Shudder has become increasingly popular in recent years within horror circles. Serving as a cheap streaming service for horror movies, Shudder contains many wonderful films - both old and new. And while Shudder contains many intriguing originals you won't find anywhere else, the service is primarily known for its extensive library of third party movies.
Users can find many fantastic horror movies on Shudder. Some are insanely popular and universally beloved, others are more independent and "hidden." Regardless, many are worth watching, and many are worth checking out for the Halloween season.
10 Mandy - 91%
Directed by Panos Cosmatos, Mandy is a deranged and delirious movie. Serving mainly as a blend of straightforward horror and homage to sleazy grindhouse flicks of the '70s, Mandy stars Nicolas Cage as a man who becomes hell-bent on revenge after a violent and personal tragedy. It's a derivative story, but Mandy's style more than makes up for its lack of invention. It's one of the most visually stunning horror movies ever made, and Cage's unhinged performance proves his capabilities as a serious actor. It's violent, it's wild, and it's a lot of gory fun.
9 Re-Animator - 93%
H.P. Lovecraft is a beloved horror writer, but his stories are often considered un-filmable. Not this one. Based on Lovecraft's short story "Herbert West-Reanimator," Re-Animator follows a medical student who concocts an agent that allows deceased bodies to return to life. While it made just $2 million at the box office in 1985, Re-Animator is now a cult classic. It perfectly blends disgusting, visceral gore-based horror with dry humor, providing audiences with one of the greatest horror comedy movies ever made.
8 Revenge - 93%
Revenge isn't original by any means. Like Mandy, Revenge concerns a young woman who unleashes violence on those who wronged her. In the wrong hands, this could have been a complete, derivative disaster. However, the movie is expertly produced and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The direction and cinematography are accomplished, and the screenplay adds some welcome depth and feminist themes to the proceedings. The movie also works within the genre's tropes, being fully aware of what works, what doesn't, and why.
7 The Old Dark House - 96%
Released back in 1932, The Old Dark House may prove too old and outdated for some. But those willing to overlook its age will find one of the greatest and most influential horror comedies ever produced. The story concerns a group of strangers who seek shelter from a devastating rainstorm inside the mansion of the eccentric and dangerous Femm family.
The movie stars the legendary Boris Karloff in the role of Morgan, the family's mute and alcoholic butler. It may be old, but its scares and biting satire remain relevant to this day.
6 Halloween - 96%
Shudder streams one of the greatest horror movies of all time - Halloween. Made for just $300,000, Halloween is expertly directed by John Carpenter and led by the now-legendary Jamie Lee Curtis. What makes Halloween work above its contemporaries is its grounded realism. The story takes place in some non-descript American suburb, and Michael is nothing but a motive-less psychopath. It proved to terrified audiences that evil could be anywhere, and it could come from anyone - even the kid down the street who dresses like a clown for Halloween.
5 Ring - 97%
What is it about Ring that allows it to stand above its contemporaries? There have been many fantastic and scary J-horror movies throughout the years, but Ring has been elevated within the wider pop culture consciousness. Of course, it helps that the movie earned an American remake that grossed $250 million at the worldwide box office. Perhaps it's the universal fear of death itself. The antagonist of Ring gives its victims a scheduled day for their deaths, and there's simply no stopping them. Death will always be here, and it will always pursue us. One day, our time will come, and there is no getting rid of it.
4 Night Of The Living Dead - 97%
George A. Romero changed horror, and the zombie subgenre, forever in 1968. That year saw the release of his seminal Night of the Living Dead, and zombie cinema was never the same again. Of course, the very concept of corpses rising back to life is positively nightmarish, and it lent the movie an unimaginably horrifying atmosphere.
But it also took zombies seriously, portraying them less as goofy voodoo creations and more as unstoppable walking corpses intent on disemboweling their victims. With this, the voodoo zombie was dead.
3 La Llorona - 97%
Not to be confused with the awful The Curse of La Llorona, La Llorona is a far better Spanish film directed by Jayro Bustamante and starring María Mercedes Coroy. The movie doesn't rely on cheap jump scares to scare its audience, but striking imagery and some surprising political allegory. The movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival, a testament to its status as "more" than a cheap ghost movie. It was picked up by Shudder for distribution and proves one of the streaming site's most delectable offers.
2 Host - 100%
The found footage genre is one of the most divisive in horror. Some people love the genre's more distinct and personal approach, while others find it nothing but a means for amateur filmmakers to get their movie made. Host is one of the best, even if it may belong to the latter category. Running at a very tight 57 minutes, Host is more like an exceptional episode of Black Mirror than a movie. It's a topical movie concerning the COVID pandemic, quarantine, and the resulting fears of social alienation. Horror often uses our real world fears to scare us, and in that regard, Host may prove the scariest movie of our times.
1 One Cut Of The Dead - 100%
One Cut of the Dead shouldn't have worked. It's filmed in the style of found footage and it concerns zombies - two subgenres that have seemingly withered in popularity in recent years. But it's a genius horror comedy. The story concerns a group of filmmakers who are filming a zombie movie. When a real zombie outbreak occurs, the director uses the real zombies and ensuing violence to film his movie and lend it a degree of realism. It's scary, it's hilarious, it's satirical, and it's a lot of fun. Horror comedies really don't get any better than this.
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