The Arrow Player's slogan is "the alternative", and that's probably the best way to summarise this new streaming service from popular movie distributor Arrow Video.
Arrow Video has been distributing cult movies since the 90s but it has become a much bigger name in the world of horror and cult classics thanks in no small part to the Arrow Video channel which is available on Amazon Prime.
Arrow Video launched its own streaming service in the US and Canada in 2020 and followed with a roll-out in the UK in 2021.
Boasting a range of content including exclusive re-releases and premieres of classic and new films from the worlds of horror, arthouse cinema, and movies and shows from around the globe, it contains a carefully curated library of content that you won’t find anywhere else.
Here's everything you need to know about the Arrow Player, including the price, content and availability.
What is the Arrow Player price?
The Arrow Player costs £4.99/$4.99 a month, or take out an annual subscription which costs $49.99/£49.99, saving just under $10/ £10. To sign-up, visit the Arrow Player website.
You can also gift a prepaid subscription (up to 1 year’s access) to another person if you give their email address at checkout.
What can you watch on Arrow Player?
The content available on the Arrow Player ranges from slasher movies, exploitation flicks, Asian epics, teen movies and cult classics, old and new. Luckily, they also curate their library into smaller experiences to help you find exactly what kind of stuff you want to watch, organizing movies by decade, genre and themes. If the "Edgar Wright Selects" collection is anything to go by, we can also expect further guest-curated collections from other directors.
As an example of the sheer variety on offer, you can currently watch American high school horror-comedy Heathers, Donnie Darko, Park Chan-wook’s neo-noir action thriller Oldboy, the entire Ringu franchise, Battle Royale, Spanish found-footage horror movie [REC], Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso and David Cronenberg’s Crash (not to be confused with the controversial Oscar-winner of the same name).
Cult horror favorites like the Hellraiser franchise and Wes Craven’s original The Hills Have Eyes and a slew of restored, less notable grindhouse movies also find company alongside the likes of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, Italian crime series Gomorrah and Danish police procedural The Killing on the platform. With such a wide range of material, it's pretty likely whatever niche you enjoy will be somewhere on the platform.
Alongside this huge collection, the Arrow Player also debuts exclusive new releases. Certain films (such as A Ghost Waits and Beyond Re-Animator) come with bonus features, appearing under the "Arrow Stories" banner. These are your typical DVD and Blu-ray extras — including commentary tracks, interviews and "making of" sequences.
The Arrow Stories banner also carries a range of documentaries and interviews which look back over some of the big-ticket movies and shows available on the platform.
There's a small library of VOD (video-on-demand) films to buy on the Arrow Player website. Some of these are Digital Deluxe Edition re-releases of classic films — like Donnie Darko and Dario Argento's classic exploitation flick, Deep Red — which include exclusive bonus content. Although these Digital Deluxe editions can be purchased separately, all the extra content is included as part of your subscription.
You can get a good idea of the range of content available on the Arrow Player by watching the trailer below:
Does the Arrow Player have a free trial?
Yes! There’s a 30-day free trial available to everyone who signs up. Once you’ve created an account, you’ll need to enter credit or debit card information.
You’ll see a $1 pre-authorization charge appear on your account when you subscribe, but this amount will be credited back to you a few days later, during the trial period. This charge is only to authenticate your payment details.
What devices support the Arrow Player?
- Web: watch in-browser on the Arrow Player website.
- Mobile devices: the Arrow Player is available on iOS and Android devices
- TVs: you can watch on Apple TV devices (4th Gen and up), on Roku TVs, Android TVs and all Fire TV devices.
- Consoles: Arrow Player is also available on Xbox One consoles.
What countries have the Arrow Player?
Currently, the Arrow Player is only available in the US, UK and Canada. We do not yet know if there are plans to roll out the service in other countries.
