Now Scream This: 10 Monster Movies to Stream After Watching ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’

(Welcome to Now Scream This, a column where horror experts Chris Evangelista and Matt Donato tell you what scary, spooky, and spine-tingling movies are streaming and where you can watch them.)

Matt: Holy buckets, it’s time for another Now Scream This column? If Chris didn’t send a reminder, I’d still think we posted the last one a few hours ago. What is time? How is life? Can I just see King Shark in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad already? Speaking of (typing of?) King Shark, we thought it’d be fun to honor Godzilla and King Kong this week with streaming monster selections. Maybe not to size, but still just as monstrous (by our definitions).

Chris: It’s Godzilla vs. Kong time, which gives Now Scream This an excuse to highlight some fun monster flicks that you can stream right now. We played fast and loose with the rules here – the movies we picked didn’t require gigantic, kaiju-sized monsters – just monsters in general. You may think that’s a cop-out, but buddy, let me tell you: writing these columns ain’t easy. Just go with it. 

Mon Mon Mon Monsters!

Now Streaming on Shudder

Matt: Perhaps I’ve written about this Taiwanese monster flick before, but I’m going to again because it’s grown on me since. Mon Mon Mon Monsters! is about a gang of schoolkids hunted by, you guessed it, a monster. That said, it’s more about the transformation that occurs as a once-victim becomes an abuser and the actual “monsters” of this hunt-and-standoff revealing themselves. As I said in my /Film ranking of Sudder’s first original content helping: “A bit long and all over the place, but Giddens Ko’s nastiness is sincere and unapologetic when reconstructing the horrors of childhood bullying. As painful that cyclical “victim turned abuser” depiction may be.” Monsters with a message!

Chris: I haven’t seen this, but it’s exactly the sort of movie I’d expect Matt to start out with here. Good job, Matt. 

The Hive

Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

Matt: Before Brightburn, director David Yarovesky debuted with a psychological campground horror flick called The Hive. Poster quotes read “Evil Dead meets Memento,” but I’m going a step farther to say “Vincenzo Natali’s interpretation of Evil Dad by way of a young-adult Memento.” Make sense of that how you will, but the monster (singular) here is a hivemind goop that takes over a summer camp run by honry adolescents. It’s much brighter than you’re expecting and maneuvers around the Nolanesque narrative with surprising precision. Gabriel Basso’s character must figure out why there’s thickened sludge all over his current accommodations, why there’s a dead body in the corner, and why his memories are jumbled. All questions posed within the first…five minutes?

Chris: I saw Matt talking about this on Twitter Dot Com and immediately added it to my queue. Now, whether or not I watch it is another story. I’m a lazy, lazy man, and pressing PLAY takes effort. 

The Monster Project

Now Streaming on Amazon Prime

Matt: Found footage monster flicks often use scale and size to scare (think Cloverfield or Monsters), but The Monster Project goes another route. Documentarians are invited to interview three separate subjects who proclaim to be real-life monsters: a vampire, a skinwalker, and a demon. Between impressive makeup and camera manipulation, a lot could go wrong—but filmmaker Victor Mathieu does a smashing job on an indie budget. Snarly animalistic costumes look pretty darn good in the greenish night vision overlay, while frights are legitimately freaky. It’s more a haunted house atmosphere than authentic immersion, but both work with the right attitude. I’m fine throwing on The Monster Project and having a blast despite not believing certain aspects—emphasis on the correct elements travels a long way.

Chris: I am whiffing here. Usually there’s at least one title from Matt I’ve seen. Sorry, folks, I am a completely fucking failure. 

Sputnik

Now Streaming on Hulu

Matt: I’m highlighting Egor Abramenko’s Sputnik because it’s just been announced that Matt Reeves will be producing a remake. I understand why, and my stance on remakes is enthusiastic because audiences then learn about the original. That said? The Russian sci-fi thriller does a magnificent job creating an extraterrestrial creature that’s just as curious about Earth as government officials are of it. Mix in some Cold War-era blind nationalism, and you’ve got a thoughtful, well-animated creature feature that’s equally ponderous and vicious, albeit heavier on the former. It’s not another Alien where something stalks astronauts. Abramenko cages the unknown and empowers characters to remain curious from a laboratory standpoint, but not without a third-act release. One of my favorite horror films from last year!

Chris: Matt Reeves is working on an English-language remake of this, which seems kind of unnecessary, in my humble opinion. 

Wolfcop

Now Streaming on Hulu/Shudder

Matt: Remember the children’s book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie? Well, if you give Donato a chance to talk about monsters, he’s going to mention WolfCop. It’s stuffed with Lycan puns, includes a flesh-shredding transformation sequence, and nails the midnighter comedy-horror balance. Lowell Dean could make nothing but WolfCop sequels the rest of his life, and I’d die happy—as selfish as that request may be (it is). I’m going to shout about this dirtier, furrier law enforcement flick that plays by its own outrageous rules and defines the phrase “full commitment.” When in doubt, you always go full WolfCop.

Chris: I love WolfCop. I know there’s a sequel, and I confess I haven’t gotten around to that one yet, but this original is a lot of fun and features some wonderful make-up effects. 

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