One of the great things about the horror genre is how eclectic and diverse it can be. Outsiders may see it as simply monsters or masked maniacs making life unpleasant for scantily clad teens (and hey, nothing wrong with that), but horror can be deep and meaningful, nimble and funny, insightful and incisive, even philosophical and socially aware. And SBS’s collection of spine-tingling movies and thrilling series for the spooky season has you covered, whatever your taste in scariness may be. Here’s a spooky selection to choose from:
Dark Age
Being a bit wary – if not downright terrified – of crocodiles is a wise move on humanity’s part, given that the toothy reptiles have been creeping around and chowing down for, oh, 20 million years or so. So, it’s only natural that a man-eating croc measuring 25 feet long should be front and centre of an Australian-made creature feature. Dark Age, however, is a tad more considerate and contemplative than the typical nature-runs-amok B-movie, with the hunt for the big beastie (led by ranger John Jarratt) contrasted against the respect given to the ancient animal by the Northern Territory region’s Indigenous peoples. But fear not (or fear appropriately), horror fans: there are still plenty of thrills, chills and transgressions galore… including a kid who ends up on the wrong end of a big croc chomp.
Dark Age is streaming at SBS On Demand.
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Dark Age
horror • 1988
horror • 1988
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Devotees of horror understand that Dracula, for all his antisocial bloodsucking habits, is usually viewed as a tortured romantic hero, even a little bit of a heartthrob. When he’s brought to the screen with the title Nosferatu, however? Not so much. In between the iconic Max Schreck in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 original and the imposing Bill Skarsgard in Robert Eggers’ recent rendition, there was the legendary Werner Herzog’s moody 1979 adaptation of the tale starring Klaus Kinski, deathly pale, bald, feral and unforgettable as Count Dracula, who is equally hungry for blood and the love of Isabelle Adjani (hey, he’s only human…wait, no, he’s not).
Nosferatu the Vampyre is streaming at SBS On Demand.
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Nosferatu the Vampyre
horror • 1979
horror • 1979
The Devil’s Advocate / Constantine
Need someone to step up to Satan? You could do worse than Keanu Reeves, who’s taken on Old Scratch a couple of times on the big screen. In 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate, Reeves plays a hotshot young defence attorney recruited by the big boss of New York’s premier law firm (played with scenery-gnawing relish and glee by Al Pacino). The position, the perks and the power are all irresistible to Keanu and his wife, played by Charlize Theron, but there’s a catch: Pacino’s head honcho is evil incarnate, and not in an HR violation kind of way. It’s wonderfully lurid fun, with the performances and direction cranked up to 11. Slightly more subdued is Constantine, a loose adaptation of the Hellblazer comic book series, with Reeves as a Los Angeles private eye whose clientele includes angels and demons, and whose latest case places him smack in the middle of a plot to literally create Hell on Earth. It’s film noir with an occult twist – two great tastes that taste wickedly great together.
The Devil’s Advocate is streaming at SBS On Demand.
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The Devil's Advocate
thriller • fantasy • 1997
thriller • fantasy • 1997
Constantine is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Constantine
fantasy • horror • 2005
fantasy • horror • 2005
The Love Witch
It may be less than a decade old, but 2016’s The Love Witch has the boldly stylish, stylised look of an early-1970s B-picture one might catch on the late, late show. Writer-director Anna Biller borrows liberally from the UK’s Hammer Film Productions style of horror and lush American melodramas in conjuring up the look and tone of this bad romance with a dash of feminism and a splash of the occult, telling the tale of Elaine (Samantha Robinson, who should have become a star based on her work here), a witch whose yearning for love unfortunately leaves a lot of dead men in her wake. Slinky, subversive and slyly funny, it’s camp with an underlying cleverness.
The Love Witch is streaming at SBS On Demand.
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The Love Witch
horror • Comedy drama • 2016
horror • Comedy drama • 2016
Gremlins
Here’s a public service announcement: if there’s a young person in your life who insists they’re ready to enter the realm of horror movies, but you’re a responsible individual who wants to gently (but not too gently) usher them into this world, look no further than Gremlins, perhaps the best example of a creature feature that leaves a bit of a mark but no lasting scars on a kid’s psyche (although I have friends who will skip Phoebe Cates’ bummer of a Christmas story). In a small American town, a family’s exotic new pet comes with a few rules…and when one of the rules is accidentally broken, the result is a batch of slimy, fanged critters whose behaviour ranges from mischievous to downright malicious. It may take place during the holiday season, but make no mistake: Gremlins is for life, not just for Christmas.
Gremlins is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Gremlins
holiday • fantasy • 1984
holiday • fantasy • 1984
The Moogai
The spectre of racial injustice and generational trauma looms over the supernatural chills of The Moogai, in which the birth of a daughter to Indigenous couple Sarah (Shari Stebbins) and Fergus (Meyne Wyatt) not only brings new life into the world but introduces a child-snatching monstrosity – the Moogai of the title – that haunts and threatens Sarah in ways that have everyone from the authorities to her nearest and dearest questioning her judgement, her sanity and her ability to raise her baby. The tension that emerges from Sarah’s real-world confrontations is just as bracing as the terror brought by the Moogai.
See The Moogai 9.30pm Thursday October 30 on NITV and 9.50pm Friday 31 October on SBS World Movies. The Moogai is also streaming at SBS On Demand.
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The Moogai
horror • 2020
horror • 2020
Midsommar
Few modern filmmakers can get under the audience’s skin as effectively and unnervingly as Ari Aster. From Hereditary to Eddington, the writer-director combines the rites and rituals of communities with the twisted, tormented psyches of individuals to create nightmarish scenarios that linger in the heart and mind. Midsommar is no exception, with Florence Pugh’s Dani, traumatised after a family tragedy, accompanying her boyfriend and their fellow students on a trip to take part in a Swedish summer festival that becomes more and more bizarre with each passing day. The ending will have you discussing and debating its meaning for a long, long time to come.
Midsommar is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Midsommar
horror • thriller • 2019
horror • thriller • 2019
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