RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR - "Why I Love SHUDDER!"

“Why I Love SHUDDER!”

I’ve been reading a whole lot about people wanting to know whether or not the streaming service for horror fans Shudder is worth the monthly service fees.  There are those in the horror community that say Yes and those that say No, so for this “Rants & Ravings About Horror” I wanted to give everyone my opinion on the controversy.

 

I am the first to admit that there are too many streaming services out there and I only have access to Netflix and Amazon Prime because there are just too many of them out there.  Then COVID-19 and the quarantine happened and every streaming service was offering discounts and free months.  Shudder was cheap and didn’t have commercials (or multiple tears) and since I’m a horror fan I decided to go with that one.  I could’ve done Criteria Collection (which is the only other one that interest me) or Disney+ (the number one that didn’t interest me at all) or HBO Max, Hulu, Full Moon, etc. There are just too many streaming services to keep track nor even care about.

 

Shudder is geared towards horror fans!  Now in March when I first signed up there was a complete mixture of old school horror films verses lower end fare with a small selection of indie darlings.  They also had several podcasts and series.  One of the main reasons I wanted to sign up was the fact that they had the Wolf Creek series from Australia which was hard to find.  One of the real reasons I decided to go ahead with Shudder is the fact that they had several Lucio Fulci films especially the “Gates of Hells” trilogy which is not something you’re going to find on Hulu or Netflix.  If you look closer to their catalog they also had Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox to name a few of the more hardcore cult horror films, so even if they didn’t have a strong selection of recent Hollywood horror they knew what their main audience was craving for.

 

What I especially enjoyed in those first couple months were the podcasts as they had a nice curated selection which includes – Horror Noire Uncut, Video Palace, and The Narrow Caves, to name a few.  I was actually quite surprised at the quality.  Over the next few months during the lock-down, I got reacquainted with some old classics but also got to watch a lot of international and old classics that I had heard about but never had access to see like Boar , Darling, Hands of the Ripper, Deadly Games, Vampire Circus, and Blood Rage, to name a few.

 

Now catching up with old school and international horror films has its place especially since it allows Shudder to advertise when they acquire new and interesting little seen, cult, and international films, but soon I noticed that there were more films being added every month that were “Shudder Exclusives” which meant that they were now acquiring plenty of films that you couldn’t find anywhere else.  This is particularly important as it justifies continuing my subscription of the service.  Some of these films include Host, The Marshes, The Ranger, Bliss, Found Footage 3D, and Housewife, to name a few.

 

One of the next big draws to the service is their original series Creepshow (based on the original Stephen King and George A. Romero films) which they have thus far produced a first season in addition to two holiday specials.  An amazing show that I can’t wait for Season 2 to be unleashed!

 

Now, all of this is well and good but why should horror fans care?  There are so many other streaming services out there but what sets this one apart from the others?  The thing that I love about Shudder is the fact that it caters to the horror connoisseur.  That person that enjoys all types of horror films of all sub genres.  There are films for fans of the slasher to the giallo to the psychological thriller in addition to the fans of the extreme gory variety to those in which there is almost no gore at all.  If you like films from other countries you’re sure to find some gems - Italian, French, Danish, Canadian, Korean, and even Japanese, to name a few.  Shudder is a treasure trove of hard to find gems and over the last year since the lock down they’ve acquired an even more diverse slate of films while adding even more cult and infamous films.

 

If there is something I believe they need more of, it would be more animated films and more great podcasts (since no new ones has been added since I joined).  There are some great animated films that could be added such as Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000, Lady Death, or any of the Dead Space and Resident Evil films.  More podcasts would be an excellent addition to their current list.  Shudder may not be the best horror streaming service out there (as it is the only one I’ve bothered to try out) but is grown a lot in the year since I’ve had it and the selection and diversity of programing just gets better and better.  It is definitely a service I would recommend to any horror fan.