10 Weird, Wild Movies to Stream on Shudder Tonight
You can certainly comb through the big streaming services—Netflix, Peacock, Prime Video, Max—to get your horror-movie fix. But if horror is all you want, Shudder should top your list of subscriptions. It has an excellent library spanning many sub-genres, with classics and new releases alike. If you’re looking for a weird, wild way to wet your feet on Shudder, here are 10 to begin.
Demons (1985)
Lamberto Bava directs and co-writes, Dario Argento produces and co-writes, and Claudio Simonetti does the score (with an extra dose of ‘80s rock n’ roll, thanks to soundtrack cuts from Motley Crue, Billy Idol, and others) for this gruesomely entertaining tale. When a group of pleasingly varied weirdos gathers for a preview screening (hey, everyone loves a free movie!), a cursed mask makes the line between fiction and reality blur... and then zombies take over. Watch on Shudder.
The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Speaking of Dario Argento, Shudder’s catalog of his works includes his directorial debut, an influential giallo about an American writer bumming around Rome who witnesses a brutal scene while peering through a gallery window. Before long, he’s drawn into the search for an elusive serial killer that leads to twists, turns, and black-gloved crimes galore. Watch on Shudder.
Influencer (2023)
The insidious horrors of social media come into focus in this twisty thriller, which offers a worst-case scenario vacation saga and a sly commentary on why oversharing is a very bad idea, all wrapped up into one clever story. Watch on Shudder.
Impetigore (2019)
Joko Anwar—whose latest release, Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams, is dropping in June on Netflix—is one of the most exciting Indonesian filmmakers working today. An excellent entry point into his work is Impetigore, the genuinely creepy story of a young woman who decides she’s had enough of life in Jakarta after a scary attack, only to realize the rural village where her parents once lived is packed full of even more frights. Watch on Shudder.
The Sister of Ursula (1978)
For anyone who thinks these recommendation lists aren’t sleazy enough, time to sink your eyeballs into this trashy slice of scantily-clad exploitation horror, about a pair of sisters who travel to a beachside resort after the death of their father, only to realize they’ve wandered into a murder spree. A sleazy murder spree. Watch on Shudder.
Slaxx (2021)
Dolls, mummified hands, mirrors, and other random objects can become possessed—why not a pair of jeans? It sounds silly because it is, but as io9's review of this horror comedy pointed out, “you’d be hard-pressed to find a better hook for what’s ultimately a cautionary tale about the dangers of fast fashion.” Watch on Shudder.
Blue Sunshine (1978)
When a bad batch of LSD turns Los Angeles into a hotbed of homicidal maniacs, a man who’s been wrongfully accused of murder has to prove his innocence. With a premise like that, was there any way this trippy ‘70s relic wasn’t destined for cult-movie greatness? Watch on Shudder.
And Soon the Darkness (1970)
This one got remade in 2010 with a cast that includes Amber Heard and Karl Urban, but your best bet is to seek out the original, a deceptively low-key thriller about two frenemies on a cycling jaunt across the French countryside. When one young woman suddenly disappears, the other must figure out who she can trust before she goes missing herself. Watch on Shudder.
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (1989)
It’s exactly what you think it is: Phantom of the Opera except ever so slightly rearranged to be a slasher that takes place at a mall—where a shadowy figure creeps around, stalking a pretty employee while engineering other delightful unpleasantries. Yep, that’s an eyeball in your fro-yo. Watch on Shudder.
The Amusement Park (1975)
Long thought lost but recently discovered and given a full restoration, this oddity from zombie master George A. Romero was commissioned as an educational film on elder abuse by the Lutheran Society, and there are some elements of that to be found here, as it follows an old man (Martin’s Lincoln Maazel) having a very bad day at the carnival. But it’s also unrelentingly eerie, not to mention a cool relic from one of horror’s greatest creators. Watch on Shudder.
