Welcome to Shudder, The New Home of Horror Streaming
As I’m sure many of you are aware, there is a new streaming service in the works similar to Netflix which focuses just on horror movies and it’s entitled Shudder. At the moment the website is currently going through BETA testing, but if you provide them with your email address you might be able to receive a 60-day free trial of their BETA website. So, that is exactly what I did, and what do you know? I got an email to check out the horrors within.
Now, if you do get this please remember that this is still just a BETA website at the moment so they’re constantly working to improve the site from the feedback they receive, but I have to say, so far it is a beautiful service, well laid out and it appears that the people that put this together truly get us horror fans. They don’t just put films into categories like slasher, psychological, etc. These guys aren’t as specific and that’s a good thing, trying to nail down a horror film into one sub-genre usually misses the mark, but here they have a far more loose approach and it gives a wider spectrum, check out the categories (collections) below;
- A-Horror
- Psychos and Madmen
- Identity Crises
- Socko Spoofs
- Into the Wild
- Comedy of Terrors
- Haunted Habitations
- Gross Anatomy
- Romantic Bloodsuckers
- Slashics
- Smart Slashers
- The Unblinking Eye: Diabolical Documentaries
- The Unraveling Mind
- Trapped
- Urban Decay
- Weird Science
- Zombie Jamboree
- Cult Masters: Euro Horror
- Foundations of Horror
- Hexes and Ooohs!
- Human Monsters and Serial Killers
- Monster Mash
- Possessions: The Devil Made Me Do It!
- Bad Genes and Killer Kids
- Not Your Ordinary Bloodsucker
- School’s Out… Forever
- Spectral Encounters
As you can see they’re having a of fun and I like it. These can be found in the Collections tab, so if you’re not sure what to watch hit up one of these and you will get a range of films. When it comes to the films itself, they’re all provided with a synopsis, a trailer, user reviews and ratings and even the option to up or down-vote a review, so you can weed out some of the unnecessary.
On the main page you are also shown any new additions to the library as well as staff picks, but one of the unique options of Shudder is Shudder.TV. It’s an endless stream of horror films, so if you just can’t pick something to watch, hit this option up and you’ll be greeted by a random horror movie at any point of the film. If you have seen this you will notice that at the moment there isn’t any information regarding the film that is playing, but that is probably something they will rectify once the BETA stage is done, either way it’s a cool addition.
Throughout the site you will see quotes from horror films, which is definitely a nice touch as well as some cool movement when you hover over something. As for the films, there is around 200 films at the moment, I think. But you can expect a lot more to be added in the future, but at the moment there is a nice variety, many of have probably seen before but also a couple of more obscure films and of course world cinema, which I love.
At the moment the service can only be viewed through a desktop, although they will be rolling out Shudder on mobile devices in the future. Once the BETA stage is over, the service will cost $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, which I think is a fair price as I expect more titles to be added.
Some people have been experiencing buffering issues, but I can’t say that I have. It’s flowed well with me although initial I did have some teething issues trying to sign up, but that’s probably due to a bug or too, which they have probably rectified by now, but that was my only issue so far. Now it’s easy sailing, I log-on, pick a film and watch horror to my hearts content, I genuinely urge you guys to check this out, if not for the free trial, but I think many of you will stick around as this is a freakin’ wet dream for horror fans.
If you have checked this one out, please hit us up in the comments and let us know what you make of it or what you would like to see added?
