My boyfriend and I first connected over our shared obsession with horror and all things horror-related. Our first date was to an indie horror film festival at our local theater. And for my birthday last year, he surprised me with tickets to the New York City Horror Film Festival so we ended up making a whole trip out of it. As total SuperFans, we love finding the latest and greatest in the genre and are constantly trying to one-up each other with a cult classic or an exclusive new series the other has not heard of. Between the two of us, it feels like we’ve seen everything the Internet has to offer (and everything people on Reddit are talking about). Well, that all changed when we discovered Shudder.
Shudder is a subscription video service that gives you unlimited streaming to an ever-growing collection of horror, thriller, and suspense films and series. It is niche entertainment at its finest. My boyfriend likes to describe it like this — Think of Netflix as the Costco of movie streaming, and Shudder as the boutique horror shop with the big guy behind the desk saying, “Hey, you really need to watch this one, it’s awesome.” No more intrusive pop-up ads or illegal downloads on sketchy sites, worrying about viruses. Basically, a horror fanatic’s dream.
Shudder features everything from horror, thriller, and suspense to paranormal and supernatural, and even slasher cult classics. With both movies and series, we felt like we’d hit the jackpot on binge-worthy home entertainment. Like the other streaming services out there, Shudder can be streamed on all your smart devices and on any Smart TV. We watch on our Apple TV or XBOX One, and I can even stream on my iPhone when I’m out and about.
Shudder has a huge inventory of movies and shows to stream, including exclusives you can’t find anywhere else. It’s broken down by sub-genre, so you can browse by super specific categories like “creature films,””Sci-fi,” or “Paranormal,” or you can search through the site’s collections for new things to watch. They regularly add new content and collections, and their weekly newsletter called “The Bite” always gives us new ideas for what to watch.
They even have Guest Curators from the horror scene who choose and recommend their favorites on Shudder. Recently, we watched The Host picked by Independent horror legend, Larry Fessenden. I thought I’d heard of it, but this is a 2006 Korean film with a giant mutant sea monster that attacks the people of Seoul, and the movie doesn’t disappoint. Kirk Hammett of Metallica selected the original zombie classic, Night of The Living Dead, which my boyfriend’s been wanting me to see for ages. This being George Romero’s 1968 iconic film that paved the way for the zombie genre we know and love today (I highly recommend!). But, you don’t have to be an expert to love Shudder. Even my best friend who doesn’t love gore, signed up and has found all kinds of gems.
For just $3.99/month, my boyfriend and I have access to thousands of hours of horror, suspense, and thrillers, uncut and ad-free, and it’s the greatest. For all you fellow horror fans who’ve already seen everything out there, there’s still much more to discover thanks to Shudder. They have a free trial to get started, and if you aren’t hooked after that, you might not be the true fan you claim to be!
Try Shudder for free for 7 days and get unlimited access to Shudder’s library of movies and series!
