The Criterion Channel’s at its best when October rolls around and consistently engages in the best horror programming of any streaming service. 2024 will bring more than a few iterations of their spooky programming: “Horror F/X” highlights the best effects-based scares through the likes of Romero, Cronenberg, Lynch, Tobe Hooper, James Whale; “Witches” does what it says on the tin (and inside the tin is the underrated Italian anthology film featuring Clint Eastwood cuckolded by Batman); “Japanese Horror” runs the gamut of classics (Kaneto Shindo, Kurosawa, Miike, Ring); a Stephen King series puts John Carpenter and The Lawnmower Man on equal playing ground; October’s Criterion Editions are Rosemary’s Baby, Night of the Hunter, Häxan; a made-for-TV duo includes Carpenter’s underrated Someone’s Watching Me! (exclamation point the film’s, but in effect mine too); meanwhile, The Wailing and The Babadook stream alongside a collection of Cronenberg and Stephanie Rothman titles.
Otherwise, Winona Ryder and Raúl Juliá are given retrospectives, as are filmmakers Arthur J. Bressan Jr. and Lionel Rogosin.
See the full lineup below and more at the Criterion Channel:
The Age of Innocence, Martin Scorsese, 1993
Alison’s Birthday, Ian Coughlan, 1981
Arab Israeli Dialogue, Lionel Rogosin, 1974
Audition, Takashi Miike, 2001
Autumn in New York, Joan Chen, 2000
The Babadook, Jennifer Kent, 2014
Black Fantasy, Lionel Rogosin, 1972
Black Roots, Lionel Rogosin, 1970
Black Sunday, Mario Bava, 1960
Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale, 1935
Bright Future, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2003
Buddies, Arthur J. Bressan Jr., 1985
Christine, John Carpenter, 1983
The Company of Wolves, Neil Jordan, 1984
Creature from the Black Lagoon, Jack Arnold, 1954*
Creepy, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2016
The Crucible, Nicholas Hytner, 1996
The Curse of the Werewolf, Terence Fischer, 1961
Dark Water, Hideo Nakata, 2002
Day of the Dead, George A. Romero, 1985
Il demonio, Brunello Rondi, 1963
Dolores Claiborne, Taylor Hackford, 1995
The Entity, Sidney J. Furie, 1982
The Fly, David Cronenberg, 1986
The Fog, John Carpenter, 1980
Frankenstein, James Whale, 1931
Gay USA, Arthur J. Bressan Jr., 1978
The Girl on the Broomstick, Václav Vorlíček, 1972
Good Times, Wonderful Times, Lionel Rogosin, 1965
Heathers, Michael Lehmann, 1989
How Do You Like Them Bananas?, Lionel Rogosin, 1966
Ichi the Killer, Takeshi Miike, 2001
Island of Lost Souls, Erle C. Kenton, 1932
Ju-On: The Grudge, Takashi Shimizu, 2002
Ju-On: The Grudge 2, Takashi Shimizu, 2003
Kiss of the Spider Woman, Héctor Babenco, 1985
The Lawnmower Man, Brett Leonard, 1992
Lifeforce, Tobe Hooper, 1985
The Love Witch, Anna Biller, 2016
Mermaids, Richard Benjamin, 1990
The Night of the Hunter, Charles Laughton, 1955
Out, Lionel Rogosin, 1957
Oysters Are in Season, Lionel Rogosin, 1966
Pulse, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001*
Rabid, David Cronenberg, 1977
Reality Bites, Ben Stiller, 1994*
Ring, Hideo Nakata, 1998
Rosemary’s Baby, Roman Polanski, 1968
Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Tibor Takács, 1996
Secret Window, David Koepp, 2004
Someone’s Watching Me!, John Carpenter, 1978
The Spell, Lee Philips, 1977
Spider Baby, Jack Hill, 1967
The Student Nurses, Stephanie Rothman, 1970
Sullivan’s Travels, Preston Sturges, 1941
Suspiria, Dario Argento, 1977
Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989
The Velvet Vampire, Stephanie Rothman, 1971
Viy, Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov, 1967
The Wailing, Na Hong-jin, 2016
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Jim Abrahams, 1990
The Witches, Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio De Sica, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Franco Rossi, and Luchino Visconti, 1967
The Witches, Nicolas Roeg, 1990
Woodcutters of the Deep South, Lionel Rogosin, 1973
*Available in the U.S. only
The post October on the Criterion Channel Includes F/X Scares, Witches, Japanese Horror, Stephen King & More first appeared on The Film Stage.
