“Horror literature tells us that the control we think we have is totally illusory,” English dramatist and author Clive Barker famously stated. Ironically, this is one of the reasons why most horror lovers adore the genre.
Few people have come to appreciate the concept of being afraid, but for those that have, streaming service Shudder appears to be the place to go! This streaming service, which was founded in 2015 by AMC Networks, is almost totally dedicated to one genre, and with some of its latest additions of films, including many fantastic originals, it is growing in popularity among fans.
Many treasures like Shudder go unappreciated and underappreciated in the face of streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video, but if you’re looking for indie, classic, or any other kind of horror, this streaming service is just what you need.
Shudder is a premium service available on Android and Apple smartphones, Amazon Firestick devices, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox One, and Prime Video membership. In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland, it provides both monthly and annual memberships.
Although the platform is most famous for its original series titled Creepshow, today we will be counting down our top picks of original films it has to offer, which many fans are missing out on.
Monstrum (2018)
Directed by Heo Jong-Ho, this South Korean film is a period action piece that is set during King Jungjong’s reign in 1527. It is a creature horror and stars actors like Kim Myung-min, Kim In-kwon, Lee Hye-ri and Choi Woo-shik.
As a devastating plague devastates communities, the King has no choice but to summon his retired General Yoon Gyeom. Many people claim to have witnessed a terrible monster consuming men on the Joseon mountains during the pandemic. General Yoon, with the help of his daughter and trusty right-hand soldiers, sets out to find this alleged beast and save the people.
Surprisingly, this film is based on true events that occurred during the year depicted in the film. The King was forced to move out of his palace, which was haunted by a mysterious creature.Monstrum received the Panorama Fantastic Audience Award at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in October of 2018 and smashed the box-office on its opening day. However, the critics gave the film mixed reviews, claiming that despite the director’s ability to build curiosity and suspense, the picture had quite a predictable plot.
Impetigore (2019)
This Shudder originalwas directed by Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar and stars Tara Basro, Faradina Mufti, AghninyHaque and Asmara Abigail. Maya, a woman who unwittingly inherits an ancient home in her community, is at the centre of the mystery horror. Maya learns horrific facts about the villagers who have been searching for her for many years when she visits the house with her companion Dini. They want to assassinate Maya in the hopes of putting an end to a twenty-year curse.
The rural location of the picture is a welcome change of pace from most recent horror flicks. Impetigore was awarded the Melies Award for Best Asian Film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in 2020, and it now has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes rating. This would be an excellent Sunday movie for anyone who enjoy suspenseful films.
Anything for Jackson (2020)
This film, directed by Justin G Dyck, looks at the extremes to which people would go for someone they care about. Dr. Henry Walsh and his wife Audrey kidnap a pregnant woman named Shannon after losing their grandchild in a horrible accident.
They are pushed to do this after feeling helpless and desperate enough to join a Satanic cult. They come encounter the Necronomicon in this location. Anyone who is familiar with the film Evil Dead would know better than to mess with this book because more often than not, you get far more than what you bargain for.
Henry and Audrey’s main aim was to put the spirit of their lost grandson into Shannon’s unborn baby, but things go sideways faster than they can handle, and they must then find a way to escape the grotesque thing they have accidentally summoned.
With the influence of the occult, the inclusion of spells, and the involvement of spirits, the picture has a traditional Biblical horror vibe to it. But what makes Anything for Jackson so entertaining – and horrifying – to watch is that the majority of its jump scares are so much more.
When horror films have to rely on jump scares, we know the terror will be fleeting — the film will not seep under our skin, giving us the shivers for days. But in Anything for Jackson, that is not the case.
Dyck has paced out the scares, giving us little to no foreshadowing of the things to come. The film stars Sheila McCarthy, Julian Richings as well as Konstantina Mantelos and sits at an affirmative 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants (2019)
Directed by J-P Valkeapää, this Finnish erotic dark romance film starsPekkaStrang, Krista Kosonen and Ilona Huhta. Juha, a widower and single father, is raising his daughter Elli on his own.
Despite the fact that his wife died in a horrible accident seven years ago, Juha remains emotionally aloof, that is, until he meets Mona, a dominatrix by profession, whom he takes a fancy to.
After years of barely feeling anything, he finds himself drawn to and enjoying the sense of agony. But what begins as a simple investigation of the world of BDSM quickly turns dark and dangerous as Juha’s life is upended by his blossoming connection with Mona.
What stands out most about Dogs Don’t Wear Pants is the stellar acting, by both PekkaStrang and Krista Kosonen, who play Juha and Mona respectively. The two bring their respective characters to life with ease, making it easy for the audience to suspend their disbelief as they sit through this grim movie.
Although the film has an 89 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, several critics admit that it has the potential to be too much for certain viewers. That said, if you can handle a potent mix of pain and pleasure, this is the movie for you.
Z (2019)
Z by Brandon Christensen is a classic horror thriller with all the ingredients that genre lovers enjoy. The film is relatively short, lasting about an hour and a half, and chronicles the narrative of a three-person household.
When Kevin and Beth first realise that their eight-year-old son spends the majority of his time with his imaginary buddy, they dismiss it as harmless fun that he will outgrow, as most youngsters do.
