Movies
It Came From Streaming: Pride Month 2024 Edition
Happy Pride Month, everybody! We’re here, we’re queer, and we want to stay home tonight and binge-watch horror movies! I have triumphantly returned to the It Came from Streaming soapbox to give you a queer-ified tour through the best and brightest of what the world of horror movie streaming has to offer this month.
Happy Pride Month, everybody! We’re here, we’re queer, and we want to stay home tonight and binge-watch horror movies! I have triumphantly returned to the It Came from Streaming soapbox to give you a queer-ified tour through the best and brightest of what the world of horror movie streaming has to offer this month.
The Best Movies To Stream for Pride Month 2024
There are a lot of different ways to interpret what makes a “queer movie,” let alone a queer horror movie, so I’m going to try to include a pretty wide variety of what’s new and gay as hell on a streaming service near you!
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Sometimes all you need is a gorgeous, lushly mounted Anne Rice adaptation where a dewy Brad Pitt sulks at a bewigged Tom Cruise while they argue for decades about how to raise their surrogate daughter, who is also Kirsten Dunst. The new AMC series adaptation of the novel is obviously doing a much better job of foregrounding the queer material that is central to this text, but it’s honestly more impressive that they got away with making this movie as achingly gay as they did back in ye olde ‘90s.
Interview with the Vampire is streaming now on Tubi.
Fright Night (1985)
Let’s kick off this month with a double-whammy of subtextually queer vampire stories! Why not? The inherent erotic underpinnings of the vampire myth allow for ample queer readings into stories like this one, which follows a teenage boy who becomes hopelessly obsessed with his adult male neighbor, to the point that he ignores sex with his girlfriend to spy on him. Because that neighbor might be a vampire. Yeah, sure, that’s why. This movie also has what might literally be the queerest supporting cast for an ostensibly straight movie from the 1980s, which includes the ever-reliable Roddy McDowall and Amanda Bearse.
Sidebar: I wish I could have included a vampire movie that doesn’t center on cis men, like The Hunger (1983) or Daughters of Darkness (1971), among many others, but I am, alas, shackled to what the streamers have decided to throw at us this June. But check those movies out anyway!
Fright Night is streaming now on Max.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
The in-universe queer content is admittedly limited here. There is a queer character (played by the terrific Sarah Swire, who has a hell of a voice), but she has an offscreen love interest. But there’s something alchemically gay about combining a musical, the zombie apocalypse, and Christmas into a single gift-wrapped package.
Anna and the Apocalypse is streaming now on Peacock.
The Skin I Live In (2011)
It wouldn’t be a proper queer film festival if there wasn’t a controversial pick thrown in there. The degree to which Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In is a “problem movie” is highly debatable, considering how well it fits into the nasty-minded, queer, punk storytelling aesthetic that the Spanish director has been cultivating since the early 1980s. But let’s just say that this movie, which stars Antonio Banderas as a twisted surgeon, isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to the ways that gender and the body don’t always intersect. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it’s a compelling thriller that is well worth a watch otherwise.
The Skin I Live In is streaming now on Max.
(For an even ickier time, Brian De Palma’s wildly transphobic but nevertheless interesting problem film Dressed to Kill is also new to streaming, on Tubi, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to recommend that one during Pride month in good conscience.)
Seed of Chucky (2005)
The fifth movie in the Child’s Play franchise has been critically reevaluated in the past few years, but honestly, even if every person in the world signed a petition declaring their love for Seed of Chucky, it wouldn’t be enough to redeem how poorly it was treated when it originally came out. The initial repulsed reaction that audiences had to this movie put Chucky in franchise jail for nearly a decade and consigned him to a direct-to-DVD release when he did return. Sure, it’s cheaper-looking than the previous installments. I’ll give people that. But it’s got a scrappy, relentlessly buoyant postmodern energy that can’t be denied. I take the cameo from John Waters, who is clearly delighted to be playing a dogged Hollywood paparazzo, to be a tacit endorsement of this movie’s deeply compelling trash-pop vibe. Also, with the way it centers a child investigating their own gender identity and multiple characters seeking outsides that match their insides, it’s maybe the queerest movie of the mid-2000s. Take that, Brokeback.
Seed of Chucky is streaming now on Peacock.
