Every now and then we get sent a story that disorganisation on our part and the disruptive nature of our private lives sees us omit to post and then later kick ourselves for missing. Such is the case with the heads up regarding UK based web site Indie Movies Online, which since its launch in June 2009 has become a great way to check out literally hundreds of fine independent and cult movies from around the globe at high quality online, legally and for free.

All types of movie are represented, including thrillers, science fiction, comedies and slick US horrors and more. New and classic films are added all the time, and titles currently available for view include: Allegro, Baise Moi, The Boss of it All, Brothers, Chopper, Choking Man, Dark Star, Evil Aliens, Funny Ha Ha, George Washington, HurlyBurly, King of New York, Kontakt, Love is the Devil, Millennium, Mirror Maze, Mutual Appreciation, My Left Foot, Old Joy, The Pleasure of Being Robbed and Reprise.

There are also a good many quality documentaries including: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese, Crass: there's no Authority but Yourself, Sympathy for the Devil, Word Wars, The Cutting Edge, Room 2017 and many more. You'll also find plenty of fine animated and live action shorts such as Adam, Creature Comforts, The Quay Brothers Collection, I Am Bob, Where's the Money Ronnie? and The Traffic Warden (starring David Tennant).

Content providers that license films to www.indiemoviesonline.com include The British Film Institute, Aardman, East West, Soda Pictures, Hanway Films, ITV, Spolight, Screen Media, Cinetic, Content Films/Fireworks and Content Republic.

At present they're adding a collection of J-horror and Japanese exploitation titles, one a day (starting today) and available to watch free for the next year.

J-Horror week 1

Ju-On White Ghost (2009) - July 5th
Aka The Grudge: Old Lady in White. A son brutally and methodically murders all five of his family members after failing the bar exam. He then hangs himself, leaving behind a cassette recorder at the scene on which he can be heard saying, "I'll come... I'll come soon", in unison with a young girl's voice. The child's voice belongs to his sister, a victim of the family massacre and the elementary school best friend of Akane.

Ju-On Black Ghost (2009) - July 6th
Aka The Grudge: Girl in Black. A Nurse named Yuko has a strange experience while taking care of a girl named Fukie. Test results show a cyst inside Fukie's body, but that cyst is actually the leftover grudge from a baby who was unable to be born. The cysts grudge spreads to Fukie and everyone around her. Fukie's sister Mariko has special spiritual power and has some success driving out the evil spirit. But the worst of the grudge is yet to come...

Tokyo Gore Police (2008) - July 7th
Set in a future-world vision of Tokyo where the police have been privatised and bitter self-mutilation is so casual that advertising is often specially geared to the "cutter" demographic, this is the story of samurai-sword-wielding Ruka and her mission to avenge her father's assassination. Ruka is a cop from a squad who's mission is to destroy homicidal mutant humans known as "Engineers" possessing the ability to transform any injury to a weapon in and of itself.

Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl (2009) - July 8th
Transfer student Monami has a secret and a past that has caught up with Mizushima. Deceiving Mizushima into eating a token gift of chocolate, laced with her blood, he is then catapulted into Monami's vampire world of blood, death and love. Jilted girlfriend Keiko has other ideas. With a sudden twist of fate, she is then transformed into the hideous and unforgiving Frankenstein Girl, and the battle for Mizushima's heart begins.

X-Cross (2007) - July 9th
Recovering from a failed love affair Shiyori heads to the country, in the company of best friend and bad girl Aiko. Having taken a soak in the hot spring they retire to their respective cabins. They soon discover that the tranquil village is the home of a cult with a fetish for cutting off female legs. They are split up trying to escape. Multiple points of view and time frames keeps the viewer on their toes trying to discern the grisly fate of these girls.

J-Horror Week Two

Starfish Hotel (2006) - July 12th
Salaryman Arisu scurries rodent-like between packed commuter trains, humdrum office paper-pushing, and the Ikea hell that is his apartment, retreating for solace into the mystery novels of Jo Kuroda, set in the menacing and unknowable Darkland. A man with a past, the memories of an affair he had years before start to seep into his everyday life. When the motif of Kuroda's novels suddenly becomes a reality for Arisu, the walls between fact and fiction, past and present, begin to dissolve, with horrifying consequences.

Samurai Princess (2009) - July 13th
An evil forest overran by outlaws and mechas (robots) who rape and kill any poor soul who enters. But there is someone else in this forest. A mecha who is a spirit of vengeance and a warrior! This  mecha can fight and bring justice to the innocents. They call her Samurai Princess!

Goth: Love of Death (2008) - July 14th
The film follows two teenagers in a grey Tokyo suburb; Morino is a pale, though pretty, loner that no one takes an interest in and Kamiyama is one of the most popular guys in school. They're opposites but have one thing in common – an unhealthy interest in the work of a local serial killer who murders beautiful women, removes their left hand and leaves them elegantly posed to be found by a horrified member of the public.

Battle Royale (2000) - July 15th
In the near future, when the society of Japan is crumbling, 42 students find that their field trip is actually a military-sponsored game known as Battle Royale. The kids' sadistic teacher, Kitano, sends them to an isolated island and gives them three days to kill each other until only one remains...

Plus a US horror classic!

Day of the Dead (1985) - July 16th
July 16th sees Indie Movies Online present a re-mastered version of George Romero's classic 80s horror. Zombies rule the USA, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker in Florida. The scientists are using the undead in gruesome experiments; much to the chagrin of the military. Finally the military finds that their men have been used in the scientists' experiments, and banish the scientists to the caves that house the living dead. Unfortunately, the zombies from above ground have made their way into the bunker.

If it seems like we're dressing up an ad as a news story then in a way we are, but we're talking about a site run by like minded enthusiasts that offers free access to the very sort of films we tend to celebrate here, and thus feel it's well worth giving the site a plug. Seriously, give it a look and let the site your support - they're going damned good work and providing access to our kind of cinema at a price we can all afford.