Now housing the largest selection of Hollywood’s most groundbreaking scary movies, emerging horror series, and downright freaky originals, Shudder’s streaming platform has enhanced the overall experience for viewers to consume their desired terror. Either logging in from home television screens or even mobile phones on the go, the Shudder premium streaming app and channel shows an expansive range of horror, thriller, and supernatural movies that are both uncut and in many instances filled with nonstop gore. At the same time, though, Shudder has created an unprecedented platform for smaller yet still brilliant films and filmmakers to emerge on a massive scale.
Despite the fact that one of Shudder’s main agendas is to promote unknown experimental filmmakers, providing them with the opportunity to distribute their smaller-budget films onto a mainstream platform, the media channel devoted to scary movies also offers an overabundance of classic horrors. From horrifying projects that would make anyone question their next door neighbor’s intentions, to gruesome and sadistic family murderers, here’s a look at some classic horror pictures currently streaming on the Shudder network.
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6 Halloween
Compass International
Give or take Rob Zombie’s previous installments, the Halloween franchise is among the most solid, consistent, and undisputedly intriguing works in all of horror’s history to date. The initial Halloween film (‘78) pushed traditional cinematic boundaries in the long-established conventional and technical ways of storytelling (through its use of long shots, split framing, and incorporation of music to alert viewers of tense moments to come). The story itself was so new and fresh for its time period that viewers felt drawn to the characters of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and even Michael Myers, more specifically in the additional Halloween installments that followed, centering around the Myers family history much deeper.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Any viewers who decide to watch this film or have already viewed it can attest to how frightening it is to watch Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), whenever he pops up on screen. Those moments of organically being afraid of a character just by looking at them, without dialogue, even when they remain still without the slightest movements, is what makes horror movies so fascinating. You might like to be scared, but once you actually are, the blood pumps through your veins just a tad bit faster than normal. The most plaguing part of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre is that a few of the murders depicted are drawn from real events. The skin mask belonging to Leatherface as well as the on-screen kills are based on the murders of serial killer Ed Gein, occurring between 1954 and 1957 in Wisconsin.
4 The Slumber Party Massacre
New World Pictures
To all the fellow readers who have most definitely thrown a party or some sort of get-together whenever the parents were out of town (or several, sorry you had to find out this way, mom), The Slumber Party Massacre shows how inviting friends over for the night can go terribly wrong. In the film, high school senior Trish (Michele Michaels) decides to throw a slumber party with her closest friends. The evening quickly goes downhill once an escaped maniac with an obsession for power drills runs rampant throughout the neighborhood. Keep all the drills and screwdrivers in a locked, safe, and secure area from now on, especially since the 2021 remake got a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
3 Fade to Black
Compass International
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher), what is wrong in that brain of yours? In the very odd Fade to Black, Eric struggles deeply to find his place in the world, a hyper-obsessed cinephile who possess a deep admiration for black and white pictures. The man-child eventually snaps, and goes on a vengeful killing spree, transforming himself into notorious film characters as he commits each murder, killing family members and friends. Psychologically, this movie is straight up bonkers. Viewers are instantaneously pulled into the mind of Eric as he undergoes each transformation; after watching this film, you may want to turn off the movies for a while, and go for a walk or something.
2 Sleepaway Camp
United Film Distribution
If going to camp as a child was never an option due to the ongoing fear of getting caught up with serial killers like Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th) or contracting a flesh eating virus (Cabin Fever), there’s no shame or judgment here. It’s also a kind of creepy experience in itself as a child, and Sleepaway Camp is petrifying due to the fears associated with being alone as a kid and having to fend for yourself. It’s as if growing up fast is expected by being shipped away from everything you know by your parents, while growing up should be a slow process. Even though Angela (Felissa Rose, who may be in a reboot) was on edge for most of the film’s duration, at least she had her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tierstan) there with her. Everyone knows Friday the 13th, but Sleepaway Camp is a fun and underrated little slasher ‘sleeper.’
1 Children of The Corn
These kids may look cute and innocent, but don’t get caught up in the hype, they are cold-hearted little monsters who need to be grounded for eternity. Based on Stephen King’s Children of the Corn short story, published in March 1977 for Penthouse, weridly enough, the ‘84 motion picture adaptation is one of his weirdest and best, inspiring parents everywhere to contemplate whether they should have children of their own or skip the whole affair entirely. Not only are these children beyond the typical brats, they are vengeful murderers who torment each other, kill all the adults (including their parents), and place their allegiance to a young Isaac (John Franklin), the cult leader of all the other kids. It’s a creepy, provocative classic.
