Netflix Pix 6.0

The Canadian Netflix catalogue has been ballooning over the last few months, so I feel it's time to do another Pix post. Here are some choice genre cuts worth checking out.

As you may remember, I picked The Pact as one of my top five horror films of 2012, so now you can see what all the fuss was about. Part modern giallo, part supernatural thriller, this film is a gem anchored by wonderful cinematography and a solid performance by star Caity Lotz.

Kill List is a British thriller that was on a lot of 2011 top lists after it premiered at TIFF. Ben Wheatley is an exciting filmmaker who seems to always be improving – his latest film Sightseers is his best yet in my opinion – and has won many over with his unique mix of light and dark.

One of my favourite films of the “aughts” is now available on Netflix. Session 9 excels in every facet of what I love about the horror genre. Just the act of making David Caruso palatable should give you an idea of the amount of talent possessed by director Brad Anderson. He would go onto make two more exceptional thrillers (The Machinist & Transsiberian) before striking out with the 2010 dud Vanishing on 7th St.

The Reef was Andrew Traucki's follow-up to his solid 2007 killer croc film Black Water. It treads the same water (see what I did there!) as 2004's Open Water, so if you enjoy being scared shitless by the prospect of being stranded at sea, well come on in – the water's fine.

While I was not a big fan of Beyond the Black Rainbow overall, I cannot deny that there are some fabulous elements within this film. Director Panos Cosmatos creates an aesthetic that will make you question what year this was actually made. The synth-heavy soundtrack is by far the best thing about the project, so much that I would happily shell out moneys to own it. Are you listening, Jeremy???

Netflix has made the greatest strides recently with its television programming. Anyone who has the audacity to say that Netflix isn't worth the money because there is, “nothing on there” deserves a kick in the jimmies. You could spend an entire week with Big Red and still not even put a dent in what it now has to offer. On that note...

The 2009 CBS series Harper's Island is now available. I did not expect much when I saw this during its original run, but ended up really enjoying it. At that was even before I realized CKR was in it. Sure, it may have been largely network fluff, but it was damn entertaining! It was like Dawson's Creek crossed with Ten Little Indians. If you find yourself with a Sunday free, I recommend you burn your way through it.