Stream and scream: four horror films to watch on Peacock

Peacock has a wide variety of film genres, as do most streaming platforms these days. But, a browse through their horror category brought up quite a few really good options for those of us who enjoy some scares.

Let’s start with Violent Night, which I know some people refuse to accept as a horror film. While it does rely heavily on action, there is plenty of blood and gore, some inventive kills, and it features a home invasion, so it skirts the line.

Violent Night is currently only streaming on Peacock, and I highly recommend it. It stars David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Santa Claus, now jaded and flirting with the idea of giving up his life’s work altogether. People are too jaded now, and he just isn’t feeling it anymore. So, he sits at a bar and gets drunk on Christmas Eve before heading out to deliver his last load of gifts.

When he stops at the ritzy Lightstone Mansion, he finds himself in the midst of a home invasion, with a group of mercenaries holding the Lightstone family hostage. At first, he just wants to leave, but then he ends up talking to cute little Trudy, a girl who actually believes in him, and pleads for his help. What’s a Santa to do?

What follows is a lot of fun, very bloody action.

Sick is also only available on Peacock, and it also gives the viewer some good, bloody fun. It’s basically a slasher set during the first stages of the pandemic, where two college girls go away to a remote lake house to quarantine.

As we all know, going away to a remote house or cabin is a recipe for slasher pandemonium, so the girls soon find themselves being attacked by a masked intruder. Sick is fast-paced, and since it was written by Kevin Williamson (Scream), you know it’s got some snappy dialogue and some gnarly kill scenes.

Peacock also features some lesser known classic horror

Dark Night of the Scarecrow is actually a 1981 made for tv movie. You know, from back when movies for television were actually scary (remember the original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark?). It features actor Larry Drake as Bubba, an imposing looking mentally challenged man who is actually very kind and gentle.

When a little girl named Marylee is attacked by a dog and nearly killed, a trio of good ol’ boys decide that Bubba is actually responsible, and they set out to find him. Bubba, terrified, disguises himself as a scarecrow, but Otis and his pals find him and kill him. They then lie and say he attacked them first.

Afterwards, they are haunted by a scarecrow-like figure, and I don’t guess it’s much of a spoiler to tell you they get what’s coming to them.

I did not see Nope in theaters, and only watched it recently, when it made its debut on Peacock. I wasn’t really sure I would like it after reading all of the social media posts about it, but I actually really enjoyed it.

It is one of those films that you don’t want to say too much about, because the fun is in the big reveal. Since it was written and directed by Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us), you know going into it that it’s not going to be a simple, straight forward story. We start with siblings OJ and Em, whose father was a horse trainer and handler for films and tv shows. He was recently killed in a mysterious incident involving objects falling from the sky, and now OJ is trying to carry on the family business.

Meanwhile, former child actor Jupe wants to buy the horse farm, much as he has been purchasing horses from OJ for use in his Old West-style amusement park. Jupe’s newest live show goes very, very wrong one day, and that’s about as much as I feel comfortable telling you. Watch Nope if you want to know more.

And there you have it: four good horror films you can currently stream on Peacock. Hope you enjoy them!

What horror films do you recommend that are currently streaming on Peacock? Let us know in the comments section.