Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Horror film fans, rejoice! Arriving just in time for Halloween, SHUDDER is a new streaming service that can essentially be described as a Netflix for fright-seekers. Launching today in the UK and Ireland, the platform offers over 200 hand-picked movies and TV shows (many of which are unavailable to stream elsewhere) that promise to serve “both the casual and hardcore fan of horror and suspense-filled entertainment.” Better still, new premieres and exclusives will be made available each month, for those who like their thrills freshly served. Subscriptions cost £4.99 per month or £49.99 for a year’s membership – and you can take SHUDDER for a test run first with a week’s free trial.
Curating the extensive SHUDDER library are scary movie veterans Colin Geddes and Sam Zimmerman, programmer of the Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness section and former editor of horror flick magazine Fangoria respectively. Their selections are divided into comprehensive categories so you can easily find “what you’re hunting for” (in the words of the SHUDDER search bar) and range from early favourites like 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein and cult classics like George A.Romero’s Night of the Living Dead through modern masterpieces such as Swedish horror-romance Let the Right One In . Add to the mix a treasure trove of lesser-known gems and numerous offerings from the genre’s rising stars and it’s looking likely we may never sleep again (or not without checking under the bed first.) Here, to celebrate SHUDDER’s launch, we’ve selected 10 of the best, blood-curdling movies the platform has to offer.
Sign up to SHUDDER at www.shudder.com from 20th October.
Deep Red (1975)
Deep Red is a haunting and highly accomplished offering from Dario Argento, master of the Italian horror genre, giallo. It follows pianist Marcus Daly, played by Blow-Up’s David Hemmings, who discovers the body of a murdered psychic and decides to take matters into his own hands. Before long, however, he starts to sense that the murderer has caught wind of his investigations, and that his own life may too be in danger. Argento’s frenetic camerawork and stylishly executed gore, combined with the complex, cleverly unfolding plot, will hold you transfixed until the film’s final shot.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Shrew’s Nest (2014)
A claustrophobic Spanish horror that will turn your blood cold, Shrew’s Nest from directing duo Juan Fernando Andrés and Esteban Roel, tells the tale of two sisters sharing a sinister apartment in 1950s Madrid. Montse, the eldest, is an agoraphobic, religious fanatic and the sole guardian of her younger sibling, whom she has cared for since the death of their parents. One day the sisters’ strict routine is interrupted by the appearance of an injured neighbour who enters the house and awakens unwanted emotions in Montse, causing her severe case of psychological disturbance to become increasingly apparent.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Hellraiser (1987)
Available to stream for the first time exclusively on SHUDDER is Clive Barker’s cult classic Hellraiser – the film that spawned Pinhead, leader of the carnal-pleasure-seeking Cenobites, and multiple sequels thereafter. A sexual deviant named Frank unlocks the door to another dimension and soon finds himself torn to shreds by Pinhead and co. Years later, Frank’s brother Larry moves into the house, with his wife Julia (Frank’s one-time lover) and accidental resurrection, serial murder and a hefty serving of sadomasochism ensue.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Therapy (2016)
This compelling found footage thriller is the sophomore offering from French director Nathan Ambrosioni, who at the age of just 16 has already established himself as one of the horror genre’s most promising new talents. What he lacks in years, he makes up for in jump scares and unrelenting suspense in a story that tracks two young police officers as they investigate the discovery of hidden video equipment in a derelict house. Realising that what they’ve stumbled across is no home movie, it dawns on them that they must intercept a maniac at play before it’s too late.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Dearest Sister (2016)
Dearest Sister is the second feature from Mattie Do, Laos’ first ever female director (not that that’s particularly surprising given that it’s only the 13th film to hail from the Southeast Asian country.) The film is a chilling and beautifully shot ghost story that subverts horror genre tropes to construct a clever commentary on gender roles in society. We follow a village girl as she heads to the city to provide care and companionship for her rich cousin whose sight is waning. As the cousin falls victim to terrifying supernatural visions, our protagonist falls prey to an encroaching greed, sparked by her new, lavish surroundings. The question is: how far will she go to satisfy her cravings?
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. [REC 2] (2009)
[REC 2] is the excellent second instalment in the four-part zombie horror franchise from Spanish writer/directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film picks up 15 minutes from where [REC] – often described as one of the scariest films of all time – left off and we find ourselves thrust back into the quarantined Barcelona apartment block, whose virus-riddled residents have been transformed into flesh-devouring monsters. In part two, a medical officer and a SWAT team armed with video cameras enter the equation, tasked with putting an end to the horror. Sequel sceptics fear not, [REC 2] is just as tense and traumatising as its predecessor.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. My Amityville Horror (2012)
For those of you who prefer your horror films served with a side of reality, there’s the spine chilling documentary My Amityville Horror , focussing on Daniel Lutz who as a young boy was caught up in one of America’s most notorious hauntings. In 1975, Lutz and his family moved into 112 Ocean Avenue, a house which had recently played host to Ronald DeFeo Jr.’s gruesome murder of six of his family members. The Lutz's fled the house after 28 days, claiming to have been the victims of paranormal terrorising – a story documented in Jay Anson’s famous novel The Amityville Horror and its various movie spinoffs. 36 years after the event, director Eric Walter presents a series of gripping interviews with Lutz, who still bears considerable psychological scars, as well as with past investigative reporters and eyewitnesses, to try and make some sense of the events.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. The Reef (2010)
Galeophobes look away now; Jaws fans keep reading because The Reef is the modern day answer to Spielberg’s 1975 chiller. You know the drill – a group of friends lark around in a sailing boat on the ocean (in this case the setting is Australia’s idyllic Great Barrier Reef) when suddenly their boat hits a rock and begins to sink. They are left with two choices: remain on the capsized vessel and await help or swim through shark infested waters to land. The story may be a familiar one, but this perfectly shot, bloodstained drama spares audiences none of the white-knuckle thrill of the chase.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Teeth (2007)
For those who missed the chance to catch Teeth when the controversial tale of a young student with a carnivorous, fang-bearing vagina hit the big screen in 2007, now’s your chance. Directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein , it stars the talented Jess Weixler as protagonist Dawn O’Keefe, whose blood thirsty nether regions are kept at bay thanks to her ardent devotion to her high school chastity club. This looks set to change however when the handsome Tobey enters the scene, awakening the beast from its slumber. A brilliantly original and funny film, Teeth injects the horror genre with a refreshing dose of feminism.
Photo: Courtesy of Shudder. Midnight Son (2009)
Realism meets vampirism with compelling results in the commendable debut feature from American writer/director Scott Leberecht. Midnight Son is the story of Jacob (played by the suitably sallow-eyed Zak Kilberg), a nightshift worker battling with a rare skin condition that renders him both unable to face sunlight and inexplicably malnourished. After developing a crush on a pretty bartender, he accidentally discovers that drinking blood may provide the cure to his affliction, only to find himself the prime suspect in a serial murder enquiry. A twisted romance that is at once bloody, thoughtful and cleverly plotted.
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