10 More Hidden Horror Gems On Netflix

6. The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street

Veronica Movie
MGM

Yes, as in Sweeny Todd. And no, not the Johnny Depp one.

Black and white movies may not be for everyone, but the 1936 iteration of The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an absolute treat for those who like to take a trip back to the early days of cinema. A Victorian horror drama, this spin on the infamous barber had Tod Slaughter in the title role, and Slaughter magically menaces his way through the film's brisk 71-minute runtime.

If for some reason you're not familiar with the story of Sweeny Todd, the short of it is Sweeney's a barber who likes to rob and murder wealthy clients. In terms of the murder aspect, Todd uses a lever to drop unsuspecting victims from his barber's chair to his basement; a basement he shares with Mrs. Lovatt and her pie shop. Between them, Todd and Lovatt strip the corpse of anything of worth.

What makes this a particular hidden gem, is that movies from the 1930s don't tend to be found on Netflix. As such, this is a fantastic, charming look into the past - and is a fine adaptation of the legendary tale of Sweeney Todd.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.