BONUS: Bound (1996)
Bound is in no way a horror movie, but in addition to being one of the most earnestly, authentically queer romances of the 20th century, the Wachowskis’ debut is a goddamn good crime thriller, full of zesty cinematic energy that told you these folks were going places. Plus, it’s mentioned in what is by far the best joke in Seed of Chucky, so I think it counts for this list.
Bound is streaming now on Paramount+.
PS: Jennifer’s Body is now streaming on Peacock, FYI, but enough queer people have said enough about that movie that I couldn’t possibly add a single thing to the discourse here.
We are finally in the midst of Shudder’s 61 days of Halloween! There are so many horror movies to consume and 31 days simply isn’t enough. Use the long Labor Day weekend to kick off your horror movie countdown and add these movies to your Shudder queue. Here is a list of what I would recommend checking out to ease into the Halloween spirit right before going into full blown premature trick-or-treating mode.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
The Yeti (2026)
A large creature has captured people in a remote Alaskan town in the 1940s. The sheriff has put together a search-and-rescue monster hunting party to bring back the captives. It sounds like the premise of a Cold Iron Studios co-op video game in the same vein as Aliens: Fireteam Elite. The stylization from co-directors Gene Gallerano & William Pisciotta in the trailer makes me think they have cooked up a story that blends action, horror, and wilderness survival. Sign me up, sheriff!
Leave (2022)
Hunter was found as a baby abandoned in a cemetery wrapped in a cloth covered with satanic symbols. She has been searching for answers her whole life about where she came from. Her journey to find her parents takes her down a mysterious path, and she is being warned by something from the beyond to leave this mystery alone. Can she trust who this investigation is leading her towards? It’s a mysterious, supernatural, culty film that will give you chills.
Penny Lane is Dead (2026)
One crazy night in Australia with perhaps a dash of revenge. Shudder’s latest original looks to be packed with blood and violence in this story of girls just trying to have fun until the crazy cousin drugs the party and invites dangerous people to play. The trailer promises lots of body horror (trigger warning, there may be SA or threat of it). I’m not saying it will be Evil Dead level, but there’s definitely something in the Aussie water with Lee Cronin pumping out his gory deadites and mummy films, and now Mia Kate Russel with this one.
The Others (2001)
This is a PSA to the younger readers of Horror Press; stop what you’re doing and watch Nicole Kidman go 100 miles per hour in this classic ghost story with a twist. Dreary weather, massive estate, confusing corridors, creepy house servants you don’t know if you can trust, and sad British kids. The ending is an all-timer and spoilers should be avoided at all costs. It has exactly what you need to get right into the cozy, spooky mood for 61-days of Halloween.
Dark Harvest (2023)
If The Hunger Games and The Purge had a baby and raised it during Oktoberfest. Teenage boys are tasked with hunting and killing the entity known as Sawtooth Jack on Halloween night, or it could mean certain peril for their town. Of the movies I have listed here that I have not seen, this is going to be at the top of my watchlist. Teens fighting for survival on Halloween night and the battle setting is in a cornfield?! Say less. I am there with my Sam Adams seasonal in hand. Another perfect movie to cannonball me right into the Halloween spirit.
This list has been carefully curated to watch in a specific order to gear up for a Halloween marathon. Start with the wintry monster movie, move on to a macabre supernatural thriller, followed by a ramp-up in blood and gore, to then be lulled into a spooky, bump-in-the-night classic, all to end on a ritualistic hunt taking place on Halloween night. This is just getting things started for the first 30-days. Looking forward to sharing the next list to get you through October.
Anyone who follows legendary horror author Stephen King on social media or reads the back of books knows one thing. It’s harder to find something that King hasn’t blurbed than something that he has. The dude is a voracious consumer of genre media, and he finds a lot to love. It’s an admirable quality. But, speaking as someone who saw American Ultra after he praised it, you can’t always trust his recommendations. Today, I’ll cut some of the wheat from the chaff and break down the best modern horror movies he’s recommended.
Three notes: First, I have decided to define “modern” as “2001 or later.” Second, King practices good social media hygiene and has deleted many of his old posts. A lot of them are archived elsewhere. However, it’s more or less impossible to make a truly comprehensive list of his recommendations. I’ve synthesized multiple different sources and done my best to truly encapsulate the breadth of his recommendations. Third, I have not included any adaptations of his own work. He may be outspoken about the ones he doesn’t like, but he’s still obviously biased in that department.
