Heading into the summer months, Paramount+ continues to roll out new horror titles to the streaming service, even if June’s selection isn’t exactly rich with fresh options. Still, there are some quintessential classics from the ’80s and ’90s coming aboard, along with an obscure black & white shocker from the late ’50s, and one of the definitive entries of modern exploitation.
Since the rebranding of CBS All Access as Paramount+ in 2021, the nascent streamer has continued to add a bevy of genre titles onto its digital carousel, including standouts like Smile, A Quiet Place, St. Maud, Lamb, Attack the Block, and many more. My point it that their selection is already brimming over with horror titles, justifying why there are generally not too many new entries being offered up from month-to-month.
That said, there are still a few choice recommendations to add to your watchlist to help kickoff your own personal summer of dread. Find five of the most delectable horror offerings and a list of all the other scary movies we could find below!
From Beyond
For years, the late horror maestro Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond was destined to live under the shadow of Re-Animator. Gordon and writer-producer Brian Yuzna took the outdated writings of H.P. Lovecraft and pulled cosmic horror from the nether regions of space into the neon lit, gory, gooey world of the ’80s in spectacular fashion. Starring horror legends Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Ken Foree, From Beyond isn’t necessarily a better movie than Re-Animator, but it’s A LOT weirder and more ambitious than its predecessor.
The pioneering practical effects work from some of the greats of the biz including Gabe Bartalos, John Carl Buechler, Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Bruce Barlow set a new standard for imaginative creature design that still holds up today. The version on Paramount+ should be the 4k transfer that Vinegar Syndrome recently released, so your pineal gland should be more stimulated than ever before.
The Relic
After working with Jean-Claude Van Damme on Timecop and Sudden Death, director Peter Hyams needed a break. So, he decided to make The Relic, one of the best monster movies of the late ’90s.
An opening night museum gala in Chicago turns into chaos when a mutated creature crashes the festivities and starts to rip the wealthy donors in attendance to shreds. It’s up to a whip smart biologist (Penelope Ann Miller) and a streetwise detective (Tom Sizemore) to stop the unnatural beast before it gets loose on the streets of the Windy City.
Hyams is a workmanlike director in the mold of Spielberg who knows exactly how to direct a big budget action horror picture like The Relic. The creature design by Jurassic Park Oscar winner Stan Winston (perhaps you’ve heard of him) looks as if he took the wild boar from Razorback and crossed it with Frankenstein’s monster. Save for a poorly rendered CGI tongue licking Penelope Ann Miller’s face, the effects are top-notch and the terror is palpable. Miller and Sizemore also have great chemistry together, offering up a little romance in the midst of all the monster mayhem.
“The creature can hold its own with the Alien,” wrote Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel. “When the last reel begins … the special effect is truly awesome.” Quentin Tarantino’s Video Archives podcast also does a deep dive on The Relic that’s definitely worth listening to after watching. All said, this is a great addition to Paramount+.
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow
Start your engines! Distributed by American International Pictures, Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow sounds like it’s right up my alley. The 1959 horror comedy is now available on Paramount+ and features hot rods, an all-night monster mash, and a haunted mansion! Starring Jody Fair and Jeanne Tatum (The Astounding She-Monster) as the Cavendish sisters, a drag racing club is tasked with saving their local soda shop when they learn it’s in danger of closing down for good.
The Cavendish sisters call their wealthy aunt for help, who offers up her mansion as their new headquarters. The only thing she asks is for the club to help get rid of the ghost that haunts her property. The club agrees, then throws a huge dance party at the mansion to lure the ghost out of the shadows.
Get this into my eyeballs as fast as possible.
Machete
A few years after Robert Rodriguez’s fake trailer in Grindhouse, the feature film version of Machete starring the incomparable Danny Trejo was finally unsheathed. Dubbed as a very hard R Mexploitation movie, Machete gave Trejo his first starring role. In classic Rodriguez fashion, the supporting cast is a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers including Robert De Niro who shares the screen with Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, and Lindsay Lohan. B-movie legend Jeff Fahey and martial arts buffoon Steven Seagal are also along for the ride.
Throw some popcorn on the stovetop and enjoy this homage to ’70s drive-in schlock that somehow actually got made. It even got a sequel, Machete Kills, but don’t expect the long-rumored Machete in Space to ever see the light of day.
There’s Something Wrong With the Children
Another entry into the creepy kids subgenre, Roxanne Benjamin’s There’s Something Wrong With the Children takes a great title and a compelling setup and, sadly, doesn’t do much with it. The story centers around a couple, Margaret (Alisha Wainwright) and Ben (Zach Gilford), who agree to watch their friends’ kids, Lucy (Briella Guiza) and Spencer (David Mattle), for the night during an impromptu camping trip. They discover a mysterious hole in the ground that Lucy and Spencer dive into, only to respawn back at the cabin. Have Lucy and Spencer been replaced by something sinister? The thought is enough to give you goosebumps.
From there, the story delves more into psychological territory instead of diving into the mystery surrounding what could be some kind of magical portal. The Gate and Prime Video’s Outer Range cover similar territory, but There’s Something Wrong With the Children is still a pretty satisfying mid-level thriller that should convince viewers never to have kids.
Personally, I’m most excited to check out Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow for the first time, invite some misfits over, and have a hot rod jitterbug dance party. Revisiting The Relic on is also a must! Also, be sure to sure and check out the other horror movies Paramount+ has coming up in June below!
June 1
Action Point (it’s a deadly theme park, of course it’s horror)
Arrival
Clockstoppers (2002)
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow 1959
From Beyond
House of Secrets
Jeepers Creepers 2
Machete
The Relic
June 6
There’s Something Wrong with the Children
June 26
Project Almanac
June 28
My True Crime Story (Season 1)
Tags: From Beyond Horror Movies June Machete Paramount+ streaming guide The Relic
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