In this edition of Crossing the Streams we invite you to be our “Guest” as we “Bond” over some classic 80’s Horror!
HULU
A quick PSA before we begin, Predator: Badlands is streaming on Hulu. If you missed it in the theater this past year, do yourself a favor and check it out. This is the third Predator film directed by Dan Trachtenberg and is his third best after the awesome Prey and the underrated Predator: Killer of Killers, both of which are on Hulu as well. All of these films further expand the Predator-verse with some great visuals, even better action set pieces and a promise of greater things to come. Seriously, watch Killer of Killers, a samurai fights a ninja, then a Predator shows up. Why the hell did it take almost 40 years to get that?
NETFLIX
Over on the tu-dum streamer, in honor of the incredible Catherine O’Hara you can see all her work with satire king Christopher Guest in his films Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration. O’Hara is but a piece in Guest’s comedic tapestry, but I would say she was always an essential part, bringing her genius and comedic timing to every crazy character she played in all of these films. Watch them all, they are hilarious.
Switching gears on our Aston Martin, also on the Net that Flix is the one and only… Bond, James Bond. Actually, there is more like seven “Bond’s” but you get it. The spy icon all others aspire to can be found in several iterations. 25 films total from 1962 to 2021 you can experience all the highs and lows (and even outer space) of the Bond franchise. Some of my favorites include: Goldfinger (Sean Connery) For Your Eyes Only (Roger Moore) Goldeneye (Pierce Brosnan) and Skyfall (Daniel Craig). Or if you want a fun, and different viewing experience, check out just the cold opens for all the films and see how they evolve over time, especially the great practical stunts in the Connery and Roger Moore era. Plus you get all the songs, from Sheena Easton to Duran Duran to Adele.
PRIME VIDEO
Creeping along to the Amazon side of things, if you are like me and prefer humor with your horror, there is some solid 80’s work to be found on Prime Video. If you want hairy and scary with a dose of dark Dante humor, check out 1981’s The Howling. Joe Dante’s classic features gory werewolf transformations by legend Rob Bottin who a year later would create his masterwork in John Carpenter’s The Thing.
And if fangs are more your thing, a cheesy fun ride can be had with 1986’s Vamp starring Chris Makepeace and Grace Jones. As two fraternity pledges go to a late night club only to discover it’s a vampire den. Think the second half of From Dusk til Dawn, with an even lower budget, though not without its charm.
But if haunted houses are what spook you, you could do a lot worse than the 1985 Horror/Comedy House starring William Katt as a horror writer with a dark past who moves into a dead relatives house only to find the past is not through with him. Eleven year-old me would watch this one over and over. And it still holds up even in spite of the 80’s of it all. And hey, there is even some Richard “Bull” Moll and George “Norm!” Wendt action here.
Lastly if you want a “shocking” good time, seek out Shocker from 1989 directed by Horror Icon: Wes Craven. In this one, baby face Peter Berg (before he became a director of the almost great Hancock and a half dozen Mark Walberg actioners), must do battle with serial killer Horace Pinker, played by the hamming-it-up Mitch Pileggi (That’s right, Skinner from The X-Files himself). This is a truly fun Saturday Night Watch Party of a movie. There is creep out moments, bathtubs of blood, goofy fun TV time, twists and turns, and a brilliant possession scene of a grade-schooler with a silly limp and spitting curse words which is still hilarious. Craven was indeed one of the greats.