#10 Snakes on a Plane (2006)
To quote King himself (defending putting 2012 among his top 2009 movies), “no filmgoing diet is complete without some cheese.” Snakes on a Plane is a does-what-it-says-on-the-tin movie, delivering high-flying serpentine thrills. However, it’s also a remarkably faithful resurrection of the atmosphere of old 1970s airplane thrillers.
#9 Final Destination 5 (2011)
In his Best of 2011 entry on Final Destination 5, King called it “the best since the first,” and he’s absolutely right. While the sequels probably peaked with the highway prologue in Final Destination 2, the fifth installment is pound-for-pound the most thrilling entry. Between the bridge collapse, the laser eye surgery, and the nail-biting sequence where a screw falls pointy-side-up on a balance beam, there’s no denying there’s real power here. And that’s not even mentioning the fun final twist!
#8 A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
In a since-deleted Tweet, King called Day One “the rare ‘big Hollywood film’ that is both intimate and textured.” It’s true. A Quiet Place: Day One is a mini miracle of horror filmmaking. An IP-drenched prequel to a duology of good-not-great post-apocalyptic popcorn blockbusters shouldn’t be this genuinely stirring. Plus, relative newcomer Joseph Quinn holds his own against the awe-inspiring Lupita Nyong’o, resulting in an all-timer two-hander.
#7 The Strangers (2008)
After watching The Strangers, King took to Entertainment Weekly to pontificate about what makes good horror. If you inspire someone who literally wrote the book on horror to think about it more, you’ve done something right. Bryan Bertino’s home invasion movie is one of the grimmest movies of the 2000s, but its desperate existential dread is terrifying and perfectly in line with King’s best works.
#6 Splice (2009)
King included Splice on his Top 10 list for 2010, particularly praising the “talented actors… who take the material seriously.” How did this grotesque genetic-experimentation horror movie directed by the guy who made Cube land Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley? Who knows. But they breathe life into some already super solid material. What Brody in particular gets up to feels even more twisted because it’s the guy from The Pianist doing it.
#5 Smile (2022)
In a since-deleted Tweet, King called Smile a “good, scary horror film.” He added that “the real surprise is Sosie Bacon as Rose. What a hell of a performance.” Bacon really was a revelation, but so was debut director Parker Finn. His control over tone and pacing leads to some of the best scare sequences of the 2020s.
#4 The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024)
King’s not fucking around about the New Zealand horror film The Rule of Jenny Pen. It’s one of just two horror movies on his New York Times ballot for the best of the 21st century. The underseen movie is a real corker, too. It follows a judge (Geoffrey Rush) recovering in a care home after a stroke. However, his relaxation is ruined by a sadistic retiree (John Lithgow) who is obsessed with his baby doll puppet. Lithgow’s performance is stunning, and his thrillingly dark energy commands the screen every second he’s in front of the camera.
#3 Barbarian (2022)
In a since-deleted reply to a fan’s Tweet about Barbarian, King said “Yeah, that movie blew me away. It was crazy! Crazy GOOD!” This movie contributed what is perhaps the definitive scary basement in horror, which is no small feat. That’s all thanks to director Zach Cregger’s control over onscreen darkness (one of his many skills). The man must be a shadowmancer of some kind.
#2 Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan is the only other horror movie on King’s NYT ballot. It has received a lot of international recognition over the years. Perhaps more than any other non-Parasite movie from South Korea. That’s because it’s flipping amazing. Its crackling energy makes it one of the scariest fast-zombie movies in history. But it also marries that with a compelling father-daughter story. There’s really nothing Train to Busan can’t do.
#1 The Descent (2005)
King put The Descent on his 2006 best-of list, calling it “the best horror movie of the year.” Forget that. It’s one of the top horror movies of the century so far. It’s a bloody good monster movie nestled into a skin-crawlingly claustrophobic spelunking movie.
Honorable Mentions:
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – I’ve never seen it, so I can’t in good faith recommend it
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – A masterpiece, but it’s not really “horror”
Obsession (2026) – We gotta let this one sit, in order to avoid recency bias
