Octopus Overlords

Anyone else have the Shudder channel? You can subscribe to it in Amazon video, roku, fire, etc.. I've been a member for a year or so and they're really upping their game when it comes to good horror content. They're getting a lot of foreign movies you can't find anywhere else, too. I'm chomping at the bit to watch a Spanish horror entry called Terrified that just showed up. It seems to have excellent reviews.

And they also just added a large collection of Hitchcock films for those with more refined tastes in horror.

Oh yes. Huge Shudder fan. I think I've been subscribed since their public beta. They've really come into their own and are constantly adding new content.

I really enjoy the amount of older films they have, particularly from the 70s/80s. They also do a much better job of curating their content than say, Amazon Prime, which will toss anything they can find out there no matter the quality.

If you haven't seen the recent SATAN'S SLAVES, I highly recommend it. It's an Indonesian ghost film, and one of the scariest movies I've seen this year.

Fantastic service, and well worth the paltry subscription price if you're a horror fan.

I'd love to be able to justify subbing to this. Unfortunately, while I love horror movies, my wife super doesn't. That means I only get to watch them in the chunk of time after my wife goes to bed, which is also my gaming window. End result is I don't get to watch nearly as many horror movies as I want. My Netflix horror backlog is already a mile long as it is.

One day, I'll be able to justify Shudder.

DD* wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 10:22 am

Not related to post but to actress in the picture, saw her just randomly on the street of NYC few days back. I am big fan of community show, so i was very excited. In person she is shorter than i thought.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:19 am Oh yes. Huge Shudder fan. I think I've been subscribed since their public beta. They've really come into their own and are constantly adding new content.

I really enjoy the amount of older films they have, particularly from the 70s/80s. They also do a much better job of curating their content than say, Amazon Prime, which will toss anything they can find out there no matter the quality.

If you haven't seen the recent SATAN'S SLAVES, I highly recommend it. It's an Indonesian ghost film, and one of the scariest movies I've seen this year.

Fantastic service, and well worth the paltry subscription price if you're a horror fan.

I was debating watching that. I’ll give it a go. November is another film I recommend...but only if you want to see a film that is...well... I’m not sure how to describe it.

TERRIFIED, another Shudder exclusive, is amazing. An Argentinian ghost film.

Between TERRIFIED and SATAN'S SLAVES on Shudder and GHOST STORIES (rental), I've seen three of the best (modern) ghost movies I've ever seen in the span of a week.

Oh man, I wanted to like ghost stories...and I did for about two thirds of the film...but it just fell apart for me at the end. I know it's based on a play, but I went in expecting less arthouse and more horror. I should have read up on it before renting it. It has great reviews though, so that's just me I guess.

Finally got around to watching Terrified. It is, without a doubt, one of the scariest films I’ve seen in years. I almost had to turn on the lights more than once. I think I’m going to scare some friends next weekend with this one after a day of Mansions of Madness for a Halloween celebration.

P.S. looks like Mandy is coming to Shudder soon. I wrote about that one a few weeks ago. It’s worth a watch for unbridled Nic Cage action alone.

I signed up month ago intending to try it out but haven't watched a single thing yet. I'll try the recs in this thread first but it's going to be hard to justify only having a few hours a week with a safe (kid free) watch window.

They're adding more and more original content. They're rebooting Creepshow (I mistakenly said tales from the crypt initially), for example. And they are producing a ton of horror movies recently, I've noticed. They hit theaters first, I believe. Then head to Shudder.

I think I watch at least one or two movies a week on it. And they keep the Joe Bob specials online, so I'm working through the ones I missed still. But yeah, it's not a kid friendly streaming service in any way.

Terrified is my number one recommendation. Then any Joe Bob for fun (hell, just fast forward to his breaks if nothing else). I also noticed that a new film from the makers of Martyrs (one of the great French horror films from the early 2000s) just showed up. Can't remember its name right now though. (edit: Incident in a Ghostland)

I'll probably keep Shudder for as long as it exists. And it seems like they're doing pretty well for themselves, so that may be a while.

Chaz wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 10:36 am I'd love to be able to justify subbing to this. Unfortunately, while I love horror movies, my wife super doesn't. That means I only get to watch them in the chunk of time after my wife goes to bed, which is also my gaming window. End result is I don't get to watch nearly as many horror movies as I want. My Netflix horror backlog is already a mile long as it is.

One day, I'll be able to justify Shudder.

I bet showing her Human Centipede would bring her around.

