SHUDDER | Love Horror film reviews and news

What Josiah Saw – A Shudder Original Premieres 4th August Everyone in town knows about the haunted Graham Farm on Willow Road. You'll hear there's a bad history to it. Josiah (Robert Patrick, The Terminator) and his youngest son, Thomas (Scott Haze, Child of God), are all that remain of this estranged family. But after experiencing terrifying visions from beyond, Josiah decides they must change their ways to right a great wrong. After being away for over two decades, Eli (Nick Stahl, Sin City) and Mary (Kelli Garner, Lars and the Real Girl), Josiah's eldest children, are enticed to sell the property and reunite at the old farmhouse in hopes of closing this haunting chapter of their lives for good. Sins of the past will be paid in full. Written by Robert Alan Dilts and directed by Vincent Grashaw (Coldwater). Glorious – A Shudder Exclusive Premieres 18th August In Glorious, Ryan Kwanten (True Blood, Kindred) plays a young man who is spiraling out of control after a bad breakup. His situation worsens after he finds himself locked inside a rest stop bathroom with a mysterious figure played by Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons (Whiplash, Being the Ricardos) speaking to him from an adjacent stall. As he tries to escape, he realizes he is an unwilling player in a situation bigger and more terrible than he could have imagined. Directed by Rebekah McKendry and written by Todd Rigney, Joshua Hull and David Ian McKendry. So Vam – A Shudder Exclusive Premieres 23rd August Kurt is an outcast in a conservative town who dreams of moving to the city to be a famous drag queen. When he is kidnapped by a predatory old vampire and killed, he is rescued just in time to be resurrected by a gang of rebellious vampires who feed on bigots and abusers. So Vam is the feature film debut of director Alice Maio Mackay, a trans teen filmmaker from Australia. Written by Benjamin Pahl Robinson and Alice Maio Mackay. NEW ADDITIONS TO SHUDDER’S MOVIE LIBRARY 1st August The Crazies Ordinary citizens turn into homicidal maniacs after a chemical weapon is released in George Romero's 1973 follow-up to Night of the Living Dead. After a mercifully brief foray into romantic comedy, Romero returned to the subject that made him famous - multiple maniacs attacking unsuspecting townspeople - and the government's misguided response to the chaos. Season of the WitchAfter Night of the Living Dead, master of horror George A. Romero turned his eye to witches. On the surface, Joan Mitchell has it all – family, friends, and a beautiful home equipped with all the latest appliances. But when a neighbor educates her on the practice of witchcraft, Joan believes she’s discovered the perfect antidote to her monotonous suburban existence, and embarks upon a dark path that will lead to a shocking conclusion. The Deeper You Dig 14-year old Echo and her mother Ivy, a tarot card reader, live a quiet life in a rural area. When reclusive Kurt moves down the road to restore an abandoned farmhouse, an accident leads to Echo’s murder, and suddenly three lives collide in mysterious and wicked ways. Kurt assumes he can hide his secret under the ground. As Echo haunts his every move, trying to reach her mother from beyond, Ivy must dig deep to see the signs and prove that love won’t stay buried. Knocking After suffering a traumatic incident, Molly moves into a new apartment to begin her path to recovery, but it’s not long after her arrival that a series of persistent knocks and screams begin to wake her up at night. Molly’s new life begins to unravel as the screams intensify and no one else in the building believes or is willing to help her. 8th August The Untamed The unhappy Alejandra, her brother Fabian and the mysterious Veronica fall under a creature’s tentacled sexual spell. But while the monster can give intense pleasure, it can also inflict pain, something members of this twisted triangle may be too late to avoid. Fans of twisted horror head-scratchers like Possession and Antichrist should cozy up to this dark arthouse sci-fi thriller from acclaimed Mexican director Amat Escalante (Heli). The VillainessHoned from childhood to be an elite assassin, Sook-hee embarks on a rampage of violence and revenge to finally earn her freedom and escape her past 11th August The Shed Stan and his best friend Dommer have put up with bullies their entire lives. All of that changes when Stan discovers he has a murderous vampire living in his shed. Seeing the bloodshed and destruction the monster is capable of, Stan knows he has to find a way to destroy it. But Dommer has a much more sinister plan in mind. 15th August HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS COLLECTION This month Shudder presents a collection of films from exploitation cinema pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis. Often referred to as the “Godfather of Gore,” Lewis is known for singlehandedly creating the “splatter” subgenre of horror films. Curated collection will include The Wizard of Gore, The Gore Gore Girls, Two Thousand Maniacs, Blood Feast, Color Me Blood Red, and The Gruesome Twosome. The Wizard of Gore Montag the Magnificent's blood-curdling onstage performances shock and dazzle his audiences in equal measure. But when his participants start winding up dead, local TV talk show hostess Sherry Carson suspects his gruesome "act" may be more sinister than it first seems... The Gore Gore Girls A vicious killer with a twisted sense of humor is butchering the girls of a go-go dancing club. As the grim death toll mounts, young reporter Nancy Weston teams up with obnoxious but dapper private investigator Abraham Gentry to try and crack the case. Two Thousand Maniacs A group of Yankee tourists take a detour and wind up in the small Southern town of Pleasant Valley--which has magically rematerialized 100 years after its destruction during the Civil War. They find themselves welcomed by the eager townsfolk as guests of honor at their centennial celebrations. Little do the Northerners know that the festivities are set to include torture, death and dismemberment. Blood Feast Dorothy Fremont is looking to throw a party unlike any other, and she gets just that when she hires the decidedly sinister Fuad Ramses to cater the event. Promising to provide her guests with an authentic Egyptian feast, Ramses promptly sets about acquiring the necessary ingredients--the body parts of nubile young women! Color Me Blood Red Painter Adam Sorge has found himself in a bit of a creative lull. But when his girlfriend accidentally cuts her finger, he realizes what his work has been missing all this time - human blood! With pressure mounting from local gallery owner Farnsworth to deliver his next masterpiece, Adam sets about procuring as much glorious haemoglobin as he can muster - first from himself, and then from anyone unfortunate enough to pass by his sickening studio of slaughter. The Gruesome Twosome Down at the Little Wig Shop, the batty Mrs. Pringle and her socially-inept son Rodney are procuring only the finest heads of hair - by scalping the local co-eds! Can they be stopped before they clear the entire campus of luxuriant-haired ladies? 16th August Alone With You As a young woman painstakingly prepares a romantic homecoming for her girlfriend, their apartment begins to feel more like a tomb when voices, shadows, and hallucinations reveal a truth she has been unwilling to face. 18th August Proximity A young scientist is abducted by extraterrestrials, but when no one believes his story, he becomes obsessed with finding proof. 22nd August 100 Monsters In the first of a trilogy of yokai (Japanese supernatural spirits) films written by Tetsuro Yoshia and released in the late 60s, a greedy slumlord’s attempts to forcefully evict his tenants invite the wrath of the titular yokai when a cleansing ritual is botched, with terrifying results. Spook Warfare In the second Yokai film, an evil Babylonian vampire is inadvertently awoke by treasure hunters, and a brave samurai teams with the yokai to defeat the bloodthirsty demon. Along with Ghosts In the last of the trilogy, the yokai are roused to defend a young girl on the run from deadly yakuza Snake Girl and the Silver Haired WitchNoriaki Yuasa, director of the much-beloved Gamera series, adapts the works of horror manga pioneer Kazuo Umezu. A young girl named Sayuri is reunited with her estranged family after years in an orphanage – but trouble lurks within the walls of the large family home. Her mother is an amnesiac after a car accident six months earlier, her sullen sister is confined to the attic and a young housemaid dies inexplicably of a heart attack just before Sayuri arrives… is it all connected to her father’s work studying venomous snakes? And is the fanged, serpentine figure that haunts Sayuri’s dreams the same one spying on her through holes in the wall? Bloodthirsty Grey, an indie pop singer, whose first album was a smash hit, gets an invitation to work with notorious music producer Vaughn Daniels at his remote studio in the woods. Together with her girlfriend Charlie, they arrive at his mansion, and the work begins. But as her work with the emotionally demanding Vaughn deepens, the vegan singer begins to hunger for raw meat. As her appetite changes, her body starts to transform and she begins to find out who she really is. 25th August The Final Wish With the unexpected passing of his father, Aaron returns home to support his devastated mother and while sifting through his father's belongings, comes upon an antique Urn that is far more than it seems.