Shudder: launch highlights

Horror themes

After a recent ‘soft-launch’ Shudder has now launched officially in Australia.

The AMC Networks streaming video service covers horror, thrillers and the supernatural available on most devices, starting at AU$5.83 a month. To experience Shudder commitment-free for 7 days, visit www.shudder.com.

“We’re thrilled to share our unrivalled collection of curated horror and supernatural movies and series with Australian and New Zealand audiences just in time for Halloween season, where we feature our biggest and best programming of the year,” said Craig Engler, Shudder’s General Manager. “These new launches continue our growing international expansion and our commitment to offer premium genre entertainment to a global audience.”

The Shudder websites and apps also offer a unique feature among streaming services: ShudderTV, a television-like feed you enter mid-show and cannot pause or rewind. Some Shudder members like to leave it on all day as they would a favourite traditional, linear TV network. Shudder regularly uses it to program special premieres and events at announced times, so members may watch in sync with one another and engage on their favourite social platforms.

Amongst their launch highlights there are no Australian titles, but there is the NZ co-produced The Dead Lands.

Shudder Original Series

Creepshow
The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have Being Scared! From showrunner Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) comes a new Shudder Original anthology horror series based on the iconic 1982 directed by George A. Romero. Featuring David Arquette (Scream franchise), Big Boi (a.k.a. Antwan Patton), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator), Kid Cudi (a.k.a. Scott Mescudi), Bruce Davison (X-Men) , Dana Gould (Stan Against Evil), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) and DJ Qualls (The Man in the High Castle). Trailer: https://youtu.be/FlpC3Nj_1Uc

Cursed Films
Cursed Films is a five-part documentary series from writer/director Jay Cheel (How to Build a Time Machine) exploring the myths and legends behind some of Hollywood’s notoriously “cursed” horror film productions. Featuring Richard Donner, Linda Blair, Michael Berryman, Lloyd Kaufman, Kane Hodder, Gary Sherman, Eileen Dietz, Mitch Horowitz. Were these films really cursed, as many believe, or just the victims of bad luck and bizarre circumstances? Trailer:: https://youtu.be/X4LZBEVlSXA

The Dead Lands (available in Australia only)
A supernatural adventure set in a mythic Māori past about a disgraced warrior, Waka Nuku Rau (Te Kohe Tuhaka), who’s sent back to the world where the spirits of the newly dead now stalk the land and hunt the living. Waka encounters a determined young woman, Mehe (Darneen Christian), who becomes both his protégé and moral compass as they embark on a quest to discover who broke the world. An AMC Networks’ Shudder and TVNZ production. Trailer: https://youtu.be/NhkxVN4uQX4

Horror themes, Violence.

Original & Exclusive Movies

The Beach House
Escaping to a family’s beach house to reconnect, Emily and Randall find their off-season trip interrupted by Mitch and Jane, an older couple acquainted with Randall’s estranged father. Unexpected bonds form as the couples let loose and enjoy the isolation, but it all takes an ominous turn as increasingly strange environmental phenomena begin to warp their peaceful evening. As the effects of an infection become evident, Emily struggles to make sense of the contagion before it’s too late. Starring Liana Liberato, Noah Le Gros, Jake Weber and Maryann Nagel, directed by Jeffrey A. Brown. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/GLa9mY4FUBM

Blood Machines
Winner Best Music, Best Sound Design & Best CG FX — Toronto After Dark Film Festival
Two space hunters are tracking down a machine trying to free itself. After taking it down, they witness a mystical phenomenon: the ghost of a young woman pulls itself out of the machine, as if the spaceship had a soul. Trying to understand the nature of this entity, they start chasing the woman through space. Inspired by the spirit of the 80’s films and music, Blood Machines is a 50-minute, 3-part sci-fi horror mind melter told in three chapters, scored by the synthwave artist Carpenter Brut. Starring Elisa Lasowski, Anders Heinrichsen and Noémie Stevens, written and directed by Seth Ickerman. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/pDPojzRXQOI

Blood Quantum
The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are immune to the zombie plague. Traylor (Greyeyes), the tribal sheriff, must protect his son’s pregnant girlfriend, apocalyptic refugees, and reserve riffraff from the hordes of walking white corpses. Starring Michael Greyeyes (True Detective, Fear the Walking Dead) , Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) , Kiowa Gordon (The Twilight Saga), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open) , Olivia Scriven (Degrassi: Next Class & The Next Generation), revered MMA trainer Stonehorse Lone Goeman, written and directed by Jeff Barnaby. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/Lvt-KHsOd0M

