Shudder (streaming service)
Shudder is an American over-the-top subscription video on demand service featuring horror, thriller and supernatural fiction titles owned and operated by AMC Networks.[1]
 | |
Type of site | VOD streaming service |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Owner | AMC Networks |
| URL | shudder |
| Registration | Monthly subscription through authorized distributor required to access content |
Distribution
Shudder began with an invite-only beta testing in the United States the summer of 2015.[2] By October 2016, Shudder was fully out of beta testing and had expanded to Canada,[3] the United Kingdom and Ireland.[4]
Shudder is available on Android and Apple mobile devices, Amazon Fire devices, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, Chromecast[5] as well as subscription via Amazon Video[1] in monthly or annual subscriptions.[5] Shudder was also available as part of the VRV combo pack from August 2017 through July 2019.[6][7]
In the US, a monthly subscription currently runs at 5.99 dollars each month, while in other countries the price is adjusted according to the local currency.[8]
The Shudder website also airs a free pre-programmed feed called shudder.tv.[2]
Content
In October 2016, Aja Romano writing for Vox noted that Shudder had over 500 horror films with their closest competitor, Screambox, carrying 400.[9] Romano said Shudder had an "impressive selection of higher-quality films."[9] Charlie Lyne, writing for The Guardian, notes that the UK version of Shudder carried around 200 films.[4]
Channel curators Sam Zimmerman and Colin Geddes offer categories like "Urban Decay", "Slashics", and "Not Your Ordinary Bloodsucker",[9] which break the library down to specific sub-categories. Zimmerman previously worked for Fangoria and Shock Til You Drop[10] while Geddes was previously a film programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival.[10]
In late 2016, Shudder began carving out windows of exclusivity, premiering Rob Zombie's 31 two weeks before the DVD release[11] and exclusively carrying the 4K restoration of Don Coscarelli's Phantasm.[3]
In another streaming exclusive, in March 2017, Shudder began carrying the full 109-minute unrated version of The Devils. This is the first time since the film's release in 1971 that the unrated cut of the film has been available in the United States.[12]
In June 2017, Shudder announced a full slate of original series in development, including Riprore, from director Patty Jenkins, and an adaptation of Emily Schultz's novel, The Blondes.[13]
In 2018, Shudder continued to release exclusive and original films and series, including Mayhem starring Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving, Downrange directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, Revenge, and the Syfy series Channel Zero and others.[14]
In July 2018, Shudder hosted a 24-hour live event with legendary horror host Joe Bob Briggs titled The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs during which fans got to watch films such as Tourist Trap and Sleepaway Camp with Joe Bob's famous commentary included throughout.[15] During the premiere, Shudder's servers crashed as a result of an overwhelming amount of subscribers attempting to access the service's new Live Stream feature. Despite the server errors, the series received critical acclaim from critics and horror fans alike. Shortly after the marathon, Shudder announced that they were bringing Briggs back for additional events in 2018 and 2019. On July 20, Shudder announced on social media the series would be returning for a full 9-episode season. After success with season 1, a second season was confirmed on May 22, 2019.[16]
Since January 23, 2020, Shudder has distributed The Dead Lands, a supernatural Māori–theme supernatural series set in pre-contact New Zealand, that was jointly produced by AMC and New Zealand public broadcaster TVNZ. Shudder distributes the series in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland while TVNZ On Demand has distribution rights for New Zealand.[17][18]
Exclusives
| Shudder exclusives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title | Release date | Notes |
| Beyond the Walls | October 20, 2016 | TV miniseries |
| Therapy | November 17, 2016 | |
| 31 | December 7, 2016 | |
| Shrew's Nest | December 8, 2016 | |
| Dearest Sister | January 12, 2017 | |
| Sadako vs. Kayako | January 26, 2017 | |
| Blind Sun | February 9, 2017 | |
| Phantasm: Ravager | February 14, 2017 | |
| We Go On | February 22, 2017 | |
| Always Shine | March 7, 2017 | |
| Prevenge | March 24, 2017 | |
| Jordskott | April 6, 2017 | TV series |
| We Are the Flesh | April 20, 2017 | |
| Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl | May 4, 2017 | |
