The Bloody Disgusting-powered SCREAMBOX is home to a variety of unique horror content, from originals and exclusives to cult classics and documentaries. With such a rapidly-growing library, there are many hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Here are five recommendations you can stream on SCREAMBOX right now.
While Stuart Gordon cemented himself as a master of horror with early works like Re-Animator and From Beyond, his later output is also worthy of exploration. 2003’s King of the Ants kicked off a trio of intense thrillers (alongside Edmond and Stuck) that would end up being Gordon’s final features. It was also one of the first productions from The Asylum, who would go on to create Sharknado, Z Nation, and Black Summer.
Based on the 1992 novel by Charlie Higson, who also wrote the screenplay, the film’s unusual structure makes it unpredictable. Struggling to make ends meet, Sean Crawley (Chris McKenna) is hired by a shady contractor (Daniel Baldwin, Vampires) to kill a local city official (Ron Livingston, The Conjuring). Sean is stiffed on payment, held captive, and tortured in an attempt to elicit brain damage.
Although the film is nihilistic, Gordon injects bits of his signature gallows humor. Baldwin is perfectly cast as the despicable antagonist, while George Wendt (Cheers) plays against type as his co-conspirator and Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2) serves as a lackey. Kari Wuhrer (Anaconda) co-stars as Livingston’s wife, who Sean falls for. Holding his own against the industry veterans, McKenna is worthy of a more decorated career.
Cocaine Crabs from Outer Space
Move over, Cocaine Bear — there’s a new coked-up animal in town… and it comes from space. Intentional schlock is deceptively difficult to pull off, but Cocaine Crabs from Outer Space is no-budget cheese done right; fully committed to the bit with plastic crabs crudely puppetted via fishing line, hammy acting, and over-the-top deaths.
Upon landing on Earth, alien crabs are given cocaine by local frat bros, thus beginning an amphetamine-fueled murder spree. A dismissed detective (writer-director Chuck Magee) teams up with a local pet shop employee (Kat Andrews) to stop the killer crustaceans and their Gremlins-esque exploits of monstrous mayhem.
Not every joke lands, but it’s impossible not to be amused by the absurdity of it all. Those who enjoy goofy fare of Velocipastor, Llamageddon, and Thankskilling will get a kick out of this one. It also makes a good double feature with Crabs on SCREAMBOX.
Found footage’s inherently homespun aesthetic lends itself to a lower barrier to entry for micro-budget filmmakers, which can be a double-edged sword. With Life of Belle, writer-director Shawn Robinson (in his feature debut) cast his actual family and shot in his own home while tapping into his real-life fears as a parent.
Positioned as an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of 8-year-old Annabelle Starnes (Syrenne Robinson), the film presents the aspiring YouTuber’s footage along with her house’s security cameras. The footage captures Belle and her younger brother (Zachary Robinson) struggling to understand and endure their mother’s (Sarah Mae Robinson) dangerously erratic behavior.
While its visuals are reminiscent of a Paranormal Activity movie, the film is thematically more in line with Skinamarink; Robinson favors the psychological terror of children in peril over supernatural-fueled jump scares. Over the course of 72 minutes, the film slowly but steadily builds to a chilling finale.
Dead Ant immediately establishes its cheeky tone with a prologue in which a running woman strips nude and throws her clothes at the giant ant that’s chasing her. It may not be high art, but writer-director Ron Carlson delivers an entertaining cross between campy creature feature and Spinal Tap-style heavy metal satire.
The film pits a washed-up hair metal band — Bret Michaels-esque frontman Merrick (Jake Busey, Starship Troopers), guitarist Pager (Rhys Coiro, Entourage), bassist Art (Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings), drummer Stevie (Leisha Hailey, The L Word), and manager Danny (Tom Arnold, True Lies) — against ferocious ants that increase in size each time one is killed.
The all-star cast — which also includes Michael Horse (Twin Peaks) and Danny Woodbury (Seinfeld) as a peyote-peddling Native American and his right-hand man, along with a pre-fame Sydney Sweeney (Immaculate) — fully embraces the ridiculousness. The Sharknado-level CGI is far from convincing, but that only adds to the humor.
SCREAMBOX has a number of Roger Corman productions to honor the late, great trailblazer, including one of his best directorial efforts: A Bucket of Blood. In typical Corman fashion, the 1959 horror-comedy was conceived to repurpose leftover sets from another production. Charles B. Griffith — who recycled the plot structure for their next collaboration, The Little Shop of Horrors — was hired to pen the script in five days. Corman then shot the film in another five days on a budget of $50,000. Remarkably, it doesn’t look nearly as cheap or as rushed as it undoubtedly was.
Beloved character actor Dick Miller (Gremlins, The Terminator) stars in a rare lead role as Walter Paisley, a cafe busboy who dotes on pretentious artists but has ambitions of being one himself. After accidentally killing a cat, inspiration strikes to cover it up as a grotesque yet dignified sculpture. Giving new meaning to the phrase “tortured artist,” his taste of fame leads to an inadvertent murder spree.
Nary a dull moment among its economical 66 minutes, A Bucket of Blood holds up remarkably well after 65 years. The concept remains timely, as both the social commentary and dark satirization of the counterculture still play. You could swap out beatniks for influencers and make a contemporary, subversive slasher-comedy of errors in the vein of Tucker and Dale vs Evil.
Visit the SCREAMBOX Hidden Gems archives for more recommendations.
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