Horror Noire
Shudder’s first original documentary takes a critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences, presenting an essential social history of blacks in America as seen through their changing images in horror films. Featuring in-depth interviews with Keith David, (The Thing) Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (Get Out) , Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), Tony Todd (Candyman), Paula Jai Parker (Tales from the Hood) , Tananarive Due (author of My Soul to Keep), and Dr.Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD, who wrote the groundbreaking book of the same name upon which the film is based. Directed by Xavier Burgin. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/BmyueIwsMlo

Host
Rotten Tomatoes’ #1 Horror Movie of 2020. Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance over Zoom during lockdown but get far more than they bargain for as things quickly go wrong. Host was shot remotely during quarantine and features practical scares, stunts, and surprises, all filmed by the actors in their own homes. Director Rob Savage (Dawn of the Deaf) never set foot in the same room as his actors at any point during production and instead directed them remotely. Starring: Haley Bishop (Deep State), Radina Drandova (Dawn of the Deaf), Edward Linard (The Rebels), Jemma Moore (Doom: Annihilation) , Caroline Ward (Stalling It) and Emma Louise Webb (The Crown) . A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/SNlKbqHqGcY

Impetigore
(Sundance 2020 Official Selection) After surviving a murder attempt in the city, Maya, a down-on-her-luck young woman, learns that she may inherit a house in her ancestral village. With her friend Dini, Maya returns to the village of her birth, unaware that the community there has been trying to locate and kill her to remove the curse that has plagued the village for years. As she begins to discover the complicated reality about her past, Maya finds herself in a fight for her life. Starring Tara Basro, Ario Bayu, Marissa Anita, Christine Hakim, Asmara Abigail, directed by Joko Anwar (Satan’s Slaves, another Shudder Original). A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/pdKU13L5MCI

In Search Of Darkness
Tracking major theatrical releases, obscure titles and straight-to-video gems, this four-plus-hour documentary explores ‘80s horror films year-by-year. Featuring Tom Atkins, Doug Bradley, Joe Bob Briggs, Darcy the Mail Girl, Lori Cardille, John Carpenter, Nick Castle, Larry Cohen, Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Sean S. Cunningham, Joe Dante, Keith David, Katie Featherston, Mick Garris, Michael Gingold, Stuart Gordon, Andre Gower, Spencer Hickman, Kane Hodder, Tom Holland, Graham Humphreys, James A. Janisse, Lloyd Kaufman, Eric Kurland , Heather Langenkamp, Don Mancini, Harry Manfredini, Kelli Maroney, Robbi Morgan, Bill Moseley, Greg Nicotero, Phil Nobile Jr., Cassandra Peterson, Mike Redman, James Rolfe, Ken Sagoes, Ben Scrivens, Mark Shostrom, Corey Taylor, Cecil Trachenburg, Ryan Turek, Caroline Williams, Alex Winter, Heather Wixson, Tom Woodruff Jr., and Brian Yuzna. Directed by David A. Weiner. A Shudder Exclusive Trailer: https://youtu.be/T_kgOn4ymmQ

Lake Of Death
A year after her twin brother mysteriously disappeared, Lillian and her friends head to the old family cabin to say their goodbyes. But soon after they arrive, eerie and gruesome events begin to occur. Director Nini Bull Robsahm shot Lake of Death on stunning 35mm and brought on Academy Award-winner Bob Murawski (Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell, The Hurt Locker) to edit.. Starring Iben Akerlie, Jacob Andersen Schøyen, Jonathan Harboe, Sophia Lie and Elias Munk. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/Ox2JVAu6uaA

Mayhem
Derek Cho (Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”) is having a really bad day. After being unjustly fired from his job, he discovers that the law firm’s building is under quarantine for a mysterious and dangerous virus. Chaos erupts throughout the office as the victims of the disease begin acting out their wildest impulses. Joining forces with a former client (Samara Weaving, “Ash vs Evil Dead”) who has a grudge of her own, Derek savagely fights tooth and nail to get to the executives on the top floor and settle the score once and for all. A Shudder Exclusive. Trailer: https://youtu.be/GLex_6duwVI

One Cut Of The Dead
Rotten Tomatoes’ #1 Comedy of 2019. While shooting a low-budget zombie film in an abandoned warehouse, the crew find themselves caught between actual zombies and a mad director who won’t stop rolling. If you think you know what happens next, think again. Filmmaker Shinichiro Ueda turns the film on its head more than once for one of the wildest, funniest, and most surprising zombie movies of all time. Starring Takayuki Hamatsu, Mao, Harumi Shuhama, Yuzuki Akiyama, Kazuaki Nagaya, and Manabu Hosoi, written, directed, and edited by Shinichiro Ueda. A Shudder Exclusive Trailer: https://youtu.be/4wBImbHqhFk

