Amazon Prime is one of the best streaming services out there for film fans. Their library is gigantic, consisting of both new releases and classics, but most noticeable is the wide offer of b-movies in every genre. Lots of these are not seen by many and just sitting there, waiting to be discovered. When you do take the time to check out some of these movies, you’re bound to stumble upon some hidden gems.
Horror movies often capitalize on the viewers’ primal nature and fears. They captivate by invoking fear through terrifying and shocking imagery. It can be an escape out of the mundane; entertain by making you feel vulnerable, while you’re in the comfort of a theater chair or your own home. A good horror movie doesn’t have to rely on jump scares, although they can work brilliantly. Some horrors rather focus on shocking gore, all out chaos, constant insecurity, or just the horror within mankind itself. All of these get a turn in this list. Here are 10 great recent horror movies on Amazon Prime you may have missed.
1. The Love Witch (2016)
The Love Witch is a comedy horror with feminist themes looking into love and desire.
Elaine, played by Samantha Robinson is a modern-day witch that is desperately looking for a man to be loved by. Although she has no trouble seducing men, her desires aren’t met so she makes love potions to enhance their feelings. However, when the potions work too well, she ends up with men that are too emotionally attached for her liking, so she ends up breaking ties with them. When she finally does meet a man that loves her, her desperate need to be loved has already grown too big for it to work out.
Although set in modern time, The Love Witch is an homage to the 60’s and to classic Hollywood. Highly stylized and shot on 35mm it looks just like a technicolor film from the 60’s. Techniques like rear projection for driving scenes, like back in the old days, and the presentational acting, remind of the early Hollywood classics. Besides Directing, Anna Biller wrote, produced, edited, and scored the movie. With all this creative control she really managed to succeed in portraying her vision, making for a beautiful tribute to 60’s Hollywood.
2. Bedevilled (2010)
Thanks to Bong Joon-ho and his masterpiece Parasite, South Korean cinema suddenly gets a lot more notice from western countries. However, long before Parasite, Bong Joon-ho and many other Korean directors were already making some of the best movies out there. It seems like revenge thrillers have always been doing well in the country. Bong Joon-ho touched this genre earlier with Mother, Kim Jee-woon sky-rocketed to stardom with I Saw the Devil, and Park Chan-wook mastered the genre with movies like Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, and The Handmaiden. Jang Cheol-soo’s directorial debut Bedevilled is one of those revenge themed horror thrillers that did well in South Korea, but was barely seen overseas.
Hae-won is an overworked woman that goes on a break from her life to the remote island where she grew up. Here she meets Bok-nam, her childhood friend who she has ignored since she moved away. It soon becomes clear Bok-nam has been the victim of mental, physical, and sexual abuse for all this time that Hae-won had left. For Bok-nam, Hae-won’s arrival is a taste of freedom and after some disturbing events she finally decides to stick up for herself.
With the first half of the movie being almost painful to watch, because of the turns the abuse takes, the revenge rampage of the second half is all the sweeter.
3. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
Nowadays westerns seem to be a rare sight. We’re lucky to have the distinct voice of the Coen brothers, keeping the genre alive. With so few westerns it makes it so much more exciting when a new director comes along and tackles the genre.
S. Craig Zahler did just that. With his debut he immediately put himself on the map as one to look out for. After that he proved himself as a great genre filmmaker with Brawl in Cellblock 99 and again with Dragged Across Concrete.
Bone Tomahawk really sets up his career as an auteur director, with his distinct style already present. His visual style, his love for slow paced tension, and his more noticeable love for gore are all present.
In Bone Tomahawk, Sherrif Hunt, played by Kurt Russell, and his men must rescue the town’s doctor and a prisoner from a tribe of cannibals. The horror in the film mostly lays in the excessive gore, which can cause a few jaw-dropping moments.
With its stunning production design and a great cast which besides Kurt Russell include Patrick Wilson, and Richard Jenkins, it’s hard to believe the movie was made for just 1.8 million dollars and even harder to believe they didn’t manage to raise that number at the box office.
4. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
Being a Christmas zombie musical, Anna and the Apocalypse truly is something unique. The genre blend seems like an odd choice, but it works surprisingly well. The movie starts off a little unsure, with the comedic undertone taking over, but when it starts going it doesn’t stop. It balances well between good musical sequences and comedic, zombie-filled horror comparable to the likes of Shaun of the Dead.
Where the movie especially stands out is the great performances from the fairly unknown ensemble cast. Ella Hunt does a great job portraying the roll of the titular Anna.
During Christmas Anna and her friends must fight to survive a zombie outbreak in their town Little Haven. When all help seems lost the group of friends need to rely on each other to make it out alive.
5. Tag (2015)
Where South Korean cinema just had its moment in the spotlight, Japanese cinema has been a household name with film fans for a long time. Japanese horror has inspired western pop culture and sparked remakes that are now considered as western classics. Films like The Grudge, The Ring, and of course the king of them all; Godzilla, all find origin in Japan. it’s a great thing that so many of these remakes are accessible to a wider audience which can’t bother with subtitles, but for the people that don’t mind a little reading, Japanese cinema and world cinema for that matter, offer lots of great new perspectives.
Tag is a movie that American studios would probably have passed on, so it’s a good thing that there is a whole other world of movies out there. The story follows Mitsuko, who’s world is turned upside down when she’s the only survivor of a terrible bus accident which kills everyone on her school trip. The movie features Sion Sono’s recognizable subversive style and is filled to the brim with gore as far as the eye can see. A feast for the eye for the fan of over the top gore.