Actor Billy MacLellan from Netflix’s newest quiet horror flick takes the reins for this week’s FIELD OF STREAMS
Welcome to Field of Streams, Cinapse’s weekly guide of what’s playing on your favorite streaming services. What’s new on Netflix and Amazon Prime? What do we recommend on Kanopy, Fandor, and Shudder? We’ve got it all. From monthly roundups, to curated top 5 lists, to reviews of our favorites available now… it’s here. We built it for you, so come and join us in the Field of Streams.
We’re pleased this week to welcome actor Billy MacLellan to Field of Streams for a curated list of awesomeness. He’ll start out with his newest venture and then recommend several more flicks that are well worth any movie fan’s time and attention. And now, on with Billy’s show…
I am the worst guy to be writing this article. Okay, put a pin in that. Let me backtrack and maybe we can reach some common ground.
I am a movie nerd. I love getting lost in movies. It’s pretty rare that I can encounter people in real life that can out-movie me. It’s easily my best Jeopardy category and usually at parties I embarrass myself by meeting strangers and trying to personalize a list for them of “The-Best-Documentary-Films-You’ve-Never-Seen” or–even worse–telling them which director commentaries they have somehow missed and how if they get a DVD copy, they can go back and enjoy it as much as I did.
The other thing that makes me terrible at recommending movies is the manner in which I like movies recommended to me. My favorite way is when someone whose movie opinion I really respect tells me a title that they’ve seen and tell me to watch it. That’s it. I don’t need any trailers, I don’t need to know about the actors that show up in the last act, don’t need to know the things that didn’t work, don’t need to know about the twist. I heard about a film festival in the US where someone picks great movies and you just show up and buy a ticket: no title, no poster, just pop in and watch it. Brilliant. That person doesn’t exist in my life, but here I am, trying to be of service to you. So I will try and be my nerdy old self, and we’ll see what comes up. I’ll fire in a little description (because it’s an article, not a list) BUT if you are anything like me, sort of cross/blur your eyes a little, scroll down, pluck out the movie titles without reading the description, watch the movies, and see if we are kindred spirits or if you want to avoid me at parties.
THE SILENCE (Netflix)
Okay, lemme start my article by putting a pin in it again for a second. I get to throw movies your way this week ’cause I’m in The Silence, so I was asked to add The Silence to my list. See? I’d be out already. How can you get lost in a movie that was recommended to you by the antagonist. (Puts neurosis away for a minute.) I play the Reverend. It’s directed by John R. Leonetti (Annabelle) and stars Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka. Here is another great reason to watch this movie I am recommending. (Takes neurosis back out of pocket.) I HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET! Ugh. Enjoy.
While I haven’t seen it yet, it looks fantastic and is available now.
AFFLICTED (Prime)
Here we go! This one is a real gem. True indie film. It’s written and directed and stars Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, a couple of guys from up here in Canada. Vancouver, to be specific. I don’t know them, but I want to be in one of their movies someday. Derek and Clif knew each other since they were 15, started making short films when no one was paying them, and then decided to write this movie as their first feature. They knew if it was their first feature, they needed to make it a calling-card film, so they tried to show as many skills as they could. I was impressed. That was even before I saw their budget was just over $300,000.)
Now, if you are gonna watch it, don’t read any descriptions. Just get popcorn, turn down the lights, and cuddle in.
If you can find the DVD online or at your local library, listen to the audio commentary. These guys are real students of the game, and they sound very kind and smart. A must for new filmmakers.
According to their IMDb, they haven’t made a movie since. It’s a sin. So please, if you dig it, find ’em on Twitter and tell them to hurry up and make another movie, with Billy MacLellan in it.
BACKCOUNTRY (Netflix)
This is another Canadian movie. I watched this movie initially because a friend of mine did the make-up for it. Haunted me for days. Now I am trying to pawn it off on you like that damn VHS tape in the hopes that it will leave me and become your burden. It stars Missy Peregrym from the show FBI. Written and directed by Adam MacDonald. Again, really good audio-commentary. Young filmmakers… watch ‘em!
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES (Shudder) and NEVER SLEEP AGAIN (Shudder)
I figured I would wave my nerd flag high on this one. They are technically two different movies but you can get them on one Blu-ray together. Now, sit down, combined they are over ten hours long. DON’T RUN AWAY! I get it. I didn’t know that Crystal Lake Memories was over six and a half hours when I started it. If I did, I wouldn’t have sat down with it. I was wrong. It’s great.
(I actually got the Blu-ray for the director of The Silence. He’s super cool, but I had that feeling that he has nerd in him. Nerd can recognise nerd, like vampires and serial-killers, ya know?)
The movies are documentaries about the making of (you guessed it) the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. You don’t have to have seen the films, and I would even go farther to say, I don’t think you have to even like the franchises to enjoy these documentaries. I like them because of the same reason I like director commentaries that are done 20 years after the initial release of a film; they don’t have to answer to anyone. They can talk openly and honestly about stuff that worked or didn’t work, and they can throw people under the bus at will.
Now, if you want to get meta-nerd on this one, you gotta get the audio commentaries. That makes the viewing time almost a full day. I love it. The folks that put this stuff together, they add a ton on the commentary about film, film-making ,and all-out nerding. So cool. Good job, all.
RAW (Rent of Buy On Demand)
Raw isn’t currently streaming on any services in the US, but it is available VOD and should be streaming on soon. It is awesome, though.
Don’t run away. This film has sub-titles. It’s French. Try it. Don’t read the description. Don’t watch the trailer. I went into this movie cold, so worth it. You know that feeling when you can’t un-see some stuff? Then you recommend it to friends? That’s this movie.
BONUS PICKS
Okay, that’s the end of my list, but there are three MORE that I love and don’t know how strict the rules are and I don’t think I can be fired.
In case you can find them…
My go-to, number one pick for The-Best-Movie-You’ve-Never-Seen is The Fall by Tarsem. I bought the DVD years ago when I was auditioning for a movie he was directing. It’s lightning in a bottle. Fantastic audio commentary.
Pontypool stars Stephen McHattie and is directed by Bruce Macdonald (Oh! Watch Hard Core Logo, too! See? Can’t stop with the movies.) Stay away from descriptions. Awesome Sunday-afternoon, watch-with-a-cup-of-coffee flick. So good.
Last, wanted to give a shout-out to Werewolf (Prime). It was directed by Ashley McKenzie, starring Bhreagh MacNeil and Andrew Gillis. It’s from my neck of the woods, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Shot for almost nothing, getting together when they could and I think it out-Moonlights, Moonlight. Trigger warning: It’s not about werewolves; it’s about methadone users. Check it out!
Thanks for hanging. Hope you dig The Silence and the rest of my list. Stay strong, nerds.
With gratitude,
Billy MacLellan
Instagram @billy_maclellan
Twitter @billymaclellan
Shhh.
There are countless services to explore and great things to watch on all of them. Which ones did we miss that you would suggest to us? And, as always, if you’ve got thoughts on titles we’re missing out on or new services to check out, leave a comment below or email us.
Till next week, stream on, stream away.
