It’s been a damn fine year for horror releases so far, especially debut features. To be fair, every year is a good year for the horror genre if you know where to look — but 2024 has been exceptionally fruitful. And do you know who’s really killing it (besides all those slasher villains and The Substance)? Streaming, especially the niche horror streaming service Shudder.
Duh, right? A horror-only streaming service should be leading conversations about horror movies. But Shudder’s more of an underdog than you might think. Shudder didn’t immediately get into the distribution game, and when they did, only smaller indies fit their budget. The AMC-backed offshoot has since increased its output and spending on Shudder Originals and Exclusives, but still doesn’t match Universal or Warner Brothers budgets. Shudder has become a haven for independent horror cinema and a favorite resource for horror fans across the globe, but it’s still a smaller fish in the grand scheme.
That’s what makes its triumphs even more special. This year alone, Shudder has quietly dropped three of the very best horror films by any classification. First the spider-horror epic Infested in April, then the stop-motion nightmare Stopmotion in May, and finally South Korea’s demonic barnburner Exhuma. They are, pound for pound, some of the best horror movies this year — if not the best. Shudder’s advantage is its devotion to supporting international standouts or “weird” concepts that don’t match what’s currently en vogue and widely marketable to theatrical audiences. They pick up what might otherwise fall through the cracks, and this year’s crop is hitting megatons above its weight class.
French filmmaker Sébastien Vanicek earned himself a gig directing one of two new Evil Dead movies on the horizon because of Infested. If you’re arachnophobic, don’t even watch the trailer. Infested is the best spider-horror flick since Arachnophobia, blending socio-political and classist elements of Attack the Block (which I’ve seen hilariously and appropriately dubbed “Arach the Block”) with fangs-out quarantine ferocity like [REC]. A reported 200 giant huntsman spiders were used in this movie, adding to an army of eight-legged freaks that, when not practical, look fantastic in their digital forms. Vanicek’s feature debut is a stunning technical achievement and an absolute day-ruiner for anyone with a spider aversion. Still, as one of those spider avoiders, I can confirm Infested is worth the sleepless nights and phantom itches.
Shudder has become a haven for independent horror cinema and a favorite resource for horror fans.
Robert Morgan’s feature debut Stopmotion is an entirely different beast of steel armatures and mortician’s clay. Another first-timer takes a massive conceptual swing, centering on a stop-motion artist who loses herself to her painstaking passion-slash-obsession. As Ella Blake (played by The Nightingale’s Aisling Franciosi) unhealthily attaches herself to the unnerving molded characters in her creepy little project, reality blurs with maddening effects. Morgan’s storytelling fixates on the uncanny nature of Ella’s crumbling sanity, until she can’t tell the difference between what’s real and the arts-and-crafts figures that start jumping off her movie’s miniature set. It’s a story about succumbing to creative pressures and the toxic qualities of artistic pursuit, magnificently explored through a medium that is viewed as obscure.
Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma falls in line with neither of its catalog siblings, which is the beauty of Shudder. We’re transported to South Korea, a spiritually prosperous nation that favors more respectful relationships with the afterlife. Jae-hyun’s tale unites shamans, feign shui masters, and morticians as a superteam that must locate a family’s disturbed (and deceased) relative to erase a deadly “Grave’s Call” curse. Exhuma investigates South Korean culture through striking shamanistic dance routines and graveyard exhumation practices, all while leading audiences down a mysterious narrative that keeps getting more evil. A familiar ghost story blueprint bleeds into possession horrors until a third act blows the doors off into something vastly more creature-feature related. There’s so much to learn about South Korean traditions and horror-driven personality in each scene, swirled into an ever-changing delivery of terrors.
Shudder isn’t the only service bringing the thunder, either. Tubi hasn’t exactly changed the game with its low-budget originals (looking at you, Titanic 666 and Shark Side of the Moon), but newer releases like Lowlifes and Slay inspire promise for the future. Tesh Guttikonda and Mitch Oliver’s Lowlifes is a backwoods slasher-type flick that flips expected scripts, gleefully playing around with horror genre tropes and self-satirical winks. Jem Garrard’s Slay can lovingly be described as “From Tuck Till Dawn,” putting a feisty and surprisingly heartfelt twist on vampire storytelling by focusing on drag queens. Both films are lightyears better than most of Tubi’s in-house productions so far and should be given a chance by those searching for lesser-seen gems. Two more examples of horror films that succeed by trying something new instead of rehashing the same horror ideas with the same interchangeable casts.
Keeping up with streaming releases can be challenging because they often don’t get the same marketing rollouts, especially Netflix titles. Did you know a rad shark attack movie hit the service without barely a peep from even its social media accounts? Xavier Gens’ Under Paris unleashes a genetically superior mako shark in France’s Seine Rivier, an in-seine concept that only improves as the film reaches gonzo climaxes. We’ve been in a rut of lackluster “Fin Flicks” for a few years now, making this bonkers amalgamation of Jaws and Deep Blue Sea even more exciting of a discovery. If only Netflix would make more of an outside-app effort to let audiences know it’s even available.
None of this is to suggest that theatrical horror is struggling. I’ll be talking about Longlegs with frantic enthusiasm for the rest of the year and will continue recommending The First Omen on Hulu. Coralie Fargeat deserves a medal for the body-horror insanity she achieves in The Substance, especially for a wide theatrical release. It’s just more that these theatrical titles will always be on people’s minds thanks to brilliant advertising plays or sheer theatrical availability. Shudder does a tremendous job spreading the word about its originals, but you need an account to access Infested, Stopmotion or Exhuma. Netflix boasts a bajillion users, yet is atrocious at hyping anything outside its few priority titles each month (especially ignoring international imports).
So, if you’re looking for a reason to finally pull the trigger on a Shudder subscription, here it is. Shudder’s crushing it in 2024 even more than usual, on a three-month stretch that’s running as hot as Michael Jordan in his prime. Infested, Stopmotion, and Exhuma are on par with the best horror titles you’ll see all year, and you can stream ‘em directly into your living rooms this second. That doesn’t even include recent buzzy releases like the eerie Irish haunter Oddity or artsy experimental slasher In a Violent Nature, plus other treats on the like the one-take doomsday flick MadS. Shudder, once again, proves that horror is more than what you can purchase tickets for; streaming is just as important.
