Shudder: December movies to give you the cold chills

Shudder is coming on strong this month, with three great curated collections (among other offerings). Let’s see what the streaming service is putting under the tree for us in December!

Shudder is decking the halls with quite a bit of horror fun for the holidays. So, pour your egg nog, sit back and enjoy!

Shudder for the Holidays

MANDY – This one actually started streaming on November 29, and there has been a lot of buzz about it (and about Nicolas Cage’s crazed performance). Cage plays Red Miller, whose girlfriend Mandy is kidnapped by a cult. MANDY premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and currently is rated 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

12/01:

Dust Devil – A woman fleeing her overbearing husband picks up a hitchhiker, who turns out to be a demonic serial killer. Dust Devil was written and directed by Richard Stanley, who also brought us Hardware.

eXistenZ – Featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law and Willem Dafoe, this is a science fiction / horror film about a virtual reality game designer trying to escape assassins. eXistenZ was written and directed by the legendary David Cronenberg.

Mimic – A doctor played by Mira Sorvino genetically creates an insect known as the Judas breed, designed to kill cockroaches carrying a deadly childhood disease. Three years later, the Judas breed has evolved, and is killing humans. I highly recommend this Guillermo del Toro-directed film if you haven’t discovered it yet.

Shudder -Mimic – Courtesy of Dimension Films

King of Horror curated collection – This Stephen King collection includes Cujo, Creepshow, Creepshow 2, The Dead Zone, Misery, Pet  Semetary, Salem’s Lot, and Silver Bullet.

12/03:

Dead & Buried – Visitors to a small coastal town called Potter’s Bluff are murdered by townspeople, and their corpses then return to life. I’ll bet that hurts the tourism industry! Dead & Buried stars James Farentino, Melody Anderson and Jack Albertson.
Death Line – Guillermo del Toro lists Death Line as one of his favorite films. Two college students find the body of a government official at a London Underground Station. An investigation results in a horrifying discovery. Interestingly, the movie was distributed under the title Raw Meat when it was released in the US.

Shudder -Deathline – Courtesy of Harbor Ventures

Double Lover – Nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, this French thriller tells the story of Chloe’, who discovers that her psychoanalyst / lover is hiding a secret.

Unhappy Holidays curated collection – Be still, my heart! Shudder has put together a collection of Christmas horror movies, including All the Creatures Were Stirring, Better Watch Out (a favorite of mine), Black Christmas (the original, which is my all-time favorite Christmas horror tale), Christmas Evil, Christmas Presence, and Silent Night, Deadly Night.

*Additionally, all Christmas Day, Shudder will stream Black Christmas continuously on its free Shudder TV (www.shudder.tv) stream, available in the U.S. to members and non-members alike.

12/06:

You Might Be the Killer – This 2018 film debuted at Fantastic Fest. When murders begin occurring, a camp counselor (played by Fran Kranz) starts to believe he may be the murderer. He calls in a slasher movie fan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Alyson Hannigan) to help.

Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, season 2 – James Nesbitt returns as Harry Clayton, a police officer with an unusual super-power: the power to control luck. In this season, he meets a woman who has powers of her own. Lucky Man was created by late comic book legend Stan Lee, and is a Shudder original series.

Shudder -Stan Lee’s Lucky Man – Courtesy of Carnival Film and Television

12/10:

The Cult of “King Cohen” curated collection – This celebration of indie filmmaker Larry “King” Cohen includes the documentary King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen, God Told Me To, Q–The Winged Serpent, and The Stuff.

12/13:

Christmas Presence (AKA Why Hide?) – A group of friends get together to celebrate the holidays in a lodge, but one of them disappears. Bad, bloody things begin to happen.

The Dead Lands – When his tribe is murdered, a slain Maori chieftain’s 15-year-old son vows to avenge the killings. To do so, he must enter the fabled Dead Lands.

12/17:

Ichi the Killer – Ichi is a damaged man who is used by Kakihara to horrifically assault and kill others. Ichi the Killer has been banned in many countries because of its extremely graphic violence.

Shudder -Ichi the Killer – Courtesy of Omega Project

The Mimic – This 2017 Korean thriller was inspired by the urban legend of the Jangsan Tiger. A woman in search of her missing son encounters a mythical creature that can mimic human voices.

Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser, Part 2 – Part two of a documentary about the making of horror movie Hellraiser, this film includes never-before-seen clips and photographs, along with cast and crew interviews.

12/20:

Rillington Place – Tim Roth and Samantha Morton star in this three-part thriller about the 1940s / 1950s Rillington Place murders. Serial killer John Reginald Christie actually committed the murders, but an innocent man was hanged for them.

12/21:

The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs: A Very Joe Bob Christmas – The incomparable Joe Bob Briggs brings us more drive-in classics in another movie marathon. This time around, he brings us some Christmas horror.

12/27:

Black Lake, season 2 – Filip Berg returns as Johan in the second season of the Scandinavian series. A group of people on a Swedish Island begin to experience supernatural events.

Iskander – In French Guiana, a pair of cops working on a ritualistic murder find themselves involved in voodoo rituals and hallucinogenic drugs. This is a Shudder Exclusive series.

I don’t know about you, but I think I will be spending much of the month streaming Shudder, while sipping my egg nog!

Did your favorite films make the list? Let us know in the comments section below.