations. Most importantly, we deem them worthy of your time.
MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON (2021)
What It Is: A hard-working single mother meets a mysterious patient who escaped from a psychiatric hospital and has supernatural powers. Could this be something you can make a quick buck at? However, the duo's invention catches the attention of a policeman and their criminal path is soon threatened by the police.
Where It Is: Tubi
Why You Should Watch It: “Ana Lily Amirpour deserves better, dammit! The amazing auteur gave us A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, THE BAD BATCH, and some amazing episodes of television (Legion). Too many people slept on her most recent film, and that’s too bad as it’s a fun psionic spree character study with excellent acting and really cool action.”
COBWEB (2023)
What It Is: An eight-year-old boy tries to investigate the mysterious knocking sounds that are coming from inside the walls of his house, unveiling a dark secret that his sinister parents have kept hidden from him.
Where It Is: Hulu
Why You Should Watch It: “The amazing Halloween seasonal spirit is reason enough to check out director Samuel Bodin’s horror movie. You can practically feel the dead leaves crunch under your feet and smell that mixture of cinnamon and cold in the air thanks to this production design. Luckily the rest of the film lives up to that excellent atmosphere. It’s a fucked up fairy tale with terrific performances, including by the young Woody Norman as the main character, and some genuinely creepy elements that unfurl like the best campfire ghost stories around. Childhood is scary and parents have secrets…when those things combine, it makes for a helluva potent movie.”
VIGILANTE (1982)
What It Is: After his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
Where It Is: Tubi
Why You Should Watch It: “The horrible crime rates of New York City in the late ‘70s through the mid ’80s led to an uptick in citizen hero fetishism. The most famous of which is DEATH WISH, but this film from director William Lustig (of the MANIAC COP franchise fame) is definitely deserving of checking out. With great 1980s NYC location scenes, the movie is violent but not in a totally meatheaded, DIRTY HARRY way—there’s actual contemplation by Robert Forster’s character about if what they’re dispensing is justice. But when those action scenes hit, they are dynamite. An excellent snapshot of a time and place, this grindhouse favorite isn’t as sleazy as it could’ve been but still remains entertaining.
POLITE SOCIETY (2023)
What It Is: A merry mash up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment and bold action, POLITE SOCIETY follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.
Where It Is: Prime Video
Why You Should Watch It: “This slipped through the cracks for many people for a multitude of reasons—but now’s the chance to change that! Nida Manzoor’s film is a tremendous blending of genres and tropes to produce a wonderful comedy that is hilarious, full of fun characters, and packed with excellent action sequences. The closest parallel may be Wright’s SCOTT PILGRIM, with that mix of action and comedy and heart and music, but it is still a genuinely original slice of cinema that is bursting with a signature energy that simply cannot be denied.”
VILLAINS (2019)
What It Is: After a pair of amateur criminals break into a suburban home, they stumble upon a dark secret that two sadistic homeowners will do anything to keep from getting out.
Where It Is: Shudder
Why You Should Watch It: “Even though praises for VILLAINS have been sung before—by me elsewhere and by others on this site—it simply cannot be sung enough because it is such a fun and unique film that writer/directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen crafted. Pitch (black) perfect performances by the entire cast combine with a whipsmart script full of catchy dialogue and propelled by a constantly twisting story to produce a dark crime horror comedy that is utterly unlike anything out there.”