Stream On Demand Reviews of streaming movies and shows by Sean Axmaker.

‘Disturbia’ – a teenage ‘Rear Window’ in suburbia on Paramount+, Peacock, and MGM+
Oscar-winning ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ on Netflix
George Romero enters the ‘Land of the Dead’ on Prime Video
‘Arrival’ – First contact on Paramount+ and Peacock
‘They Live’ – John Carpenter’s insidious invasion on Prime Video
‘Body Snatchers’ – Abel Ferrara’s pod people on Criterion Channel
‘24 Hour Party People’ – Sex, drugs, and the Manchester music scene on Prime Video, Criterion Channel and MGM+
‘The Wailing’ – South Korean horror on Fandor and Hi-yah!

‘Disturbia’ – a teenage ‘Rear Window’ in suburbia on Paramount+, Peacock, and MGM+

Shia LaBeouf is a troubled teenager who suspects his neighbor is a serial killer in the suburban thriller ‘Disturbia.’

Matthew McConaughey won an Academy Award for playing Ron Woodroof in the film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée

Oscar-winning ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ on Netflix

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won Academy Awards for the drama ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ about an unlikely hero in the early days of the AIDS crisis.

George Romero enters the ‘Land of the Dead’ on Prime Video

The fourth film in George Romero’s ‘Dead’ series, ‘Land of the Dead’ leans in to the social commentary without skimping on the carnage and the spectacle.

Amy Adams in 'Arrival,' directed by Denis Villeneuve

‘Arrival’ – First contact on Paramount+ and Peacock

Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner star in the most cerebral of alien contact movies. ‘Arrival’ earned eight Oscar nominations.

John Carpenter directs the cult movie satire starring Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David

‘They Live’ – John Carpenter’s insidious invasion on Prime Video

John Carpenter’s witty, scruffy little science fiction film ‘They Live’ is a pulpy alien invasion tale as satirical socio-political commentary.

‘Body Snatchers’ – Abel Ferrara’s pod people on Criterion Channel

The third screen version of Jack Finney’s insidious aline invasion novel, ‘Body Snatchers’ relocates the story to a gated military base.

‘24 Hour Party People’ – Sex, drugs, and the Manchester music scene on Prime Video, Criterion Channel and MGM+

Steve Coogan stars in Michael Winterbottom’s bubbly, playful story of the Manchester music scene of the 1980s, ’24 Hour Party People.’

‘The Warriors’ – Come out and play-yay on Netflix

Walter Hill’s comic book of an action film, ‘The Warriors’ is a funky, flashy grindhouse epic that makes the most of its low budget graffiti aesthetic.

Keanu Reeves is retired assassin John Wick roused back for a mission of vengeance in the 2014 action hit directed by Chad Stahelski

Keanu Reeves kills as ‘John Wick’ on Prime Video

The 2014 action movie hit ‘John Wick’ revived a kind of simple, streamlined action thriller that Hollywood had ignored for years and turned Keanu Reeves into an action star.

‘Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell’ – Hammer horror free on Kanopy and Hoopla

Peter Cushing plays the cold-blooded doctor for the sixth and last time in Terence FIsher’s ‘Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell.’

‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ – a delirious sequel on Prime Video and Peacock

Boris Karloff wrings even more pathos from his plight as the misunderstood monster and Elsa Lanchester’s hissing, birdlike performance as the bride made her an instant icon in ‘The Bride of Frankenstein.’

Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh in the film by Orson Welles

‘Touch of Evil’ – Orson Welles on the border on Prime Video

Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh star in Orson Welles’ baroque border town murder mystery ‘Touch of Evil,’ a grimy and ultimately dazzling work of cinematic magic.

‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ – Hammer discovers horror, free on Hoopla

Hammer Films reinvented itself as a specialist in lurid Gothic horror films and launched Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as horror stars with ‘The Curse of Frankenstein.’

It’s alive! Alive! The original ‘Frankenstein’ on Prime Video and Peacock

Boris Karloff is the misunderstood monster in James Whale’s 1931 adaptation of the Mary Shelley classic ‘Frankenstein,’ the granddaddy of modern monster movies.

Sissy Spacek stars in Brian De Palma's adaptation of the Stephen King novel.

Sissy Spacek is Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’ on Prime Video, HBO Max, Criterion Channel and MGM+

Sissy Spacek is brilliant as the sensitive, shy teen whose powers erupt in Brian De Palma’s dreamy and bloody Stephen King adaptation ‘Carrie.’

‘It’s Always Fair Weather’ – Gene Kelly’s reunion musical on HBO Max

Gene Kelly reunites with his war buddies after ten years in ‘It’s Always Fair Weather,’ a musical that takes on post-war disillusionment.

‘Thirteen Women’ – Irene Dunne vs. Myrna Loy on HBO Max

Myrna Loy is a wronged woman who takes her revenge in the “Ten Little Indians”-style pre-code thriller ‘Thirteen Women,’ set in a circle of sorority sisters whose planned reunion is marred with premonitions of death, murder, and suicide.

‘The Horror of Dracula’ – Christopher Lee is the Count, free on Hoopla

Christopher Lee as an elegant and seductive Dracula and Peter Cushing an intense, driven Van Helsing in ‘The Horror of Dracula,’ the 1958 remake of the vampire classic.

Kwak Do-won stars in Na Hong-jin South Korean thriller The Wailing

‘The Wailing’ – South Korean horror on Fandor and Hi-yah!

An underacheiving cop gets caught up in a bloody murder with supernatural overtones in ‘The Wailing,’ a thriller that takes a dark turn into horror.