| Lake Bodom | May 18, 2017 | |
| Noroi: The Curse | June 1, 2017 | |
| Among the Living | June 15, 2017 | |
| Show Pieces | June 26, 2017 | |
| Kuso | July 21, 2017 | |
| Small Town Killers | August 17, 2017 | |
| Neil Gaiman's Likely Stories | August 31, 2017 | TV miniseries |
| Seoul Station | October 5, 2017 | |
| Can't Take It Back | October 12, 2017 | |
| Found Footage 3D | October 26, 2017 | Available in 2D and 3D |
| Spookers | October 26, 2017 | |
| Better Watch Out | December 7, 2017 | |
| Black Lake | December 21, 2017 | |
| Don't Grow Up | January 11, 2018 | |
| Jordskott season 2 | January 18, 2018 | |
| Mayhem | February 1, 2018 | |
| Dead Shack | February 15, 2018 | |
| Last Ones Out | March 1, 2018 | |
| Cold Hell | March 15, 2018 | |
| Mon Mon Mon Monsters | March 29, 2018 | |
| Born to Kill | April 12, 2018 | TV miniseries |
| Downrange | April 26, 2018 | |
| Still/Born | May 10, 2018 | |
| The Noonday Witch | May 10, 2018 | |
| Sequence Break | May 24, 2018 | |
| Supermax | June 28, 2018 | |
| Trepalium | July 12, 2018 | |
| Ruin Me | July 19, 2018 | |
| Todd and the Book of Pure Evil | July 26, 2018 | Seasons 1 & 2 |
| Channel Zero: Candle Cove | August 9, 2018 | |
| Ängelby | August 23, 2018 | |
| Hell House LLC 2: The Abaddon Hotel | September 20, 2018 | |
| All the Creatures Were Stirring | December 13, 2018 | |
| Cold Skin | January 10, 2019 | |
| Don't Leave Home | January 31, 2019 | |
| Beast | February 14, 2019 | |
| The Crucifixion | February 14, 2019 | |
| Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich | March 7, 2019 | |
| Critters: A New Binge | March 21, 2019 | |
| Lizzie | April 11, 2019 | |
| Monster Party | April 25, 2019 | |
| The Nightshifter | May 23, 2019 | |
| Boar | June 6, 2019 | |
| Incident in a Ghostland | August 15, 2019 | |
| Tigers Are Not Afraid | September 12, 2019 | |
| Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire | September 19, 2019 | |
| One Cut of the Dead | September 24, 2019 | |
| The Furies | October 3, 2019 | |
| Haunt | October 24, 2019 | |
| Halloween Hootenanny | October 25, 2019 | |
| Random Acts of Violence | August 20, 2020 | |
References
- Roettgers, Janko (November 22, 2016). "Rob Zombie's Latest Horror Movie '31' Coming Only to Shudder Streaming Service (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Roettgers, Janko (June 9, 2015). "AMC Beta-Tests Streaming Service for Horror Fans (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Newman, Heather (October 31, 2016). "AMC's Shudder Serves Up The Streaming Horror For Halloween". Forbes. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Lyne, Charlie (October 29, 2016). "Scary movie site Shudder is resurrecting the horror of the TV schedules". The Guardian. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Miska, Brad (July 15, 2015). "Shudder: Horror Streaming Service Launches". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- @WatchVRV (11 August 2017). "We've added Shudder to the VRV Combo Pack at no extra charge!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Shudder changes on VRV". VRV. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- "How Much Does Shudder Cost?". RLJ Entertainment. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
- Romano, Aja (October 18, 2016). "Shudder, AMC's horror-only streaming service, beats other scary sites at their own game". Vox. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Hutchinson, Sean (August 30, 2016). "Two Horror Experts Are Leading Fans Down a Bloody Path". Inverse. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Squires, John (November 23, 2016). "Rob Zombie's '31' Landing Exclusively on Shudder in December". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- Rife, Katie (March 15, 2017). "Ken Russell's widely banned The Devils makes a surprise appearance on Shudder". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- "AMC Networks' Streaming Service Shudder Launches Original Programming With 'Primal Screen' Doc (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
- "Check out Only On Shudder on Shudder". SHUDDER. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- Colburn, Randall. "Shudder bringing back Joe Bob Briggs after his recent marathon crashed its servers". avclub.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "Shudder Orders The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs Season 2". ScreenRant. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- Collis, Clark (5 December 2019). "The newly deceased hunt the living in trailer for Shudder TV's The Dead Lands". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
- Webb-Liddall, Alice (24 January 2020). "How The Dead Lands hopes to change New Zealand television". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.