Spamflix Brings Cult And Rare Films To NZ Screens

Finally, really weird, cult and otherwise rare films are available to stream in New Zealand through a shiny new service called Spamflix.

We’re spoilt for choice with streaming TV and film options but until now there’s been one obvious void: cult and generally weird movies.

There’s a cinematic parallel universe out there that the usual purveyors of our filmic entertainment barely acknowledge, and that’s what UK-originated Spamflix – now available to stream in New Zealand – aims to exploit.

Spamflix is a video on demand platform for “never before seen” cult films that boasts a catalogue of glorious oddities that can be viewed or streamed on and from computers or on iOS and Android devices.

Spamflix was founded in 2018 by Markus Duffner, a project manager at the Locarno Film Festival and Julia Duarte, former producer of São Paulo International Film Festival. Called ‘Netflix for Cult Film Fans’ by GEEK SPIN and featured in Forbes, the bulk of Spamflix’s library consists of hard to find and lesser-seen genre titles, many of which garnered acclaim on the festival circuit only to land without significant distribution.

A treasure trove for cult film enthusiasts that has a specialty focus on black comedy and adult animation, the new app makes it easier than ever before to browse and stream films. Spamflix doesn’t run on a monthly subscription. Instead, users rent individual films for 72-hours for the price of around NZ$7 or acquire multiple titles in a Film Pack deal that offers a special discount.

“With the Apps we want to reach a larger audience in a variety of devices, all with the same catalogue and editorial line that Spamflix offers,” says co-founder Markus Duffner.

The diverse Spamflix library, which includes film categories like Black Comedy, Crime, Nonsense, WTF Did I Just Watch? And the timely #staythefuckhome tag contains festival hits such as Fish And Cat by Shahram Mokri (Venice Orizzonti winner, 2013) and films by fellow cult directors such as Alex Cox, Denis Côté (each with their own selected retrospective), Sion Sono, Quentin Dupieux, Davide Manuli and Hitoshi Matsumoto.

Recent additions are Alex Cox’s Straight to Hell Returns cult classic, erotic fantasy The Wild Boys by Bertrand Mandico, For Some Inexplicable Reason by Gabor Reisz’s festival darling, Alberto Caviglia’s mockumentary, Shugo Fujii’s mutant J-horror Mimicry Freaks and Signe Baumane’s shorts collection Ten Animated Stories.

Additional titles to be released include 2018 Cannes Critics Week’s winner Diamantino by Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt, Neurotic Quest for Serenity directed by Teodoro Poppovic Paulinho Caruso, In the Crosswind directed by Martti Helde (June), Thee Wreckers Tetralogy directed by Rosto (July), Occidental directed by Neïl Beloufa (August) and fantasy first feature Cosmic Candy (Fantastic Fest and Sitges entry 2019) directed by Rinio Dragasaki (September), The Anooki, French animation shorts collection by Moetu Batlle and David Passegand (2020), Old Man Cartoon Movie by Oskar Lehemaa and Mikk Mägi (Estonia, Animation, 2019), The Bra by Veit Helmer (Germany, Azerbaijan, 2018), Bruno Aleixo’s Film (o Filme do Bruno Aleixo) by João Moreira & Pedro Santo (acclaimed Portuguese comedy animation, 2019), and Crumbs by Miguel Llansó (Estonia, Ethiopia, Spain, 2015), amongst other titles.

Spamflix is also proud to offer special short film programs from partnering festivals. Currently available in the library is the Fantasia Shorts Programme 2019, a collection of Quebecois shorts from the celebrated genre fest in Montreal, and the Trieste Science + Fiction Shorts Programme (a collection of Italian Sci-Fi Shorts). Upcoming blocks include shorts from Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, NIFFF, Fantastic Fest (May 28th), Lund Fantastik Film Fest (June 11th), Phenomena Film Fest (June 25th), and Morbido Film Festival shorts (TBD), BIFFF (TBD) and Court Métrange (2021).

The Spamflix app is available for iOS, Android, AirPlay and Chromecast CLICK HERE

Here’s a selection of rather interesting titles currently streaming on Spamflix: