Paramount+ Now Streaming an Underseen Horror Gem

02/01/2023 08:57 pm EST

As with every new month, streamers have premiered a slew of new content for their subscribers, but Paramount+ may have just nabbed a crown jewel that no one else will have. Now available to watch on the streaming platform is 2009's The Loved Ones, an Australian horror movie that arrives with critical acclaim and is seldom is available to be seen online at all, making this a huge get for Paramount+. We've included the trailer for the movie below, but frankly it does spoil a few great moments, so watch at your own direction and maybe just see what we have to say below. You can sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.

Written and directed by Sean Byrne, who would go on to make another beloved indie horror movie with 2015's The Devil's Candy, The Loved Ones is a throwback to backwoods horror mixed in with the teenage awkwardness of a John Hughes movie and with a dash of horrifying gore. The films features a surprising cast of Austrailian natives that many viewers may recognize from other projects including Twilight's Xavier Samuel, Hell on Wheels' Robin McLeavy, and Mortal Kombat's Jessica McNamee. Samuel takes on the role of Brent, a young man with an unstable family life whose plans for high school prom are thrown into hell after a scorned love interest starts a twisted revenge plan. 

As of this writing, The Loved Ones is sitting at a near-perfect 98% on Rotten Tomatoes with a "Certified Fresh" distinction. Empire graded the film with a 4 out of 4 grade, noting it "an instant horror classic." IndieWire called the film "a terrifying masterpiece that turns high school drama into a literal dead zone." Total Film wrote that with the movie "Byrne serves a thick, satisfying stew of savagery and surprise sympathy, generously flavoured by lashings of black humour." Even Variety praised the movie, writing that it "deftly controlled mix of empathy, grotesquerie and sardonic humor.."  

The Loved Ones isn't the only horror movie now available on Paramount+ either as classics like Christine, Event Horizon, and King Kong have all made their way onto the service today. Plus the original Scream trilogy, which joins 2022's Scream to have most of the series all in one place. Another major horror title will premiere on Paramount+ later this month with Cloverfield becoming available for streaming on February 17th.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.