Now Streaming: 1000 WOMEN IN HORROR, Fabulously Entertaining, Eminently Quotable

Our weekly guide to new and noteworthy indie and international genre fare, available on various streaming services, this week embracing Shudder, Netflix, Prime Video, BritBox, and Apple TV.

We start off with a film that kicks out the jams.

1000 Women in Horror
The film is now streaming on Shudder.

Every line in this movie is quotable.

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas adapted her own book for the documentary, directed by Donna Davies, that demolishes the idea that 'women don't like horror.' Indeed, Heller-Nicholas advises early on: 'Step aside, little boys, and let the grown-ups talk.'

What follows is a history lesson, as the dives back into the early days of cinema to see how women have been portrayed from childhood into adolescence into adulthood into motherhood (and pregnancy, of course) and on into aging, concluding with a segment that gives one hope for a brighter future for horror films.

It's jam-packed with interviews with female filmmakers and critics, and filled with well-chosen film clips that illuminate and illustrate the points being made. There are many, many great stories told -- Kate Siegel on childbirth was a personal jaw-dropper -- but there are many more.

As documentaries on films should be, this one name-checks dozens of films, including a healthy number that I'd not heard of before and need to watch immediately. It's a fabulously entertaining film and, who knows, you might learn something too. (I'm talking to the boys now.)

P.S. Mattie Do! Mattie Do! Mattie Do!

Official synopsis: "This documentary offers a deep dive into how women pioneers revolutionized horror cinema through their groundbreaking work as directors, actors, and creators since 1895, leaving an indelible mark on the genre's evolution."

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
The film is now streaming on Netflix.

I've sampled the Peaky Blinders series, but not exhaustively, so I'll have to check it out to see if I can relate to it at all, but Cillian Murphy returns, and that's never a bad thing.

Official synopsis: "After his estranged son gets embroiled in a Nazi plot, self-exiled gangster Tommy Shelby must return to Birmingham to save his family -- and his nation."

Radioactive Emergency
All five episodes are now streaming on Netflix. I've seen the first episode.

Fraught with peril, watching the first episode jangled my nerves. Procedural-style, it shows how radioactive material that was left behind when a medical clinic closed came to threaten to kill hundreds of residents in a lesser-known town in Brazil.

What starts as a tale of uninformed people who don't realize the mortal dangers they are fecklessly handling quickly becomes a lesson in accepting that every day may be your last, through no fault of your own.

Official synopsis: "Physicists and doctors race to contain a massive radiological disaster and save thousands of lives in this drama series inspired by true events."

Invincible S4
The first three episodes are now streaming on Prime Video, alongside the first three seasons. Subsequent episodes will debut every Wednesday. I've seen the first episode of Season 4.

The fourth season of the animated action series begins with Evil Papa Nolan (J. K. Simmons) off the scene, leaving the superpowered Mark (Steven Yeun), his younger brother Oliver, and his girlfriend Atomic Eve (Gillian Jacobs), to perfunctorily protect the Earth, working under the direction of Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins), alongside other superpower beings known collectively as the Guardians.

More aliens from outer space appear, of course, and new, very powerful threats make themselves known from underground, as the superpowers of Mark and Atomic Eve are challenged constantly. I've sampled all three previous seasons, though I admit that the relentless emphasis on super-bloody violence -- many smashed and crashed and punched heats figure prominently -- have dampened my enthusiasm over the years.

For me, you can only introduce global powers that threaten the existence of all life on Earth so many times before diminishing effects set in. If you're into that kind of cartoon violence, though, here is more of the same.

The Lady
The first episode of the limited series is now streaming on Britbox. The subsequent three episodes will debut every Thursday. I've seen the first episode.

Natalie Dormer co-stars as the Duchess of York (aka Sarah Ferguson) in the late 1980s, but the true star is Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays Jane Andrews, a young woman from a very modest background in northern England who unexpectedly landed a job as the #2 dresser for the Duchess of York.

The first episode begins with the police investigating a murder and searching for Jane Andrews, the occupant of the apartment where the body was found. Rewinding to Jane's humble background, the episode charmingly relates how she formed an improbably friendship with the Duchess, interspersed with the police investigation, as one witness after another tells tales about Jane.

It's all moderately entertaining, boosted by good performances, though it's not sufficiently criminal or thrilling to make it a top priority, but I do want to finish it up to see what happens.

Official synopsis: "From the producers of The Crown. The Lady tells the story of the Duchess of York's former dresser Jane Andrews, whose rags to riches fairy tale fell apart when she was convicted of murder."

Imperfect Women
The first two episodes of the limited series are now streaming on Apple TV. Subsequent episodes will debut every Wednesday. I've seen the first two episodes.

The first two episodes follow Kerry Washington as she deals with the aftermath of a serious crime affecting one of her best friends (Kate Mara). The other best friend is played by Elisabeth Moss.

Similar to The Lady, the serious crime is a framing device to examine other, more pressing issues to the characters. In this case, it's the contrast between the single friend (Kerry Washington) and her married friend (Elisabeth Moss) and how it affects (or doesn't change) their friendship. It's also about Joel Kinnaman, who becomes much more significant (again) to Kerry Washington as the episodes progress.

While Washington and Moss are wonderful actors, and it's refreshing to see Joel Kinnaman in a non-action role, the melodrama gets laid on thick, and no big surprises emerge in the first two episodes that make me want to watch more.

Official synopsis: "A new series starring Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, and Kate Mara. Based on Araminta Hall's novel of the same name, Imperfect Women examines a crime that shatters the lives of three women in a decades-long friendship. The unconventional thriller explores guilt and retribution, love and betrayal, and the compromises we make that irrevocably alter our lives. As the investigation unravels, so does the truth about how even the closest friendships may not be what they seem."

Now Streaming celebrates independent and international genre films and television shows that are newly available on legal streaming services.