Netflix‘s quest for world domination and relentless desire to create top-tier content has seen the platform’s roster of original movies conquer almost every possible genre.
Having scooped three Best Picture nominations in the last two years, and at least one more expected imminently with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Da 5 Bloods, Mank and The Trial of the Chicago 7 all in the running this year, prestige drama is covered. Meanwhile, Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production line guarantees a reliable string of hit comedies, Project Power and The Old Guard have superheroes down pat, the Kissing Booth and To All the Boys I’ve Loved franchises went down a storm with the rom-com crowd, and the upcoming Red Notice and The Gray Man will see Netflix try to gatecrash the party when it comes to mega budget action blockbusters.
However, horror has never been particularly well served, and that extends to the creature feature. The subgenre has been a staple of cinema ever since Universal made it mainstream back in the 1930s, but so far, it isn’t something Netflix have focused too much of their resources on. Of course, there’s Alex Garland’s Annihilation, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and David Bruckner’s Ritual, but calling those creature features in the broadest sense would be both a stretch and a disservice.
That being said, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us The Witcher was getting a prequel spinoff long before Blood Origin was announced – that Netflix are looking into developing mainstream monster movies, similar to the ones Universal used to churn out in the studio’s heyday. While there’s little additional information available right now on what exactly they’re planning, the streamer has been ramping up the volume of in-house horror content lately and it feels like an inevitable development that more things are set to go bump in the night moving forward.
Published: Mar 7, 2021 01:13 pm