Like laughter, fear is a universal language. That’s especially true in horror and the slasher subgenre as well. Case in point? Today brings Lithuania’s first slasher movie, We Might Hurt Each Other, to Bloody Disgusting’s SCREAMBOX, now streaming exclusively!
Lithuania’s first slasher pays tribute to the golden age of the subgenre while infusing an influence from Eastern European folklore. In SCREAMBOX Original We Might Hurt Each Other, “After classmates destroy life-size wooden folk art statues during a wild high school graduation party at a remote cottage, a mysterious killer starts picking them off one by one.”
This week’s streaming picks adhere to an international slasher theme, delivering brutal kills from around the globe. As always, here’s where you can stream them this week…
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
A Bay of Blood – freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Shout TV
Also known as Twitch of the Death Nerve, this Giallo was Mario Bava’s most violent movie. When a wealthy woman is murdered by her husband, it triggers a series of murders where no one appears safe in the surrounding area. It features a gory body count filled with beheadings, stabbings, and stranglings. A Bay of Blood’s influence extends beyond Giallo and into the American slasher in specific kills and POV shots. Never mind that the Friday the 13th franchise drew inspiration from Bava’s proto-slasher for at least one memorable kill; it’s an all-around foundational horror film worth watching.
Cold Prey – Viaplay
A group of five friends snowboarding in a secluded area of the mountains in Jotunheimen are forced to find shelter when one breaks their leg. They take refuge in a deserted lodge, wholly abandoned save for the homicidal maniac dubbed the Mountain Man. Cold Prey is a fantastic modern slasher with a stunning snowy backdrop contributing to the group’s fight for survival. Suspenseful, brutal, and with one of horror’s most underrated final girls in Jannicke.
Dream Home – AMC+
Most slashers frame their narratives through the protagonist, which is most often the final girl. 2010’s Dream Home takes the rarer route by showing the killer’s perspective as she’s driven to kill. Cheng Li-sheung works two jobs to save enough to purchase her dream flat. Her efforts are thwarted at every turn, from the ailing health of her parents to consistent obstacles at the bank. Cheng Li-sheung breaks and unleashes ultimate carnage. Told in a non-linear format, nothing about Dream Home is conventional. It’s a refreshing take on the slasher, and it’s extreme. If you like your slashers extra gory, this is it.
Evil Dead Trap – AMC+, Arrow Player, Fandor, freevee, Night Flight+, Plex, Screambox, Shudder
This Japanese giallo-style slasher is for fans that love over-the-top plot reveals and an extra helping of sleazy gore and inventive, gruesome kills. The plot follows a late-night talk show host, Nami (Miyuki Ono), and her crew as they investigate the origins of a snuff film shot at a nearby facility. The atmospheric setup eventually goes off the rails most unpredictably, but director Toshiharu Ikeda wastes no time acclimating viewers with a gnarly burst of ocular trauma straightaway. It signals precisely the type of bloody madness in store. That the killer employs elaborate traps to commit murder means that someone beat Saw to the punch by over a decade.
Lake Bodom – Shudder
Anytime “based on a true story” pops up in a horror movie, it’s understandably met with eye rolls and skepticism. In Lake Bodom, co-writer/director Taneli Mustonen uses the unsolved 1960s Lake Bodom murders that rocked Finland as a launchpad to create a slick, dynamic slasher. Set in the present day, a new foursome of friends decides to camp at the site of the 1960 murders, hoping to solve the case by reconstructing that ill-fated night by the minute. Naturally, things go awry after nightfall, and the killings begin. The story has plenty of originality, but don’t expect a significant break from slasher convention. Do, however, expect gorgeous cinematography and to have that need for a well-executed slasher well met.
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