Quentin Tarantino Was “Blown Away” by the ’60s Horror Masterpiece Leaving Streaming

Trust Quentin Tarantino to describe watching a movie on VHS at someone’s home as a “screening.” But that’s what he said as he recalled one of the most transformative movie-watching experiences of his early life. Tarantino said that he lied his way into a house party hosted by a member of his theater troupe by claiming he was 18, when he was actually just 16. A 1968 classic he had always wanted to watch was playing on VHS, and the young Tarantino became transfixed. The movie in question was inspired by the same text that was adapted into Will Smith‘s 2007 hit I Am Legend, and is now largely credited for having brought zombie storytelling into the mainstream. It’s currently streaming on HBO Max in the United States, but not for much longer.