In the days before streaming video, you had to actually leave the house and go to a store like Blockbuster.
But with video stores long gone, the frustrating debate over what movie to watch has moved permanently into people’s living rooms, thanks to streaming video technology led by big companies like Netflix and Amazon.
And while these behemoth streaming platforms are chock full of things to watch — like Blockbuster, which stocked mostly mainstream movies — Netflix and the others have a major Achilles’ heel, because streaming rights are far more fluid than video tapes and DVDs. The deals big sites make with studios are always fluctuating, leaving libraries shrinking, like Netflix’s by a third over the last few years.
Fortunately, there are smaller, far less known specialized streaming services have blossomed into 21st century versions of those cool indie video stores that offered an alternative to Blockbuster’s glut of mainstream titles.
Like Blockbuster, those stores are long gone, but their spirit lives on — in the DNA of these gemlike streaming sites.
Mubi
We’ve all been there: kick back, relax … and spend so long trying to pick one of the 700 movies in your queue that you end up too tired to watching anything at all. Mubi has a shockingly elegant solution: only 30 movies, with a new entry replacing the oldest every day. Early Werner Herzog? “Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer”? Animated Oscar nominee “It’s Such a Beautiful Day”? You can’t go wrong at this online film festival.
$5.99/month, Mubi.com
Shudder
There’s no fan like a horror fan, and whether it’s arty thriller “Manhunter” or the grindhouse comedy “Deathgasm,” Shudder has it covered. With hundreds of movies, easy-to-browse collections like “Smart Slashers” and “Not Your Ordinary Bloodsucker,” and guest curators like Robert Eggers (“The Witch”), scary movie fans will freak.
$4.99/month, $49.99/year, Shudder.com
Fandor
Fandor is the streaming equivalent of those boutique video shops where every shelf is a totally new horizon. Adventurous viewers won’t be alone, with Fandor’s own online film mag to guide them through Turkish Cannes winner “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia,” kung fu classic “Master of the Flying Guillotine,” and selections from that film holy grail, the Criterion Collection.
$10/month, $90/year, Fandor.com
Seeso
Sometimes, though, you just want to laugh. Seeso’s catalog is exclusively comedy, with high quality, commercial free streams of everything from “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” to “30 Rock,” exclusive standup sets from faves like Brian Posehn, and original series from Dan Harmon (“Community”) and Amy Poehler. Or you could just watch, y’know, every single episode of “Saturday Night Live.”
$3.99/month, Seeso.com
Crunchyroll
Hollywood is ready to make Japanese animation the new superhero comics, so get ready with Crunchyroll. With new episodes premiering same day as Japan, and a massive HD library filled with everything from hits like “Sailor Moon Crystal” and “Naruto” to obscurities like, uh, “Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up,” we’ve come a long way from VHS bootlegs indeed.
$6.95/month, Crunchyroll.com