Random Acts Of Violence (premieres Thursday, 20 August)
Comic book creator Todd, his wife, assistant and best friend all embark upon a road trip from Toronto to New York Comic Con, and bad things start to happen: people start getting killed. Is a crazed fan using Todd’s “Slasherman” comic as inspiration for his stylized slaughter? Starring: Jesse Williams (‘Grey’s Anatomy’ ), Jordana Brewster (Furious 7), Niamh Wilson (Saw series) and Jay Baruchel (This Is the End). Directed by Jay Baruchel. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/qvFk5-tvXrY

The Room
Best Feature Winner – Bucheon International & Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival
He’s a struggling comic book artist, she’s tired of her job in a big law firm. In search of a more authentic and healthy life, they leave the city and move into an old house in New Hampshire. They soon discover a secret hidden room that has the extraordinary power to materialize anything they wish for. Like children in a fairy tale, they spend days and nights indulging their every material desire. And then one day, they ask for something different: a child, a little boy of their own, only to discover some wishes have dire consequences. Starring Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and Kevin Janssens (Revenge), directed by Christian Volckman. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/UG8vB8XQeVw

Scare Package
7 directors. 7 tales of terror. Zero working cell phones. In this gleefully ghoulish anthology, Chad, the owner of Rad Chad’s Horror Emporium, recounts a series of bone-chilling, blood-splattered tales to illustrate the rules of the horror genre to his newest employee. Starring Noah Segan (Knives Out), Chase Williamson (Beyond the Gates) , Jocelyn DeBoer (Greener Grass), Jeremy King (Camera Obscura), wrestling legend Dustin Rhodes, Toni Trucks (SEAL Team) and Hawn Tran (Watchmen). Directed by Hillary & Courtney Andujar, Anthony Cousins, Emily Hagins, Aaron B. Koontz, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan and Baron Vaughn. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://vimeo.com/389671704

Terrified
On an ordinary suburban street in Buenos Aires, voices are heard from kitchen sinks. Bodies are levitating. Evil is here. It is up to a doctor, her colleague, and an ex-cop to get to the bottom of this neighborhood nightmare. Demian Rugna’s must-see film is one of the scariest movies of this or any year. A Shudder Original. Trailer: https://youtu.be/KUtd_-3ytlc

Tigers Are Not Afraid
Rotten Tomatoes’ #1 Rated Horror Film of 2019. A haunting supernatural fairytale set against the backdrop of Mexico’s devastating drug wars, Tigers Are Not Afraid follows a group of orphaned children armed with three magical wishes, running from the ghosts that haunt them and the cartel that murdered their parents. Filmmaker Issa Lopez creates a world that recalls the early films of Guillermo del Toro, imbued with her own gritty urban spin on magical realism to conjure a wholly unique experience that audiences will not soon forget. Starring Paulo Lara, Juan Ramón López, Ianis Guerrero and Hanssel Casillas. A Shudder Exclusive Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyoE0mSJXO8

Yummy
A young couple travels to a shady Eastern European hospital for plastic surgery. The young woman wants a breast reduction. Her mother comes along for yet another face-lift. Wandering through an abandoned ward, the boyfriend stumbles upon a young woman, gagged and strapped to an operating table; she’s the result of experimental rejuvenation treatment. He frees her but doesn’t realize she’s patient zero and he just caused the outbreak of a virus that will change the doctors, patients, and his mother-in-law into bloodthirsty zombies. Starring Maaike Neuville, Bart Hollanders, Benjamin Ramon, Clara Cleymans, Joshua Rubin. Directed by Lars Damoiseaux. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/zq9K3pVQsmI

Z
A couple is shaken to the core when their eight-year-old son begins hanging out with a creepy and ominous imaginary friend. Starring Keegan Connor Tracy (Bates Motel), Sean Rogerson (Grave Encounters) , Jett Klyne (The Boy) , Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) and Stephen McHattie (Pontypool), Written by Brandon Christensen (Still/Born) and Colin Minihan (Urban Legend, Spiral) and directed by Brandon Christensen. A Shudder Original Trailer: https://youtu.be/pBVYdYZNXQE

For a full list of current Shudder Original and Exclusive movies in Australia visit here.

Shudder is available in Australia and New Zealand on the web, iOS, Apple TV, Android and Android TV, and also FireTV in Australia. Plans start at just AU$5.83 and NZ$6.67. Now through 31 August, 2020, new members can get 20% off their first year when they sign up for an annual subscription with promo code SHUDDERANZ at Shudder.com.