Cinematic thrills
Oklahoma-made horror, sci-fi and genre films are alive on streaming services
Despite its fairly downto-earth reputation, the Sooner State has played host to deadly dinosaurs, space-faring mercenaries and even a sadistic demon named Pinhead — at least in the cinematic sense.
From supernatural suspense and science fiction adventure to pulpy thrillers and horror flicks — plus a few Westerns — a variety of what are commonly known as genre movies have filmed in Oklahoma. Many titles made here in the 2000s are available for streaming, along with a few older films:
“The Jurassic Games” (2018): Edmond filmmaker Ryan Bellgardt's mashup of “Jurassic Park” and “The Hunger Games” was a prize-winning hit at the deadCenter Film Festival. On YouTube,
Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime.
“Mekko” (2015): Holdenville native Sterlin Harjo, who is Seminole and Muscogee (Creek), weaves supernatural elements into his thriller set in a Tulsa community of homeless Native Americans. On Amazon Prime.
“Electric Nostalgia” (2016): After waking up from the dead in a body that is not her own, a woman is haunted by visions of a faceless man in OKC writer-director Jacob Leighton Burns' sci-fi thriller, named Best Oklahoma Film at deadCenter. On Amazon Prime.
“The Killer Inside Me” (2010): Michael Winterbottom's crime thriller was filmed in several Oklahoma towns and based on the pulp novel by Anadarko native Jim Thompson. Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson star in the tale of a small-town sheriff hiding psychopathic tendencies. On YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime.
“Crawl or Die” (2014): Set in a future when Earth has been ravaged by a virus, writerdirector Oklahoma Ward's action vehicle follows an elite security team tasked with protecting the last known woman who can become pregnant. On Amazon Prime.
“Army of Frankensteins” (2013): Bellgardt's first film is a timetraveling Civil War horror adventure that indeed features an army of Frankensteins. On Tubi, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime.
“Hellraiser: Judgment” (2018): The 10th installment in the horror franchise about extradimensional demons called Cenobites — led by the nowiconic Pinhead — was filmed in Oklahoma City and Guthrie. On Tubi, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime.
“Home with a View of the Monster” (2019): Years after placing their lake house on a vacation rental app, a couple returns and discovers mysterious clues left behind by their recent guests. On FandangoNow, Vudu, Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube.
“The Jogger” (2013): Okie filmmakers Jeff Robison and Casey Twenter wrote and directed this thriller about a man whose evening jog turns into a race for his life. On Tubi, Amazon Prime, iTunes.
“Camp Cold Brook” (2018): Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill”) plays the host of a paranormal reality TV series who takes his team to film at an abandoned summer camp where a mass murder took place. On YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime.
“Let Me Make You a Martyr” (2016): Marilyn Manson stars in Tulsa filmmaker John Swab's revenge thriller. On Tubi, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes.
“The Harvesters” (2017): Moore native Nick Sanford's horror mystery is set on Halloween in fictional Baileyville, Oklahoma, as a journalist finds herself trapped in a series of horrifying murders. On Amazon Prime.
“The Dawnseeker” (2018): Filmed at Turner Falls Park in Davis and set in the year 2245, this sci-fi adventure follows five mercenaries who travel to an uncharted planet to collect a rare mineral known as stardust in an effort to replenish the Sun. On Vudu, Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube.
“Light from the Darkroom” (2014): Although this religious thriller is set primarily in Panama, OKC director Lance McDaniel made it in his hometown. On Amazon Prime.
“Gremlin” (2017): Bellgardt's creature feature stars fellow Oklahoman Adam Hampton as a grief-stricken man who receives a box containing an ancient monster that will kill everyone in his family unless he passes it on to someone else he loves. On Amazon Prime.
“Element” (2016): This psychological thriller about a man who uses hypnosis to try to recall the memory of his dead wife features Michael Ironside. On IMDB TV, YouTube, Tubi, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime, iTunes.
“The Scent of Rain and Lightning” (2017): This neo-Western thriller co-stars Will Patton, Bonnie Bedelia and Maggie Grace. On Amazon Prime, YouTube. Google Play, Vudu.
“No Man's Land” (2017): A man braves bear country to save the love of his life after she is kidnapped by a psychopath. On Amazon Prime.
“Splinter” (2008): This creature feature filmed in OKC features Shea Whigham. On YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, iTunes, Sling TV.
“Painted Woman” (2017): This Western is adapted from a book by prolific novelist Dusty Richards. On Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, Google Play.
“Sam & Janet” (2002): A potentially deadly secret threatens a new romance in Rick Walker's film. On Tubi, Amazon Prime.
“Children of the Corn: Runaway” (2018): The 10th film
in another venerable horror franchise. On YouTube, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Vudu.
“A Mother's Escape” (2016): A mother (Tara Buck) flees with her son from his abusive father in this thriller. On Lifetime Movie Club, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime.
“All-American Murder” (1991):
Christopher Walken stars in this murder mystery. On Tubi, Sling TV, Amazon Prime.
“Keys to Tulsa” (1997): This thriller starring James Spader and Eric Stoltz shot mostly in Dallas but with some filming in its namesake city. On Tubi, Amazon Prime.
“Phenomenon” (1996): The John Travolta fantasy drama reportedly filmed scenes in Tulsa. On Hulu, YouTube, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Vudu.
“Rifftrax: Terror at Tenkiller” (1986): This slasher flick is only available to stream with riffing from “Mystery Science Theater 3000” alumni Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. On Amazon Prime.