The uncut version of Human Centipede is on Shudder, so if you're gonna do it, do it big.

I haven't watched INCIDENT IN A GHOSTLAND yet but I've heard it's good.

There's one landing later this week called BELZEBUTH that I really enjoyed. It's a 2017 Mexican demonic possession film, but it's refreshingly different than most.

I'd also highly recommend DEADTECTIVES which is a fun horror/comedy about a troop of ghost hunters.

So far I've been pleasantly surprised with most all of the "Shudder Original" branded films. They seem to do a pretty good job of curating what they slap that moniker on.

I'd also recommend any of their podcasts. The CASUALTY FRIDAY one that just came out with Felissa Rose, Kane Hodder, and Tiffany Shepis is a lot of fun.

Belzebuth stars Joaquín Cosio...Don Neto from Narcos: Mexico on Netflix. I’m in for that alone!

edit: and watched. I would give it a 4 out of 10. Long stretches of really boring exposition with only a few action scenes at the end. Not even Don Nato could save it.

The first episode of the new Creepshow series is up. Each episode is about 45 minutes or so, and includes two short stories.

The first story of episode 1 is called Gray Matter and it’s a fun little creature feature, although it’s a little too similar to the Stephen King vignette from the Creepshow film entries for my taste,

The second one is by by far the better entry. It’s called The House of the Head and it involves a little girl’s dollhouse and...well...I won’t ruin it. But I absolutely loved it...even if the ending was kind of a let down.

If you’re a fan of the original movies, you’ll definitely like this revival.

Add another essential movie to your viewing list if you have Shudder/are interested in Shudder. One Cut of the Dead has scored a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and made almost 250 times its paltry budget of 27,000 dollars in Japan.



Don't let the trailer fool you, though. It WANTS you to think it's a low budget zombie film framed around the making of a low budget zombie film, but it's not. It goes through 3 stages, the final one being the real story. It's really imaginative and fun, but you have to make it through the first 30 minutes that makes you think it's just your standard bad horror film. After that, you're in for a real treat. Finally, I never knew that something like Deadly Games (aka Dial Code Santa Claus) existed. But now that I do, I must watch it.



A French R rated Home Alone made before that film, but featuring Santa as the home invader? Yeah...I'm in.

Tonight, Friday the 13th appropriately enough, is another Joe Bob Briggs Christmas (mini) Marathon. 3 movies with the man himself. Movies haven't been announced. As usual, we'll find out what they are when they air.

I really hope they do CHRISTMAS EVIL aka BETTER WATCH OUT (1980).

Just watched it the other day expecting a typical slasher, and instead got something way different. I'd love to hear Joe Bob's analysis of it, as it kind of blew me away.

Cursed Films docuseries

The Room

Satanic Panic

Z

The Mortuary Collection just showed up on Shudder. It’s a well reviewed horror anthology film. It’s a fun time, but be warned, it gets gory.

A Creepshow Animated Special

I watched it right before Halloween. The first story is not very good, but I kind of enjoyed the second one. It’s obviously a cheap and fast way to get something out there until the live action show returns though.

Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson just showed up this week. I’ve been looking for that documentary of a low budget horror film maker of the 60s and his strange murder for a while now. It’s supposedly very good.

Scare Me

Arise thread!

Wanted to clue you in on two Shudder releases dropping soon that are worth checking out:

THE AMUSEMENT PARK (1973) - Back in the early 70s The Lutheran Society commissioned George A. Romero to produce a film highlighting elder abuse and ageism. Unfortunately them (but fortunately for horror fans), they didn't know what they were asking for. The resulting hour-long film was deemed too disturbing to be released and was shelved and presumed lost until it was rediscovered in 2018 and remastered.

THE AMUSEMENT PARK is Romero's cynicism unleashed, with every metaphor about as subtle as a chainsaw to the face. It's not horror, but that doesn't make its content any less horrifying. Filmed at the long gone West View Park, the surreal imagery, gritty realism of 70s film, and troubling sequences will stick in your brain long after its brief hour-long running time

Hits Shudder June 8th.

CAVEAT (2020) - This one has a captivating premise. A man is hired to be a caretaker for a mentally ill woman in a house on a remote island. The pay is good, and the duties are simple. But there is a....caveat. He has to agree to lock himself in a harness with a long chain which keeps him in the house and confined to only certain rooms. What follows is a twisty turny unfolding of mysteries packed with creepy imagery. Writer/director Damian Mc Carthy is someone I will be keeping a close eye on, as this first feature film was brilliantly terrifying.

