One of the world’s largest selections of ground-breaking horror films, new horror series, and outright bizarre originals can be found on Shudder. This premium streaming software offers a wide selection of unedited horror, thriller, and supernatural films at the press of a button. They have single-handedly improved the viewing experience for horror fans all over the world while also creating an unprecedented platform for smaller films and creators to flourish on a grand scale.
Shudder’s primary goal is to support undiscovered experimental films and filmmakers, but it also provides an excessive number of timeless horror films that will only become better with time. Here’s a look at some of the classic horror films that are currently streaming on Shudder, from frightful next-door neighbours to cruel family murderers and dreadful supernatural beings.
Carnival of Souls
Old yet good, Carnival of Souls only gets better with time. This film follows Mary, the lone survivor of a deadly collision, as she becomes drawn—no, magnetized—to a mysterious abandoned funfair. It has a satisfyingly atmospheric tone. When compared to a movie about a man with a knife, this one moves slowly. According to all reports, this is a slow-burning story with many twists and turns that, for the most part, are resolved at the conclusion… or, at the very least, all connections to reality are completely and cleanly severed… Never claim that we didn’t warn you!
Children of the Corn
Stephen King’s short story serves as the basis for the movie Children of the Corn. Although these children appear sweet and innocent, they are actually cold-hearted monsters that need to be grounded for all time.
One of his best film adaptations is the one from 1984, which encourages all parents to reconsider having kids. These kids aren’t your usual brats; they’re spiteful killers who torture one another and murder any adults that cross their path, including their parents. They support the young Isaac, portrayed by John Franklin, a conventional cult leader, as their leader. Remakes of this eerie, provocative classic haven’t fared quite as well.
Fade to Black
In Fade to Black, Eric, a very troubled cinephile with a deep love of black and white films, fights valiantly to find his place in the world. After a while, this man-child cracks and embarks on a murderous rampage, murdering both family members and friends while taking on the personas of well-known movie characters. It is astonishing that mental health counselling wasn’t instantly recommended for this movie and its writers prior to production.
The psychological aspects of this film are absolutely insane. Instantaneously drawn inside Eric’s head as he goes through each transition is the audience. You might want to take a walk after watching this movie instead of going back to the theatres for a while.
Halloween (1978)
With its use of long shots, split framing, and the use of music to foreshadow difficult moments, the first Halloween movie (from 1978) pushed the bounds of conventional cinematic storytelling in the long-established conventional and technical means of storytelling.
The narrative itself was so novel and contemporary for its time that viewers were captivated to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and even Michael Myers, particularly in the subsequent Halloween episodes that focused on the Myers family history. The Halloween series is currently one of the most reliable and dependable works in the annals of horror.
Hellraiser
The debut of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser in 1987 was merely the traditional “tip of the iceberg.” This horror classic’s aesthetic appeal is a combination of its time and outside-the-box inspiration. The story centres around the legendary Pinhead-led kingdom of vicious creatures. With enough body horror and gore to fill a full series of films in just one movie, this one sexually explicit horror dream was a welcome change from the deluge of slashers at the time.
Modern viewers have been able to rewatch the sitcom after its notorious remake of the perennially popular Rick & Morty thanks to Hulu, which revived it only last year.
Night of the Living Dead
In George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, there are zombies.Night of the Living Dead, distributed by Continental, is both a great reimagining of the contemporary zombie thriller and a message on racial relations. This movie, a pioneer of low-budget, guerilla filmmaking, was shot nearby outside of Pittsburgh for roughly $100,000. It was somewhat controversial at the time due to its usage of a black protagonist as the main character and its ‘excessive’ use of violence and gore by 1960s standards. Its concluding scenes flawlessly flesh out the social satire while laying the groundwork for a plethora of more zombie horror films.
Nosferatu (1979)
German expressionist dread permeated Nosferatu when film was initially released in 1922. The movie is a genuine classic that was about to go unrepeated until Werner Herzog gave it another go more than 50 years later. It initially appeared improbable that Herzog, who at the time was known for his hard documentaries, would return to the story, but 1979’s Nosferatu showed otherwise. This stylish recreation was produced in two languages: English and German, the latter of which may be seen on Shudder.
This movie is included on the list only because of the story’s natural ability to endure in popular culture for more than a century. Check out NOS4A2, a spin on a contemporary Joe Hill classic, if you’re seeking for a more contemporary interpretation of the piece.
Ring
The VHS that got everything going… The pinnacle of the J-horror category is the 1998 adaptation of Ring, also known as Ringu, starring Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, and Hiroyuki Sanada. The storyline of Hideo Nakata’s film, which was based on the same-named novel, served as both a hook and a clever marketing strategy. The audience was left to speculate whether indulging in a film that forbade anyone from daring to see might unintentionally cause them to become the target of the curse. The movie afterwards served as an inspiration for numerous American and Japanese remakes.
The Slumber Party Massacre
The Slumber Party Massacre demonstrates how having a few friends around for the night may turn out disastrously. This movie is for anyone who have had a party while their parents were away (sorry, Mom, you had to find out this way!).
In the film, Michele Michaels’s character Trish, a senior in high school, decides to host an unexpected sleepover with her best friends. Psychopaths are not permitted, though! An escaped madman with an obsession for power drills runs riot through the neighbourhood, sending the evening into a tailspin. The movie and its 100% on Rotten Tomatoes remake should act as a warning to always keep all drills and screwdrivers carefully tucked away.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s first viewers can attest to how terrifying it was to see at the time. What makes this movie so incredibly fascinating is Leatherface’s ability to evoke dread without using words or even the tiniest movements. Just being around him makes me nervous.
The fact that some of the murders in the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre are based on actual incidents is another troubling aspect of the film. The on-screen killings and Leatherface’s skin mask are inspired on the Wisconsin killings committed by serial killer Ed Gein between 1954 and 1957. The actuality in this situation is equally bizarre, if not stranger than fiction.
