VOD under-the-radar roundup: Howling Village, Nemesis, and Rising Wolf

With the number of new films hitting video-on-demand services every week (not to mention all of the various streaming sites), it’s easy to miss some gems that might fall under-the-radar. With that in mind, here are three recent genre films to look out for on your VOD service of choice, ranging from a new horror film from the creator of The Grudge, a fantasy YA-thriller set in a high-tech elevator, and a British gangster home invasion hybrid.

Howling Village

Legendary Japanese horror filmmaker Takashi Shimizu (the creator of the Ju-On series, remade as The Grudge in the U.S.) is back with Howling Village, an eerie new horror film that bears all the hallmarks of what made Shimizu’s earlier films of influential (and terrifying). The film focuses on Kanade, a young psychologist who goes in search of her missing brother in the infamous rural “Howling Village,” where she comes face-to-face with dark family secrets and the sort of spindly, black-haired supernatural beings that Japanese horror has become renowned for. Enter this village at your own risk.

Rising Wolf 

A young woman wakes up and finds herself held hostage in an elevator in this claustrophobic thriller from director Antaine Furlong. Charlotte Best stars as the young environmentalist who has to contend with a terrifying kidnaper in a tightly confined space, but that only scratches the surface of this unique fantasy-YA-thriller. The less you know about this one going in the better; the ride is half the fun.

Nemesis

Directed by James Crow, Nemesis is a tense and brutal new thriller that takes traditional British gangster tropes and intertwines them with a home invasion film. Nemesis stars Billy Murray as John Morgan, an underground kingpin who returns home to London after a long exile abroad, only to find that the underworld he left behind isn’t exactly thrilled at his return. Morgan decides to host a family gathering to go over their differences, but then the feuding family members are besieged by a gang of armed assailants, leading to a bloody stand-off.