So my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to start my free-trial with SHUDDER, a Netflix-like company mainly showcasing horror and thriller movies. For a while I did feel like Netflix and Amazon Prime were seriously lacking in their horror department. While Netflix had some golden nuggets such as A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night to Donnie Darko. Even now, Netflix is coming up with their own horror movies, but it’s not REAL horror. Amazon prime has an almost obscene amount of blacksploitation films and 70’s “horror classics” that were more pornographic than anything. When SHUDDER came along I had to admit that I was a bit skeptical, and it took one boring NYE night to trigger my unyielding bloodlust. So I went ahead and signed on for the year-plan (in effect after my free-trial) and started digging through their collection.

I was over the moon when I saw Rob Zombie’s 31, and The Lords of Salem was on their roster. I won’t spoil it, but as variety goes, they’ve got a lot to offer. Signing up for a full year was a distinct decision to see how much they grow within the coming year. Since I’m a horror fanatic I’ll definitely be checking to see what’s new. If you’re thinking about getting SHUDDER, here are some favorite reasons why I like it so far.

1. The “Last Chance To Watch” Column

I’m pretty sure whoever made SHUDDER felt what I felt when their favorite movies or “movies they were going to get around to seeing but haven’t yet” movies in their list got nixed with no warning. I’ve always wondered (still am) why Netflix never had a “movies we’re about to delete” section in their mountain of algorithmic collection names. In any case, SHUDDER does. Unfortunately January 1st is the last day you can see Evil Dead 2, but I love that I actually knew that. As far as I see, this column is not available via laptop/PC computer.

2. SHUDDER TV

SHUDDER automatically streams horror movies, and there’s different channels to choose from (LIKE a TV). At first it scared the sh*t out of me (this tied up chick was screaming), but then I started to get into the movie a little bit. I had to exit out (since it was in the middle of the film), but I made note of what movie it was. Half of the time the battle is starting a film since you don’t know whether its going to be good or a waste of 90 minutes. With this, I like to browse around and see what looks good so I can add that title to my list. Other times I end up just watching the rest of the film since it’s at the perfect turning point.

3. THE SHUDDER COLLECTIONS!!!

This is by far my favorite part of SHUDDER. The collections of different types of horror and thriller genres are in a word… excellent. They range anywhere from “Haunted Habitations” to the “Unravelling Mind”. Each one is carefully crafted for the very specific horror genre lover. Added bonus! Along with those collections are collected lists by horror icons such as Kirk Hammett, Barbara Crampton, and Elijah Wood.

4. SHUDDER EXCLUSIVE SERIES

Along with some SHUDDER exclusive movies, they also have SHUDDER exclusive TV shows! So if you’re into gore, sex, violence and binge-watching tv shows, then this is the spot for you. A good number of them are foreign horror/thriller tv shows (f*ck yes!), and are definitely worth a watch. My personal suggestions would be:

Beyond The Walls, a French three-part mini series about a woman who inherits a house across the street and well… things don’t turn out the way she expects. It’s not a haunting (unless you count the ghosts of her past), but the element of horror is not absent at all.
JORDSKOTT is a Swedish super natural series about a police woman who goes looking for a young boy’s kidnapper who may have taken her daughter years earlier. Although her journey is plagued with secrets of her hometown, she pursues the case — no matter who or what she upsets.
Black Lake is another Swedish horror series based around a group of friends staying in a resort as a test run for the public. Obviously things aren’t going to go well, especially after finding out the resort was closed due to a mass family murder. One by one each friend falls prey to all sorts of oddities from blood-shot eyes, reoccurring nightmares of death, and other wonderfully gruesome things.

5. The Stuff

I was excited to see some Rob Zombie films the first day I got SHUDDER, but I was squealing when I saw The Stuff was up there too. For the first time in a long time I got to see Chocolate Chip Charlie with his flying super man kick (kicking at the wrong guy mind you) over that car onto the investigator (loud terrible laughter). It’s a good film if you’re into 80’s cheesy creature features. You can find it in the “Alien Intruders” collection.

If you want to try it out on your own, the free trial lasts for 7 days with the monthly $4.99 or $47.88 annually ($3.99/month). You can download the app on your device, use a web browser, PS4, XBOX, ROKU… you get it.

I will be dishing out recommendations soon! What are your recommendations?