Stream and scream: Spooky shows

Horror is one of the most visceral genres out there and scary stories around the campfire have a long history. Whether it’s a story about a haunted house, or a killer with a signature mask and/ or weapon hunting down a gaggle of teenagers, there’s always something cathartic about a good scare.

Maybe you think the horror genre has nothing to offer past those scares. If you’ve seen one slasher or monster movie you’ve seen them all, right? But, like many genres, horror merely provides a collection of story formulas and anchors to start from, and the great storytellers know how to work with these elements to create something new.

One of the best examples of this is The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix). Forced to reunite following a tragic loss, the Cain family finally confronts what happened to them 26 years ago in that strange house. Hill House is a story about grief, sometimes to the point where the show feels less like a horror, and more like a straight drama with the occasional supernatural occurrence, but that doesn’t matter with characters as richly realised as these, as we watch them pull on the threads of their past they have ignored for so long.

This particular venture into terror seems to have sparked something in series creator/director Mike Flanagan, as he has since followed up Hill House with two more shows. The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) is based on another book, The Turn of the Screw. It tells the tale of an American woman moving to England to escape the horrors of her past and taking on the position of au pair to two young children in a house in the countryside. However, the manor is not as idyllic a home as it seems, as it carries its own terrible history.

While Hill House plays the long game, slowly teasing out the scares through its 10 episodes, Bly Manor hits the ground running with an atmosphere that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up almost instantaneously and stay standing for nine hours straight. Like its predecessor, Bly Manor presents rich characters that pull you in and make you sad to see the series end. Flanagan has made a third show for Netflix (Midnight Mass) and has another three currently in development at request of the streaming service. If his track record is anything to go by, we can expect great things from these shows.

If you’re interested in something less spine-chilling, more of a monster mash, you could try All of Us Are Dead (Netflix). Zombie-apocalypse meets Lord of the Flies in this South Korean drama. It was a normal day at Hyosan High School, until a fateful visit to the nurse’s office results in a school-wide outbreak of infection, of the flesheating variety. What follows, mixed in with all the blood and dismemberment, is a surprisingly charming, coming-of-age story.

Cut off from the outside world, the students must do their best to survive a monster much worse than the undead: other teenagers. Maybe you’d rather see these clichés of the genre in a new context. Looking for howls of laughter as opposed to screams of terror? Developed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi after the international success of the Kiwi film of the same name, What We Do in the Shadows (available on both Disney+ and Netflix), follows a group of vampires flatting together in New York City, dealing with other everyday problems such as possessed dolls, getting the smell of werewolf out of the carpet, and the dreaded bureaucracy of the Vampiric Council (Staten Island branch). If you were a fan of the original film, this show is worth checking out, as it does a wonderful job of living up to its legacy, most likely due to Clement’s continued involvement with the title.

If you find yourself wanting to head off the beaten track, you could look at what’s on Shudder, a streaming service devoted entirely to stories that will make your skin crawl (at $7.99 weekly or $79.99 yearly). It offers classics like House on Haunted Hill, to more contemporary tales of terror such as The Babadook. If you decide to have a free trial, I would heartily recommend Housebound.

After attempting to steal an ATM, Kylie Bucknell is sentenced to house arrest under the care of her mother and stepfather. Before long, Kylie becomes convinced by her mother’s claims that the house is haunted, and after learning it was once the site of a horrific murder, decides to uncover how their ghost came to be, and hopefully put it to rest.

It feels odd to me that this isn’t a go-to when people talk about great Kiwi films. Equal parts scary and funny, with neither aspect detracting from the other, Housebound is an absolute gem.

There’s plenty more to see on Shudder, as the service seems committed to developing as much original content as it can, from as many creators with different perspectives as possible. However, Shudder isn’t just for scary stories, but the stories behind them as well, with documentaries such as Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster, which follows the 60-year career of the first man to don the infamous neck bolts of Frankenstein’s monster.

Halloween isn’t as popular here as in some countries, but as 31 October draws closer, maybe you’ll find yourself craving a good scare. If that becomes the case, happy hunting. Further options for horror viewing are given in the panel.

Netflix

The Mist

A small town is enveloped by a thick mist. Before long, the town learns there are some creatures that call the mist home, and, as dangerous as they may be, the company of others isn’t always the safest option.

Neon

Castle Rock

An anonymous call brings Henry Deaver back to his hometown of Castle Rock, Maine, and forces him to confront the events of his childhood. But what does the disappearance and recovery of a child decades ago, have to do with the strange man found in a cage beneath Shawshank Prison. This series is set in the same world that horror author Stephen King allowed his best-selling novels to play out in. Lovecraft Country An adaptation and continuation of Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, the racist terrors of “Jim Crow America” are almost matched by cosmic horrors emanating from realms unknown.

Disney+

The Strain

After an aeroplane arrives in New York with everyone onboard dead, a virus begins to spread throughout the city. The symptoms? An extreme aversion to sunlight, and a thirst for human blood. Helstrom Daimon and Ana Helstrom are uniquely suited to hunting down the dark forces that plague the world. When there’s a serial killer in the family, you get used to seeing the worst of humanity.

TVNZ+

Bates Motel

A prequel to the Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho, this follows the youth of killer-to-be Norman Bates, exploring the darkness that plagued his life and turned him into a monster. Zomboat! When a zombie outbreak occurs in Birmingham, sisters Kat and Jo commandeer a canal boat to make their way to London, picking up some unlikely travelling companions as they stay (barely) ahead of the shambling hordes of undead.

Nat Dolan is an Auckland actor and movie enthusiast

We're publishing this article as a FREE READ so it is FREE to read and EASY to share more widely. Please support us and the hard work of our journalists by clicking here and subscribing to our publication and website