‘La Ciénaga’ – swamped in disillusionment on HBO Max and Criterion Channel

The debut feature by Lucretia Martel, ‘La Ciénaga’ is an immersive portrail of the lives of two Argentinean families in a state of malaise and rot.

‘Tabu’ – forbidden love on MUBI and Kino Film Collection

Miguel Gomes’ dreamy tale of a long-ago love in colonial Africa, ‘Tabu’ almost defies description.

‘Lisa and the Devil’ – Mario Bava’s giallo psychodrama on Shudder and AMC+

Elke Sommer is an American in a spooky old villa in Spain where Telly Savalas is a sardonic, lollipop sucking butler who may or may not be the devil in ‘Lisa and the Devil.’

‘Bicycle Thieves’ – surviving the impoverished streets of Rome on Prime Video and HBO Max

Vittorio De Sica directs the landmark drama ‘Bicycle Thieves’ on the streets in Rome in the devastating depression after World War II. It placed in the 2022 Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll.

‘Nosferatu’ – Cinema’s original vampire on Prime Video, Shudder and Kino Film Collection

F.W. Murnau directs the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” in everything but name with landmark horror classic ‘Nosferatu.’

‘They Live’ – John Carpenter’s insidious invasion on Prime Video

John Carpenter’s witty, scruffy little science fiction film ‘They Live’ is a pulpy alien invasion tale as satirical socio-political commentary.

‘Body Snatchers’ – Abel Ferrara’s pod people on Criterion Channel

The third screen version of Jack Finney’s insidious aline invasion novel, ‘Body Snatchers’ relocates the story to a gated military base.

‘The Wailing’ – South Korean horror on Fandor and Hi-yah!

An underacheiving cop gets caught up in a bloody murder with supernatural overtones in ‘The Wailing,’ a thriller that takes a dark turn into horror.

Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’ – It’s alive on Disney+

Tim Burton’s sweet, adolescent twist on the classic ‘Frankenstein’ story, ‘Frankenweenie’ captures a childhood fascination with monster movies and the macabre.

‘Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell’ – Hammer horror free on Kanopy and Hoopla

Peter Cushing plays the cold-blooded doctor for the sixth and last time in Terence FIsher’s ‘Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell.’

‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ – a delirious sequel on Prime Video and Peacock

‘Carnivále’ – a supernatural circus in the California Dust Bowl on HBO Max

Magic realism and American Gothic come together in ‘Carnivále,’ a supernatural struggle of good and evil in the 1930s Dust Bowl.

Michael C. Hall in 'Dexter.' Photo credit: Showtime

The original ‘Dexter’ – Michael C. Hall kills on Paramount+

The darkly comic series about a Miami PD forensics investigator with a double life as a serial killer who targets killers, ‘Dexter’ was a witty show that developed a passionate following.

‘Manhattan’ – before ‘Oppenheimer’ on Prime Video

The short-lived series ‘Manhattan’ dramatizes the development of the atomic bomb through the stories of fictionalized characters working at Los Alamos.

Donnie Wahlberg, Neil McDonough, and the men of Easy Company in the miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks

‘Band of Brothers’ at 25 – the war in Europe on HBO Max

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produce the epic ten-part limited series ‘Band of Brothers,’ that follows a single company through the European theater of World War II.

'The Great Train Robbery' is one of the features films in Mark Cousins ' documentary 'The Story of Film: An Odyssey '

‘The Story of Film: An Odyssey’ – an exhaustive cinema history lesson on Prime Video

Filmmaker Mark Cousins takes an unconventional, expansive, and almost exhaustive approach to the history of cinema in ‘The Story of Film: An Odyssey.’

Zooey Deschanel, Raoul Trujillo, Alan Cumming, and Neal McDonough in a revisionist Oz

‘Tin Man’ – Steampunk Oz on Prime Video and Peacock

Zooey Deschanel is a modern day Dorothy in the SyFy limited series ‘Tin Man,’ a radical reworking of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ that is equal parts revisionist remake and dark sequel.

‘Star Trek’ – the first frontier at 60 on Paramount+

A rich universe of characters and stories, and the dreams of many a visionary, began in the landmark science fiction show ‘Star Trek’ that launched in 1966.

The original ‘The Outer Limits’ – sixties SF TV on Prime Video

Stephen King called the original incarnation of the TV science fiction anthology series ‘The Outer Limits’ “the best program of its type to ever run on network TV.”

‘The Twilight Zone’ – enter another dimension on Paramount+ and Prime Video

Submitted for your approval: Rod Serling, a writer whose mix of science fiction, fantasy, and social commentary results in the most celebrated and respected anthology series of all time in… The Twilight Zone.

The animated adventure 'Kubo and the Two Strings' from Laika

‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ – An animated Japanese odyssey on HBO Max, Hulu and Peacock

Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, and Ralph Fiennes provide the voices in the dazzling stop-motion animation epic ‘Kubo and the Two Strings.’

The stop-motion animation dark fairy tale 'Coraline' directed by Henry Selick

‘Coraline’ – a dark fairy tale on HBO Max, Hulu and Peacock

The dark fantasy storybook ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman is transformed into an imaginative animated fairy tale by director Henry Selick.

‘Antz’ – a neurotic bug’s life on Netflix

Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, and Sylvester Stallone provide voices in ‘Antz,’ a 1998 animated comedy filled with in-jokes for the adults in the audience.

‘Bicycle Thieves’ – surviving the impoverished streets of Rome on Prime Video and HBO Max

‘Blade Runner: The Final Cut’ – the definitive version of a visionary film on Prime Video

Ridley Scott’s visionary reworking of Philip K. Dick’s novel may have flopped when it was released but ‘Blade Runner’ has become a science fiction touchstone and has colonized the imaginations of writers, directors, and die-hard fans of science fiction.