The unsung hero of the streaming world is Shudder. Having been only featuring top-notch content for years now, the platform, dedicated to horror and other dark genre films, has slowly transformed into one of the best collections of films available to audiences.
Featuring everything from creature features, slashers, comedies, thrillers, to films that don't even come close to being categorizable, Shudder's filmography is in part made up of their own exclusives. With a clear emphasis on quality, Shudder's exclusives have been mostly films and shows that shouldn't be missed. Here are the ten best you can watch right now.
Haunt (2019) - 71%
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the writing team behind A Quiet Place, prove they are also talented as a directing team with this stylish slasher. The film follows a group of teens as they head to an extreme haunted house that promises to thrill, only to find themselves in very real danger.
The film is tight, vicious, and has beauty in its simplicity. The horror is genuinely scary at times, and there isn't much comedy to be found here, both of which have become harder to find in slasher films today.
Daniel Isn't Real (2019) - 81%
The second feature from up and coming director Adam Egypt Mortimer is a deeply unsettling look at mental states. It follows a young man who, after suffering trauma, has his childhood imaginary friend reappear, with potentially sinister intentions.
The film stars Patrick Schwarzenegger and is a wild ride that never becomes predictable. It just released onto Shudder Thursday, March 27th after having a successful festival run through most of 2019.
Mayhem (2017) - 85%
Potentially the most fun film on this list, Joe Lynch's Mayhem is set in a massive multi-floor law office that just happens to be exposed to a dangerous chemical that makes people act on their most innate and visceral urges.
Violence then runs rampant as Derek (Steven Yeun) and Melanie (Samara Weaving) fight their way to the top floor to reach the boss' office. The whole thing is chaotic and non-stop, with humor, action, and a little horror all mixing together at every point.
Better Watch Out (2017) - 89%
This Christmas movie that doesn't have much reliance on the holiday besides using its typical iconography to contrast its graphic content, so it can really be watched any month of the year. It follows a babysitter watching over a hyper-intelligent pre-teen when someone breaks into the house.
To say any more about the film's plot would be to ruin some of the turns and choices that ultimately create the film's main conflict, but this film is darkly funny and bleak, without sacrificing its direct references to Home Alone.
Bliss (2019) - 90%
Joe Begos went wild in 2019, directing two feature films, both of which were huge hits on the horror festival circuit. While his other film, the action-horror VFW, just recently released onto digital, the other film, Bliss, was a huge get for Shudder, becoming an exclusive release a few weeks ago. Shot on 16mm film, the film is a sleazy, stylish, bonkers vampire story that doesn't let up until it's over.
Mandy (2018) - 90%
Panos Cosmatos 2018 action-horror film turned a lot of heads during its festival and theater run, before being arguably Shudder's biggest release of all time. It follows Nicolas Cage's Red as he and his wife Mandy are terrorized by a small cult.
The second half of the film is one of the biggest tonal shifts in recent memory, with Cage heading out for revenge, turning the film into some sort of slasher film that meets kung-fu film hybrid that has to be seen to be believed.
Revenge (2018) - 92%
Revenge is a modern send-up of women out for revenge films like I Spit on Your Grave, but it takes the classic horror form and blows it way up. Coralie Fargeat's French extremity film breaks the male gaze of those types of films and provides a genuine female gaze that ultimately satisfies with every explosive moment.
Beautifully shot, lit with vibrant colors, and then splattered with more blood than any other film on this list. In fact, everything I've already said about this excellent film has been said as I was being drowned under the 6,000 gallons of blood it probably took to produce it.
Creepshow (2019) - 96%
If you are only going to pick one exclusive off the list to watch, Creepshow would be a pretty wonderful choice, but it is cheating since it is a series of short anthology episodes, so it'd be like picking ten films in one.
An awesome reboot of the classic Stephen King and George Romero campy horror film send-up of horror comics, the show brings the pulpy horror and splatstick comedy back in a big way, with an excellent line-up of episodes made by some of the best horror filmmakers working in the genre.
Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019) - 97%
Issa Lopez's Spanish ghost story was one of the most talked-about horrors way back in 2017, only to tragically disappear with no full release. Finally, the film landed on Shudder in late 2019, and we can all rejoice for it. A grim commentary on cartel violence, the film follows five children as they are approached by supernatural forces.
Eerie throughout, and sometimes downright scary, the film has been likened to some of Guillermo Del Toro's earlier works, like Devil's Backbone.
One Cut Of The Dead (2019) - 100%
The best gem of all of 2019 depending on who you ask (me), but don't just take their word for it, as it clearly wowed others to be currently sitting at a one-hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes. More comedy than horror, the Japanese film is about a film crew attempting to make a zombie film, only to, of course, be attacked by actual zombies, all of course done in one long take. However, the film is actually about so much more.
Even more than Better Watch Out, the less said about the movie the better. It will shock you at every point, constantly taking your expectations and ripping them apart to create the funniest film of last year. All done on a shoe-string budget, the film is an absolute must-see for anyone that has ever tried to make a film or even just struggled to create anything with their friends.