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Five Underseen ’90s Horror Movies to Stream This Week

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Cemetery Man - Underseen '90s horror

Thanks to the continued dominance of the home video market and digitization of cable TV, horror’s identity in the ’90s was doomed to be tricky to nail down, thanks to the vast sea of options beyond theatrical releases. For every Candyman or Scream released in theaters, there are dozens more of straight-to-video or made-for-cable horror movies.

This week, we’re diving a little deeper into the ’90s catalog, spotlighting underseen ’90s horror movies that flew under the radar. These streaming picks run the gamut in style and tone, from esoteric extreme French horror to gonzo Hong Kong cinema and beyond.

Here’s where you can stream them this week.

For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.


Baby Blood – AMC+, Kanopy

Baby Blood

Well before the rise of New French Extremity horror, there was 1990’s bizarre Baby Blood. Yanka is a circus performer stuck in an abusive relationship until a strange snake-like alien parasite finds her and crawls into her uterus. It then demands that she embark on a murder spree, devouring the blood of her victims so that the parasite can be nurtured and grow. Throughout their extraordinarily bloody journey, Yanka finds herself bonding with the creature inside her. Yes, this is essentially pregnancy horror at its most esoteric and revolting, but with a pitch-black comedic undertone. Baby Blood is as thoughtfully touching as it is gory, which is saying a lot.


The Boneyard – Prime Video

The Boneyard

This straight-to-video 1991 proved why having a decent cover box was extremely important. The monstrous poodle with a pink bow meant I passed this up over and over as a child, until finally giving in to discover a surprisingly creepy story at the heart of the film. With a very atypical protagonist, the film follows a depressed psychic as she works with detectives to get to the bottom of the mystery behind a funeral home owner with three corpses of mummified children in his possession. Only, these aren’t dead children, but “kyoshi,” or undead cursed children that must feed on human flesh. They’re very creepy, and yet they still don’t prepare for the wild finale teased on the VHS cover box. Though, it does take its time getting there. The Boneyard was written and directed by James Cummins, the creature designer behind the inventive apparitions in 1986’s House.


The Cat – Criterion Channel

The Cat 1992 - Underseen '90s Horror

For those who know and love the insanity of director Ngai Choi Lam’s Hong Kong Category III gems The Seventh Curse and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, do not miss this one. Set in the same universe as The Seventh CurseThe Cat is an adaptation of the novel Old Cat by Ni Kuang, part of the Wisely series. Here, Wisely is now played by Waise Lee, who finds himself teaming with a young girl and her alien cat to stop a grotesque killer from another planet. Ngai Choi Lam delivers another gonzo piece of cinema that blends sci-fi with goopy practical effects-driven horror. Come for the gore, but be prepared to find yourself head over heels for one of the zaniest extended brawls since John Carpenter’s They Live. You’ll know it when you see it.


Cemetery Man – AMC+, Shudder

Cemetery Man

Otherwise known as Dellamorte Dellamore, this quirky horror-comedy follows Rupert Everett as cemetery caretaker Francesco Dellamorte. He and his mute sidekick Gnaghi spend their days ensuring the new revived dead are put back in their graves. All is going well, if a bit mundane, until Francesco falls hard for a young widow (Anna Falchi) and Gnaghi falls for the mayor’s daughter. Things get crazy and very surreal, not least of which is Death incarnate visiting Francesco to demand he stop killing the dead. There’s a wry tongue-in-cheek, dream logic approach in director Michele Soavi’s work. Between the unique plot, characters, and style, there’s nothing like Cemetery Man.


Screamers – freevee, the Roku Channel, Shout TV

Screamers

Based on Phillip K. Dick’s “Second Variety,” Peter Weller stars as Commander Joseph A. Hendricksson. The Alliance officer travels dangerous terrain to secure a truce between long-warring factions. However, peace negotiations don’t stand a chance, thanks to machines created as covert weapons turning sentient. Known as “Screamers,” the devices have evolved and are plotting to destroy both sides. Borrowing a page from The Thing, paranoia becomes the name of the game when the core party discovers that Screamers can look like anything or anyone. In this ’90s sci-fi creature feature that occasionally shows its dated seams, the antagonistic creatures often mimic humans as a lure to painful demises. 

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

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‘The Coffee Table’ – Listen to Stephen King and Watch One of the Year’s Most Shocking Horror Movies

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The Coffee Table

Horror fans looking to test their mettle should take note of director Caye Casas‘s The Coffee Table. Horror master Stephen King recently said of the pitch-black tragicomedy, “My guess is you have never, not once in your whole life, seen a movie as black as this one. It’s horrible and also horribly funny.”

That sums up this grim movie well, with King’s recommendation worth taking.

In a press release, Casas said, “We wanted to make one of the cruelest films ever made, one that people cannot forget. It will make them feel very strong emotions, real terror without monsters, zombies, ghosts or murderers, only with a dining room table and the cruelest fate that you can imagine.”

The filmmaker, who co-wrote the film with Cristina Borobia, isn’t downplaying the cruelty. 

The film “follows Jesus and Maria, a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.”

Let’s just say that that fateful decision comes with significant trigger warnings, particularly for new parents, and a jaw-dropping inciting event that transforms the film into a relentless pressure cooker. One that Casas intercuts with pitch-black humor that only heightens the macabre madness. The filmmaker mines horror from a freak tragedy to a degree that often leaves you torn between laughter and edge-of-your-seat suspense. But more impressive is the way that Casas fearlessly shatters at least one sacred cinematic taboo for a twisted laugh.

“I can only assure one thing to audiences, if you like strong emotions, if you want to suffer like never before, if you want to feel real terror, The Coffee Table is your movie,” said Casas. “You will never forget it, I promise.”

That’s a bold claim that Casas more than backs up with this grim shocker. Check out the trailer below for a peek at the dark insanity in store.

David Pareja and Estefanía de los Santos star as the ill-fated couple, with Josep Riera, Claudia Riera, and Eduardo Antuña rounding out the cast.

The Coffee Table released on DVD and VOD on May 14, with platforms including AppleTV, Prime Video, Google Play, VUDU, and more. Don’t miss this wild ride, but beware: it’s a doozy.

Coffee Table poster

 

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