Power Play: Five monster movies to stream right now
FROM mutant amphibians to mystery-monster flicks, Leigh Paatsch has your couch time covered. Here are five more streaming ways to stoke your fear of big, bad species of obscure origins.
Leigh Paatsch
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JURASSIC World: Fallen Kingdom is set to smash into the box-office from today.
But if massive mutant amphibians, pulse-raising action and mystery-monster flicks have you reaching for popcorn, then you don’t have to leave the sofa.
Here are five more streaming ways to stoke your fear of big, bad species of obscure origins.
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MONSTERS (2010) ****
Stan
These are top-shelf goods for a creature feature: intelligently designed and thought-provoking too. The action unfolds in an alternative present-day, where Mexico has been overrun by extraterrestrial life forms.
First-time filmmaker Gareth Edwards (later to helm Rogue One for the Star Wars mob) works wonders with just a budget of $200,000, a no-name cast and effects created on a laptop PC.
THE HOST (2006) ****
Stan
A chemical spill in Seoul’s Han River spawns a massive mutant amphibian. While the government cynically exploits the catastrophe, a disgraced father fights to reclaim his young daughter from the clutches of the strange beast.
This gripping Korean thriller remains one of the most unique releases of last decade. Write it off as just another monster movie and you’re really missing something.
KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017) ***1/2
Foxtel Now, Netflix
A loud, chest-thumping, B-movie that keeps racking up A-grade results in all the departments that matter.
The pacing is pulse-raising, and the plotting throws enough crazy curveballs into the mix to keep everyone alert and amused.
First impressions are everything here, and the initial glimpse of Kong both impresses and intimidates in a lasting manner. Stars Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson.
THE JURASSIC PARK COLLECTION ***1/2
Foxtel Now
The proactive folks at Foxtel have rounded up the foundation trilogy of J-Parks.
The original (directed by Steven Spielberg, who also stuck around for number two) is the best, even if the SFX are a touch analog for the digital age.
World Cup fans will note a scoring similarity in all three movies: the dinosaurs always lead at the break, but the humans invariably get through on penalties in extra time.
CLOVERFIELD (2008) ****
Netflix
A decade down the track, this stealthy mystery-monster flick still does the biz in style.
Those unfamiliar with the Cloverfield universe (which has since spawned other releases) will be enthralled, appalled and chilled to the bone by the cataclysmic events depicted here on a fateful night in lower Manhattan.
Imagine Godzilla barging in on The Blair Witch Project, and totally trashing the joint.
Timely take on Munich Olympics terrorist crisis
The edge-of-your-seat factual drama September 5 takes viewers behind the scenes in one of the Olympic Games’ darkest hours with a message that still resonates today.
Companion’s a terrifically twisting thriller best seen spoiler-free
Companion is the kind of original and inventive thriller that comes around all too rarely – but the top-level twists hit hardest by going in spoiler-free, writes Leigh Paatsch.