Hits Shudder tomorrow, June 3.

And I'll go ahead and throw in a recommendation for EVE'S BAYOU (1997) which just released on the platform. I saw this for the first time a few months ago and while it's not a true horror film, I absolutely fell in love with it.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 7:01 pm THE AMUSEMENT PARK is Romero's cynicism unleashed, with every metaphor about as subtle as a chainsaw to the face. It's not horror, but that doesn't make its content any less horrifying. Filmed at the long gone West View Park, the surreal imagery, gritty realism of 70s film, and troubling sequences will stick in your brain long after its brief hour-long running time

Oh, wow... West View Park. I grew up going to that park in Pittsburgh and sadly watched its slow demise then demolition. Recently, I was cleaning out a room and came across an old book Goodbye, West View Park, Goodbye that brought back memories.

From one of the posted Amazon reviews:

... those who saw Smokey and the Bandit II personally witnessed the destruction of West View during the roller coaster chase scene.

I never saw the second movie so I'll need to hunt that down.

Sorry for the derail, YellowKing, you instantly sent me back 50 years. Thanks for posting this. I may have to utilize my 7-day free trial to Shudder (if they still offer that) to check out The Amusement Park.

No worries at all on the derail - I was actually kind of hoping someone would chime in and say they'd been to that park. As a theme park lover, one of the highlights of the film was seeing an old park like that back in its heyday.

Well, in the spirit of horror, I remember a walk-through haunted house at West View Park called Boot Hill. Probably one of my first experiences being terrified... and the smell, oh did that place stink. Doing a quick google search, I don't see many pictures.

I'm curious to see what parts of the park Romero's movie shows. And if he does visit Boot Hill, I may have a flashback seizure.

Psycho Goreman is on Shudder. If you loved the films of Screaming Mad George and Brian Yuzna back in the eighties (Reanimator, From Beyond), you will love this one. It’s absurd, over the top, and ridiculous...and I want more.

Also, I was actually going to make a joke about Eve’s Bayou showing up on a streaming service dedicated to horror, but now I can’t.

Shudder scored the rights to Mad God. A stop motion movie from special effects legend Phil Tippet (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Robocop, to name a few). He started it in the 80s but then abandoned it for other things until some friends urged him to finish it. It took another 10 years to do so, but the result is a painstakingly crafted horror film that has zero CGI, just hand made stop motion.

I watched MAD GOD last night. The movie's big flaw is that it has no real plot or coherent story structure.

On the other hand, the imagery is terrifying, bleak, and will stick in your mind long after the film is over. It's a relentless look at the futility and meaninglessness of life, a condemnation of war, and any other number of themes that you will project on to it. It's a world you simultaneously can't wait to leave but can't tear your eyes from.

I thought it was brilliant, but be prepared for more of a nightmare fever dream than a narrative.

My next recommendation on Shudder: Bloody Hell.



This is an insanely fun horror comedy with wholesome Finnish cannibals. Highly recommended.

Resurrection

Starring: Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth

Addendum: not arriving on Shudder until August 5th

Glorious just showed up. I’m not even going to try to describe this one. All I’ll say is that it has stellar reviews and is supposedly full of weird twists. I’m going to watch it this weekend…after a few beers.

Warning: trailer contains some graphic content and the voice of J.K. Simmons as a god who probably loves It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.



Update: it’s actually pretty good. It’s like My Dinner with Andre…if Andre was an elder god stuck in a bathroom stall at a rest stop and had issues with violently killing people if they tried to look at him.

Confession: I’ve never seen My Dinner with Andre.

Biggest surprise?

Watching Slash Back. So far, so good. It’s set in an Inuit village and the majority of the cast are in their first film. It shows too at times. But overall they do a pretty darn good job.

Set in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a sleepy hamlet nestled in the majestic mountains of Baffin Island in the Arctic Ocean, Slash/Back opens as the village wakes up to a typical summer day. No School, no cool boys (well... except one), and 24-hour sunlight. But for Maika and her ragtag friends, the usual summer is suddenly not in the cards when they discover an alien invasion threatening their hometown. These teenagers have been underestimated their whole lives but, using makeshift weapons and their horror movie knowledge, they show the aliens you don't f*** with the girls from Pang.

The kid actors are endearing and charming. The special effects are mostly (if not all) practical effects. And the story is fun. Two thumbs up so far. That one of the girls is introduced while explaining John Carpenter’s The Thing is no coincidence.

A Wounded Fawn