I Stream, You Stream Vol. 79

by Patrick Bromley
The #Junesploitation picks keep on coming!

June 16: Kung Fu! - House of Traps (1982, dir. Chang Cheh) There are so, so many great kung fu movies on Amazon Prime video that I want to recommend that I'm going to limit myself to just one: House of Traps, a badass Shaw Brothers/Venom Mob entry in which a bunch of men try to retrieve treasure from a house designed to kill you at every turn. It's like Saw II with kung fu, only it's way better than Saw II. You really can't go wrong with any of these Venom Mob movies. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
June 17: Fulci! - The House by the Cemetery (1980, dir. Lucio Fulci) Like trying to pick just one movie for Kung Fu day, it's very difficult for me to choose just one Fulci movie to watch today, his birthday. I'm going with House because it's probably the major work of his that I've seen the least amount of times, but continues to rise higher on my list of favorites each time I revisit it. (Watch on Shudder) The truth of it is, though, that there are a whole lot of Fulci's movies available to stream across the various services, so you have a number of options. If you're looking for a slightly deeper cut from late in his career, you could check out Voices from Beyond (1991), a movie that might not ever get better than its opening minutes but which is still worth a look for completists. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video) If you're not into horror movies or want to see some of Fulci's work outside the genre, check out the cop thriller Contraband (1982) on Amazon Prime Video. It may not be horror, but it has one of cinema's greatest head shots.
June 18: High School! - Summer School Teachers (1973, dir. Barbara Peeters) Sorry that once again this week most of my picks are streaming on Amazon. They just can't be beat for exploitation and genre movies at this point. Candice Rialson came up on the podcast this week, so I thought it might be fun to recommend one of her movies. Now you can see what all the (my) fuss is about. Plus, it's one of those pretty rare exploitation movie that's directed by a woman. (Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
June 19: Demons and Ghosts! - Ghosthouse (1988, dir. Umberto Lenzi) I love Ghosthouse. Like, so much. A group of young people, led by a HAM radio enthusiast, go to check out a supposedly haunted house; things do not go well for them. There are several surprises in store, some wild (dubbed) dialogue, and a possessed clown doll that acts as the McGuffin. In other parts of the world, this was released as La Casa 3, one of Italy's many unauthorized Evil Dead sequels. It's so much fun.  (Watch free on Shout! Factory TV)
June 20: Sci-fi! - Universal Soldier (1992, dir. Roland Emmerich) Maybe not the best sci-fi suggestion for today, but I'm trying to spread the love to some other streaming services. Actually, this movie is pretty good for a Junesploitation pick: it's got cyborgs and violence and '90s action stars and is awesome. The two Jon Hyams sequels are great, too, in case you're looking to make a triple feature out of it. I miss the Roland Emmerich who was making this and Stargate. (Watch on Hulu)
June 21: Free Space! - Mankillers (1987, dir. David A. Prior) It's about time we get some David A. Prior up in this Junesploitation. If you're not familiar with Prior, just look at his filmography on IMDb; the titles alone should tell you he belongs on the Junesploitation Mt. Rushmore. I reviewed this one when it first came to Blu-ray and find myself drawn to it, having revisited it several times since. A former CIA operative (Lynda Aldon) is tasked with training a group of female convicts to become soldiers so they can go take down a drug lord in South America. The movie is nuts, the final battle is great, the bad guy death an all-timer. There are worse ways to spend your Free Space day.(Watch on Amazon Prime Video)
June 22: Slashers! - Slaughter High (1986, dir. George Dugdale, Mark Ezra) I find it next to impossible to recommend only one slasher to watch today because there are way too many that I love. Shudder has some really great, underrated '80s offerings, but I wanted to suggest a title that's open to anyone regardless of a subscription or not. Slaughter High is something special: memorable killer costume, cast of adults trying to play high schoolers, England trying to pass for America, killer nerd getting revenge...the list goes on. Is it one of the best '80s slashers? No, not really. Is it one of the most unique '80s slasher? I think a case could be made. (Watch free with ads on Vudu)