As the battle between streaming services becomes the entertainment world’s next major war, companies like Netflix and Disney trying to outdo each other by offering movies and TV shows that are unique to their platform. It has become a hassle for consumers, who have to navigate the ever-expanding market to find out which service has what they want to watch. shudder tries to avoid this subscription war by appealing directly to horror fans.
Through only horror movies and a few shows like horror show, Shudder has carved a niche for itself in the crowded market. Each year, the service adds more movies to its library and also has a collection of Shudder Originals, movies exclusive to the platform. Although they vary in quality, Shudder has proven to produce some of the best recent horror movies through this initiative.
‘The Queen of Black Magic’ (2019) IMDb Rating: 6.5
Coming from Indonesia, The Queen of Black Magic is a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. When a father takes his family to the orphanage where he grew up to visit its ailing owner, they soon encounter a horrific evil. Two more families join them as they fight to survive the night.
Despite being a supernatural film, the film doesn’t skimp on the violence and there are more than a few moments that are not for the squeamish. It works almost like an Indonesian Evil Deadthough it replaces that franchise’s comedic undertones with a focus on the buried childhood trauma that haunts one into adulthood.
‘Host’ (2020) IMDb Score: 6.5
When the world went into lockdown in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmakers had to get creative to keep producing their work. No film excelled in this more than Hosta ghost story set entirely through Zoom, showing that there are worse phone calls than your company’s mandatory 9am meetings.
When a group of friends invite a medium to hold a seance with them on Son, they accidentally summon a demonic presence with deadly consequences. As they stay on the call to try and “stay together”, they each begin to be haunted in their own homes in various terrifying and clever ways.
‘The Sadness’ (2021) IMDb Score: 6.5
One of the most brutal films of recent years, and possibly ever, The sadness is an uncompromising whirlwind of violence. As a virus sweeps through Taiwan, it turns the population into sadistic monsters who unleash their most carnal and barbaric desires, however grotesque or depraved. Two separated lovers try to reunite as their city is engulfed in a flood of blood.
An extreme horror movie, The sadness is not for everyone with a weak stomach. Gorehounds, however, will be in heaven as no part of the human body is safe, with heads and limbs being chopped off, broken off and splashed with reckless abandon.
‘Vicious Fun’ (2020) IMDb Score: 6.5
Taking advantage of the 80s nostalgia that has become hugely popular lately thanks to shows like Weird stuff, cruel fun is a hilarious throwback to the horror comedies of that decade. When horror film critic Joel accidentally ends up in a serial killer self-help group, he must play along to stay alive.
Each of his group mates pays tribute to a popular fictional killer, from Jason Voorhees stand-in Mike to the smooth, plastic-suit-wearing Bob that Patrick Bateman does to mind. With Joel’s attempts to escape his psychotic new friends, with some pretty gory results, cruel fun is an absolute blast that every horror fan should watch this creepy season.
‘La Llorona’ (2019) IMDb Score: 6.6
Llorona (also known as The Crying Woman) follows an elderly Guatemalan dictator on trial for a genocide he committed against indigenous peoples in the 1980s. Surrounded by his loyal family, the dictator fights the charges but begins to be haunted by the ghosts of those he has wronged.
A dark drama disguised as a haunted house movie, Llorona has a lot to say about the atrocities committed by governments and those in power who get away with it. The film uses the horror genre to shed light on these horrific events, and the real-life horrors resembling those in the film are more disturbing than any horror film.
‘Impetigore’ (2019) IMDb Score: 6.6
Another Indonesian ghost story, Impetigore takes place in a remote village where children are cursed to be born skinless. After learning that she has inherited a house in the village, Maya travels there with her best friend in hopes of selling it. Instead, she finds hostile villagers who believe her death will end the curse that has been placed on them.
Impetigore succeeds by focusing on Indonesian folklore, a subject that is underrepresented outside the country. As fascinating as it is terrifying, Impetigore is one of the best international folk horror movies out there, and you won’t want to travel to new cities anytime soon.
‘Speak No Evil’ (2022) IMDb Rating: 6.6
A recent edition, Speak no evil is a disturbing psychological thriller from Denmark. When a Danish family meets a Dutch family on holiday in Italy, they become fast friends. After receiving an invitation to stay at their new friends’ home, the Danish family accepts the invitation, with horrifying consequences.
Saying more would spoil the surprises Speak no evil contains, but it is a twisted examination of social norms and how far one drops to accommodate others. The film enters very dark territory as the plot reveals more of itself, so be prepared for a dark story that will stay with you when it’s over.
‘All the Moons’ (2020) IMDb Rating: 6.7
Set in 19th century Spain, all moons tells the story of a young orphan who is seriously injured by a bomb unleashed during the civil war. The girl is saved by a mysterious woman and gains immortality by turning into a vampire. She lives in the woods with her new mother and learns to live with her newfound powers.
Make comparisons with Let the right one in and The Labyrinth of Pan, all moons is a dark fairytale. An examination of loneliness seen through the eyes of a child, the film focuses less on the protagonist’s desire for blood and more on her desire to be loved, creating a story that is both beautiful and heartbreaking.
‘Mad God’ (2021) IMDb Score: 6.8
Less of a movie and more of a look into the creator’s mind, crazy god is a stop-motion project thirty years in the making. Telling the story of a masked man known as The Assassin, crazy god follows this character’s journey into an unrelenting pit of nightmarish images and bizarre creatures. It will appeal to anyone who likes to watch scary animated movies.
Created by the acclaimed master of visual effects Phil Tippettknown for his work on Jurassic Park and Star Wars, crazy god is his passion project. He started working on it in 1990, and its creation took a significant personal toll on Tippett, who suffered a nervous breakdown in the process. His deteriorating mental health is present in the film’s suffocatingly gloomy atmosphere, showing just how much pain art can inflict on its creators.
‘Dogs Don’t Wear Pants’ (2019) IMDb Score: 6.8
Recovering from his wife’s death, Juha struggles to connect with his teenage daughter as he walks through life emotionally paralyzed. A chance encounter with dominatrix Mona sparks a new spark in Juha, and as their sessions become increasingly dangerous, a bond begins to form between the submissive and his dom.
An unconventional dark romance from Finland, Dogs don’t wear pants is a sex-positive examination of grief, trauma, and human connection. While the extreme bondage sessions may be too much for some viewers, the connection between the two main characters makes for a surprisingly sweet and hopeful story.