Shudder — the streaming services dedicated to all things filmed horror — is offering a sweet deal for viewers who want to discover some hidden genre gems or revisit the classics they already know and love.
Shudder announced via Twitter that they are offering a 30-day free trial using the promo code SHUTIN. (Shudder’s usual free trial is seven days.) The service currently offers plenty of current and vintage horror titles, as well as sci-fi and mystery-thriller titles to enjoy. But its bread and butter is certainly the supernatural, slashers, and all things scary and spooky.
While Shudder offers such classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Prom Night, The Night of the Living Dead, and The Hills Have Eyes, there are plenty of less famous titles that eager viewers could check out using Shudder’s current 30-day free trial. Here are our 10 suggestions!
The 10 Best Horror Movies to Watch on Shudder
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019)
Issa López’s Tigers Are Not Afraid is a terrifying and devastatingly relevant dark fantasy about Mexico’s drug war and the children that are being left behind. This is a frightening, poignant, relevant and stunningly powerful film that will scare you right before it breaks your heart. Like the early works of Guillermo del Toro (in particular The Devil’s Backbone, which feels like a spiritual sibling to this movie), Tigers Are Not Afraid portrays ghosts not as demonic entities looking to possess, but as angry spirits demanding justice. The film takes the existence of ghosts and magical wishes as ordinary, but it is constantly asking you whether you believe in it or not – after all, only Estrella sees the ghosts. The movie is also not afraid to get bloody, with no character being safe.
The Changeling (1980)
While The Changeling gives up all pretense of a being a haunted house movie around the mid-way point, opting instead for fairly humdrum murder-mystery fare, it earns its place on this list easily thanks to its genuinely unsettling opening half. George C. Scott stars as Dr. John Russell, a New York composer who seeks solitude in a lonely Victorian mansion following the death of his wife and daughter in a tragic road accident. Needless to say, it doesn’t take long for things to go bump in the night and director Peter Medak wastes no time in ratcheting up the tension, delivering some of the most memorable sequences in haunted house movie history. Yes, it’s got all the classic tropes of the genre but, it turns out, there’s nothing quite as terrifying as the ‘thump, thump, thump’ of a child’s red ball bouncing gently down the stairs …
Audition (2001)
It’s almost impossible to talk about Takashi Miike’s Audition without ruining it. In fact, you should probably stop reading right now and just watch it. But since you’re still here, let’s talk about Miike’s pulverizing misdirect of a movie. Audition starts out like a romantic comedy, about a single man who holds an audition for a new girlfriend, only to find himself attracted to a young woman with… let’s just say “serious issues,” and let that hang there. Audition lures you into a false sense of security, then throws you off a ledge and rips out the safety net. To call it “shocking” is to do a serious disservice to the word. It’s a vicious punchline, preceded by an even crueler joke, and there’s nothing else quite like it.
A Girl Walks Home at Night (2014)
A Girl Walks Home at Night takes its cues from vampire film of yore, but in filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour’s hands it’s something brand new, evoking an underground comic book, black ink realizing fringe characters and splashy frames both intimate and wide. This low-budget genre experiment gives any well-tread tropes new life from its Iranian settings. Part German Expressionist horror movie, part Spaghetti Western, part ’50s rebel drama, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is leans into its black-and-white moody cinematography, like an old fashioned lucid dream. Grounded in a dustbowl Iranian suburb, stylized characters float through overtly cinematic setups while maintaining a human grit. A Girl Walks Home pulls off the balancing act, stuffed with ideas and sharply executed by Amirpour, a confident voice for genre fans to follow into the unknown.
Mandy (2018)
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Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy is a cult classic in the making. Imbued with surreal imagery and riveting performances from the cast, this thriller envelops the viewer in a cosmic nightmare, properly positioning them to endure a terrifying scenario in a fresh way. The heart of Mandy’s story centers on revenge – a wronged character is seeking some form of violent retribution. This premise is elevated by Cosmatos’ wild imagination and the way he preps the audience for the latter parts of the film by introducing them to a supposed normal person. Cosmatos builds on that uneasiness subtly at first before he ramps things up. Nicolas Cage is remarkable; he doesn’t spout any profound dialogue or is given much room to really develop his character. That said, his ability to convey a broken individual that slowly succumbs to rage is praiseworthy.
The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
The Devil’s Rejects is a visceral little film that reverberates with nasty attitude, a knowing smirk, and a demented gleam of the eyes. Perhaps that’s what shock rocker-turned-shock director Rob Zombie intended for his debut film House of 1,000 Corpses, but sadly he kind of missed the mark on that rough re-imagining of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Thankfully rather than re-hash House, Zombie went for a grimier, lower-budget production, rescuing some of the key characters from his first endeavor behind the camera and throwing them into an entirely new situation. The result is a redneck gothic road picture fueled by sadism and a devilishly wicked sense of humor.
Train to Busan (2016)
Train to Busan is proof that no matter what country you’re in, mankind loves blockbuster movies and zombies. An enlightening look at the struggles of a Korean businessman paves the way for a sympathetic descent into a zombie apocalypse set on a frickin’ train. The magic of Train to Busan lies its ensemble cast that never really seem to like each other, but their dependency on one another raises the stakes to a whole new level thanks to inter-group politics and desires. Every zombie encounter is more difficult than the one our heroes leave behind. And just when you think there’s no way a movie can escalate the danger any further, director Yeon Sang-ho finds a way.
The House of the Devil (2009)
Ti West has fast become one of the most important genre directors working today, with The Innkeepers and The Sacrament being two of the best horror films released in the last several years. But for this list we’re plumping for his 2009 effort House of the Devil, simply because it’s downright terrifying. Jocelin Donahue plays a student who is so desperate for money that she accepts a babysitting job even though it means traveling to a creepy mansion in the middle of the woods, and in spite of the fact that there doesn’t actually seem to be a baby. Horror ensues, with the title a dead giveaway to the devilish nature of the scares.
Citdael (2012)
Citadel is a gripping and fascinating portrait of many forms of terror boasting a great central performance by Aneurin Barnard as a young father out to protect his baby from a pack of monstrous children. If you can imagine a cross between Straw Dogs and The Brood then you have some idea of what the film’s going for. Director Ciaran Foy makes the protagonist and his plight so human and relatable that you’re able to gradually accept the fantastical nature of these killer kids. Citadel is terrifying even without the possibly supernatural element, but when that does come into play it is mostly (and wisely) kept in the shadows, thus leaving our imaginations to run wild. The sound design and the vocal effects of these feral kids are especially unnerving and add to the overall heebie-jeebies. The violence in the film is brutal, unromantic, and startling as is the pervasive sense of despair and fear its protagonist lives with.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Before you knew him from The Walking Dead or Guardians of the Galaxy, Michael Rooker wowed horror audiences with his portrayal of the titular Henry, a serial killer based on the admittedly shaky confessions of real-life killer Henry Lee Lucas. The narrative is really a horror film, featuring Henry on a killing spree that he manages to rope others into, including the violent murder of an entire family that he captures on videotape. Rooker is absolutely chilling here, featuring dead eyes and a very odd insecurity. The movie is based on confessions that Lucas wrote himself, many of which have since been discredited, though he was convicted for 11 homicides and remained in prison until his death in 2001.
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What horror movies are you streaming right now? Let us know in the comments!
Source: IGN.com Shudder Is Offering a 30 Day Free Trial For Your Horror Movie Streaming Needs