Shudder: Celebrate halfway point to Halloween with featured collection

In their equivalent to Christmas in July, horror movie streaming service Shudder gives us their Halfway to Halloween featured collection of movies.

It’s April, and you know what that means…only six more months ’til every horror lovers favorite holiday! In the spirit of those “Christmas in July” celebrations, horror movie streaming service Shudder offers their Halfway to Halloween Featured Collection.

While most streaming services feature only a small handful of horror movies, Shudder has nothing but horror, thrillers and sci-fi. Each month, there are new movies, collections and series added to their options, and for April, we are getting some Halloween-related selections.

Halfway to Halloween Collection::

Halloween – Of course, John Carpenter’s 1978 classic slasher film had to be included in this collection! This was our first introduction to Michael Myers, who would become one of the most iconic figures in horror movie history, and to Jamie Lee Curtis, who returned to her role of Laurie Strode four times in the numerous Halloween sequels.

Halloween II – This disappointing sequel was released in 1981, and basically just lined up a bunch of attractive young men and women, only to kill them off one by one in creative ways. Other than our returning Final Girl Laurie, we didn’t even get to know the victims, so we didn’t care too much about their brutal deaths. While Halloween was surprisingly blood-free for a slasher flick, the sequel featured copious amounts of gore.

Halfway to Halloween – Halloween II – Courtesy Universal Pictures

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Halloween III: Season of the Witch – Released a year after Halloween II , we got this third installment – which wasn’t even really a sequel at all. While trying to solve the murder of one of his patients, Dr. Dan Challis discovers the Silver Shamrock company, which is producing lethal Halloween masks. Although it was initially critically panned, Halloween III has achieved a sort of cult status in the years since.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers – Having learned their lesson, the powers that be made the wise decision to bring back our favorite mask-wearing bad guy for this 1988 sequel. We were introduced to Michael’s niece, Jamie (played by Danielle Harris), meaning that we once again had a character we could care about.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers – Michael is back in Haddonfield, intent on killing his niece Jamie, who is suffering from the trauma of their last run-in. Six years later, a sixth installment of Halloween was released, the final sequel to feature Jamie (although Harris did return in Rob Zombie’s versions of Halloween and Halloween II).

Halfway to Halloween – Halloween IV – Courtesy Tranas International Films

Murder Party – Dorky Christopher finds an invitation to a Halloween “Murder Party”, and decides to attend it dressed in a cardboard knight costume. He soon finds out that the party hosts are art students intent on committing a murder.

31 – Set in 1976, this Rob Zombie film introduces us to a clown gang called The Heads, who kidnap some carnies and force them to play a twisted game of survival. The carnies are forced to make their way through a massive maze and evade capture.

Ghostwatch – This British “mockumentary” was broadcast on BBC1 on Halloween night in 1992. Presented as if it were a live broadcast, Ghostwatch consisted of BBC reporters conducting an on-air investigation of a haunted house in London. Reportedly, the station received around 30,000 phone calls from terrified viewers, convinced that what they were watching was real. The show was never re-broadcast in the UK. This was one of the first movies I watched on Shudder, and I really enjoyed it.

Halfway to Halloween – Ghostwatch – Courtesy BBC

Hell House, LLC – A 2015 found-footage film, HHLLC follows a group of five (it’s always got to be five) young adults who put together a very successful Halloween haunted house each year. In 2009, the haunt was set up in the abandoned Abaddon Hotel in New York, but things did not go as planned. On opening night, an unexplained malfunction resulted in the deaths of 15 tour goers and staff members. HHLLC is really good for a low-budget movie, and I appreciated the creative storyline and the high scare factor. There are some truly creepy, hair-raising moments in this film.

Hell House, LLC II: The Abaddon Hotel – I wish I could tell you that this sequel (Shudder exclusive) was as good as the original movie, but I can’t. Even though the storyline was pretty good, and the visuals were just as creepy and disturbing as the first installment, this one was hampered by some sub-par acting. The standout exception was Jillian Geurts, who plays Jessica, and the fact that she is so good really makes the bad acting going on around her seem even more obvious. It would appear that we’re being set up for a third Hell House movie, and I just hope it is better cast than this one was.

There you have it, horror movie lovers. Shudder’s newest featured collection should be a good cure for the “I Can’t Wait Until Halloween Comes” blues, with enough movies to tide you over for the next few months.

Do you think Shudder’s Halfway to Halloween collection is a decent selection of movies? If not, what movies would you add? Let us know in the comments section.