Hi. My name is Matthew Pejkovic from Matt's Movie Reviews and here are seven underrated horror movies you can find on Prime Video.
Daniel Isn't Real
Daniel Isn’t Real stars Miles Robbins as Luke, an awkward college student who as a child conjured an imaginary friend named Daniel to deal with the trauma of witnessing a violent act. When Daniel convinces Luke to poison his mother, Daniel is banished...until years later when Luke brings Daniel (played by Patrick Schwarzenegger) back from exile. A highly imaginative and stylish dive into madness and seduction, Daniel Isn’t Real takes known horror tropes and twists them into a unique and engrossing character-driven horror movie. Miles Robbins inhabits Luke with a palpable anxiety and disarming sensitivity, and Patrick Schwarzenegger counters with a turn full of confidence and sex appeal that masks a dark undertow that brings all kinds of hell with him.
The Wolf of Snow Hollow
The Wolf of Snow Hollow is set in a sleepy snow-driven town that is on the edge after a series of grizzly murders. Feeling the pressure is deputy sheriff John Marshall (played by Jim Cummings), who, while struggling to investigate the first homicide in years, also deals with the ailing health of his father and town sheriff (played by Robert Forster), his wayward daughter (played by Chloe East), and his own crippling alcohol and anger issues. Successfully walking that tightrope between black comedy, grizzly horror, and potent social commentary, The Wolf of Snow Hollow proves itself to be an innovative and entertaining addition to the werewolf sub-genre. Jim Cummings hits that perfect note between awkward and earnest, while potent social commentary plays alongside an engrossing murder mystery where a beast of monstrous strength has an unsatiable lust for tearing bodies apart.
Deliver Us
Deliver Us tells the story of Sister Yulina (played by Maria Vera Ratti), a nun who claims immaculate conception when she gives birth to twin boys: one alleged to be the new coming of the Messiah, and the other the Anti-Christ. Ordered to investigate by the Vatican is Father Fox (played by Lee Roy Kunz) who uncovers a sinister conspiracy. Filmed on a limited budget, Deliver Us does not feel like an independent feature, with directors Lee Roy Kunz and Cru Ennis delivering an incredibly crafted horror feature that equals most major studio fare. While certain plot points in Deliver Us have previously been explored, there is a stern seriousness to the philosophical and theological supernatural worldbuilding that increases the stakes of good versus evil.
Lord of Illusions
Scott Bakula stars in Lord of Illusions as Harry D’Amour, a private detective drawn to the supernatural who is hired to investigate the death of a famed illusionist (played by Kevin J. O’Connor) by his widow (played by Famke Jansenn), a case that leads him to a deadly cult led by a sorcerer named Nix. Famed horror writer Clive Barker’s third directorial effort, Lord of Illusions melds neo-noir gumshoe mystery with supernatural horror thrills to create an engrossing crime-horror-mystery memorable for Barker’s brand of horror that is as queasy as it is scary.
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism
Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism stars Dan Ewing as Rob, a husband desperate to save his wife Lara (played by Georgia Eyers) from what he believes to be demonic possession. This leads to Rob turning to self-proclaimed exorcist and faith-healer Daniel James King (played by Tim Pocock) whose brutal method of unsanctioned exorcism risks much more than Lara’s soul. Loosely based on true events, Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism is not for the squeamish, with scenes of psychological and physical torture in the name of salvation hard for some to bear. Yet the performances are terrific, and the film’s message on how faith can be exploited makes it a must-watch for those tired of traditional exorcism narratives.
Lake Mungo
A film about grief and revelation, Lake Mungo succeeds both as a portrait of a family in mourning and as a chilling ghost story where even a simple photograph featuring a paranormal apparition can give chills. Gorgeously shot and impeccably acted, writer/director Joel Anderson uses the mockumentary format to turn in a film that is incredibly frightening yet anchored with an undeniable sense of humanity. Hollywood has long attempted a remake, but it will be hard-pressed to replicate the sublime style, intimate horror, and heartfelt emotion found in Lake Mungo.
It Follows
Maika Monroe stars in It Follows as Jay, a young college student from the suburbs of Detroit, whose one-night stand leads to a curse in the form of a supernatural force that will stop at nothing to have its pound of flesh. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell evokes a surreal force penetrating the real world without unnecessary exposition. Maika Monroe brings a likable naturalness as a sympathetic figure caught in something large and sinister. We are invested in her survival as Mitchell toys with our emotions throughout this high-stakes horror story.