Much to their horror, the couple realises that this friend is far from just a figment of their son’s imagination, and is in actual fact something threatens their very existence. The two must then find a way to escape the clutches of “Z” and save their son in the process.
Z stars Keegan Connor Tracy, Sean Rogerson andJett Klyne and is rated 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite the fact that the picture was done on a shoestring budget, it nevertheless manages to give you the goosebumps. Z is structured into three acts, similar to the popular horror film The Babadook.
The spirits drive the mother nuts in the first, almost as if she is being gaslighted and ganged up on by the ghost, her son, and her husband. With his performance, Klyne, who portrays the son, undoubtedly outshines the rest of the cast. Other horror films in which he has appeared include Devil in the Dark, Puppet Killer, and A Stranger with My Kids.
Random Acts of Violence (2019)
At least one slasher film should always be included in each horror film list. After all, with films like Friday the 13th and Halloween, the subgenre has built a name for itself. Random Acts of Violence was written and directed by Jay Baruchel and stars Todd Walkley, a comic book writer who recently wrote Slasherman.
With his publisher Ezra, he travels to a town where this Slasherman allegedly went on a rampage more than two decades ago. They believe the town to be the perfect place to announce their book launch.
But on reaching their destination, something dark unfolds, as it seems that a series of murder are taking place once again. This time, however, they bear an uncanny resemblance to the gruesome depictions in Todd’s new comic.
Despite the fact that the story’s premise is overused and something even youngsters are familiar with, the film’s greatness rests in the fact that the directors have managed to create something that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats despite the cliché tale.
Random Acts of Violence stars Jesse Williams, Jordana Brewster and Niamh Wilson and sports a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have had polarising views on the film, with some loving it, and others claiming it to feature too much bloodshed.
Spiral (2019)
There was another horror flick called Spiral released before the release of the ninth instalment of the Saw franchise. This film, directed by Kurtis David Harder, follows same-sex couple Malik and Aaron as they move to a small The couple and their daughter are first welcomed by kind neighbours, and they believe they have found the perfect home for their family.
But they soon realise something more sinister may be at play as neighbours Marshall and Tiffany’s behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious.
Spiral sports a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and stars Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Ari Cohen and Jennifer Laporte. Besides being a gripping watch, this film also spreads awareness of the struggles faced by people from the LGBTQ+ community and how those struggles inadvertently affect their children as well. Using horror to identify and shed light on these issues has been greatly appreciated by the critics.
Blood Quantum (2019)
This Canadian film, directed by Jeff Barnaby, is jam-packed with zombie action throughout its runtime. The story follows a group of Canadian indigenous tribes who seem to be resistant to a new zombie virus epidemic.
The people of the First Nation reservation must assist white refugees seeking shelter and security as the dead continue to rise from the grave and attack the living. The flesh-eating walking dead continue to ruin and devour the world around them, and it is up to those who are immune to restore order.
Blood Quantum is a refreshing take on regular zombie films, with an important message to send out about colonialism. In the real world, it is not a secret how white European settlers have continued to make their homes wherever they liked, with the indigenous people having to pay a heavy price – facing new and fatal diseases and being removed from their own land, shoved out of their homes.
But here, the tables seem to have turned, as the white settlers must beg the indigenous peoples to take them in and protect them. The film stars Michael Greyeyes, Elle-MáijáTailfeathers and Forrest Goodluck and sports an affirmative 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Even critics have mostly had positive things to say about the film, and about the message it aims to send out.
Belzebuth (2017)
Another Biblical horror on our list, this Mexican film is directed by Emilio Portes and stars JoaquínCosío and Tobin Bell. The film revolves around Detective Emmanuel Ritter, who is trying to cope with the gruesome murder of his newborn.
The hospital nurse took the baby and all the other infants there into a nursery very immediately after his wife gave birth, stabbing them all before cutting her own throat. The police are powerless to intervene because the investigation is closed, leaving Emmanuel to mourn.
Years later, a weird mass shooting in his town sends him on an investigation, and he discovers that he needs the assistance of a priest rather than the police to uncover the riddle of the slaughter.
Belzebuth has a run time of almost two hours and sports a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In our experience, it is often the filmmakers that grow up around heavy religious influences that seem to make the most interesting Biblical horrors.
The film has received great reviews from critics, and it’s no surprise that a picture featuring Tobin Bell, who is most known for playing Jigsaw in the Saw movie, will appeal to horror aficionados.
The Mortuary Collection (2019)
Directed by Ryan Spindell, this is an anthology film that stars Jacob Elordi, Ema Horvath, Clancy Brown and Caitlin Custer. The first part of the anthologysees Sam, a job-seeking young woman, arrive at Raven’s End Mortuary, an establishment managed by Montgomery Dark.
Dark tells Sam three terrifying and odd stories about Raven’s End, each of which is separated into three parts. Sam tells Montgomery her own narrative in the second half. The third and last section takes place in the current day and depicts Sam’s final conversation with the Mortician, exposing twist after twist.
If you are a fan of supernatural horror riddled with magic spells and dark imagery, this movie will make for the perfect watch. The Mortuary Collection has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 67 percent, although critics appear to enjoy the portrayal of the characters.
The many pieces of the anthology all tie up nicely near the finish, but you never know when the next plot shock is hiding around the corner.