The 4 Best Streaming Services For Movie Buffs

Along with the ever-increasing barrage of sequels, prequels, and remakes flooding our theaters, home viewing has also made it somewhat difficult for movie fans to expand their palettes. At first glance, popular platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Max, and Disney+ seem tailor-made for film buffs to gorge themselves on content. While it would be a lie to say that these streamers don't have more avant garde offerings, it would be similarly false to say that they put those front and center. Let's face it, no matter how many Oscars the newest Yorgos Lanthimos movie gets, a new season of "Stranger Things" will take priority on Netflix's homepage. 

Of course, there's nothing wrong with more popular streaming services pushing for a mainstream approach, but it can nevertheless leave cinephiles feeling left behind. Thankfully, there's a world of lesser-talked about streaming platforms catered to cinema lovers and genre fans of all kinds worth exploring, with some having lower monthly subscriptions compared to the go-to streaming services, which are constantly increasing their subscription costs. Read on to learn about these picks and stay tuned to learn what went into our choices. 

Whether you're into streaming services or protect your DVDs and Blu-Rays like they are your children, Criterion's name is one that is sure to grab your attention. Since its founding in 1984, the company has been a game changer in the home media field with their revolutionary practices in film restoration, bonus features, and audio commentary tracks. 

The beloved Criterion Collection has become revered by film buffs the world over, giving prestigious classic and contemporary films the home media release they deserve. With such a reputation for delivering the best LaserDiscs, DVDs, and Blu-Rays the world over, it should be no wonder that the company would bring its legendary lineup to the digital realm with The Criterion Channel. 

While having only been around for a little more than half a decade, officially launching in March 2019 following past partnerships with the short-lived Hulu Plus and FilmStruck, Criterion has found an audience. On the platform, you can find more than 2,000 short and feature films from varying decades, genres, and countries. Especially interesting are curated playlists based on certain themes, such as director or actor career highlights, genre celebrations, classic studio catalogues, and more. Plus, it also features exclusive premieres from independent films fresh off their theatrical runs. Being Criterion, you're also treated to a wealth of commentaries and special features. Users can sign up for a free week-long trial and then choose to pay either $10.99 a month or $99.99 annually.

For horror fans who want to see their homepage littered with blood-splattered fanfare beyond October, then Shudder is sure to be your new safe haven. Let's just say that Shudder isn't a streaming service for kids. It consists entirely of horror, suspense, and thriller titles ranging from acclaimed genre and cult classics such as "Black Christmas," "Halloween," and "Ringu" to newer favorites such as "Mad God" and "Skinamarink" — plus a diverse array of original content. 

If you're not sure what to watch, you can hop on over to Shudder's live TV section, Shudder TV, which plays a never-ending stream of horror offerings. The platform's way of grouping its collection was done with plenty of thought and care, with nuanced categories such as supernatural, psychological thriller, creature features, horror comedy, revenge, cult, and more. 

When it comes to price, Shudder truly scares away the competition. After a seven-day trial, you can pay either $6.99 a month or $71.88 if you go with an annual plan, both entirely ad-free. That's lower than what you pay for ad-supported Hulu or Disney+ plans and far lower than their ad-free options. 

Before being trusted with multi-million dollar projects from massive studios, the biggest directors had to prove to the world what they were capable of by taking a risk and telling their story with limited resources. That's what makes indie film such a fun world to explore. Since 2007, MUBI has provided a multi-faceted platform to celebrate indie creators of the past while giving new ones a place to thrive.

The platform's bread and butter is its rotating array of independent, arthouse, and documentary cinema from all over the world. These aren't always necessarily celebrated mainstream classics in the vein of Criterion. Instead, the films it offers consist of recent festival faves and indie work that may have gone under the radar from years past. Being that MUBI also doubles as a distributor and production company, many of the offerings featured are films put out by the company. That isn't to say that there aren't some notable fan favorites, most notably with MUBI's array of early work from the likes of Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins, Bong Joon-Ho, Christopher Nolan, and Ethan Hawke. 

Cinephiles can also benefit from access to Notebook, a daily international publication sharing film news and reviews, and MUBI GO, an added service that sends out weekly tickets to newly-released indie cinema. It is one of the more expensive services on our list, starting at $14.99 a month or $119.88 annually for a regular subscription. Or, you can Mubi GO for $19.99 a month or $167.88 a year.

If you're looking for something completely different, look no further than Eternal Family TV. While newer to the scene, this is one of those platforms that we can see thriving as time goes on. Since being established in 2020, Eternal Family TV has garnered an audience with a taste for the eclectic, which is a light way of describing its offerings. 

The offbeat streaming service showcases a bizarre collection of movies, short films, documentaries, TV shows, and more. From trippy European animated movies to '80s kung fu flicks to indescribable contemporary comedy shorts, it's hard to call Eternal's selection anything other than varied. The brand as a whole is what unifies this content, with a simple yet stylish presentation that allows these works to stand out. The team put additional care into preserving these obscure pieces with digital restorations that give them new life. 

Films that are without a digital rights copyright owner are even presented without being behind a paywall, with the company putting priority in sharing and preserving these gems over unrightfully profiting off them. For projects that do require a subscription to watch, Eternal pays the proper rights holders and creators 60% of monthly revenue, with the rest going into maintaining the site and content. There are three different plans to choose from: a $7.99 monthly plan, a $21.99 quarterly plan, and a $79.99 yearly plan. Before committing to any of them, you can get started with a seven-day free trial.

As an avid movie watcher and film fan myself, I am always on the hunt for fresh places to view content. So when it came time to choose the services to include on this list, I took a somewhat personal approach to figuring out what would best fit while remaining considerate to the varied palettes of fellow movie lovers.  

I have either used these services in the past or tested out their free trials for the purposes of this article. Either way, I have had some level of familiarity with these platforms beforehand. Since there's such a wide variety of tastes out there, I wanted to make sure that each service chosen contained something distinct and unique from one another. Not only did this help avoid making the list too repetitive, but it will hopefully mean that there is at least one streaming service from this list that will appeal to your particular sensibilities. From there, I further judged each entry on the diversity of its content selection, the ease of its user interface, the cost of its subscription plans, and any additional features.