Shudder brings in July with a bang with these new additions

Streaming service Shudder, which focuses on horror, thrillers and supernatural films, has added some intriguing movies to their roster for July. As usual, there are a mixture of well-known, obscure and Shudder original films, so let’s talk about them.

June 24: (added too late for last month’s highlights):

Stranger by the Lake – When Franck meets Michel while cruising in France, he is instantly smitten. After Franck witnesses Michel committing a terrible crime, he does not report it, instead becoming more drawn to the other man.

July 1:

Prince of Darkness – A physics professor and some of his students visit an old church, where they find a container of mysterious green liquid. As it turns out, the liquid is actually the essence of Satan, and they now have to prevent the apocalypse. Prince of Darkness stars Donald Pleasence and Alice Cooper. The great John Carpenter wrote and directed this film, and Pleasence plays the priest, Father Loomis. Guess who that character is named after!

The Shining – In Kubrick’s classic film, writer Jack Torrance brings his family along when he is hired as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. It’s probably not a bad film if you know nothing at all about the terrifying Stephen King novel it is based on, but as a fan of the source material, I was disappointed. The Shining features Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers.

Vault of Horror – Five men trapped in the basement of an office building have nothing else to do, so they tell stories of vampires, voodoo and the like. Interestingly, none of the stories are actually taken from the Vault of Horror comics. In fact, all but one was taken from Tales From the Crypt.

Party Hard, Die Young – Shudder – Courtesy Shudder

July 3:

Party Hard, Die Young (Shudder Original) — A resort in Croatia is hosting a party for thousands of graduates, and Julia is attending with a group of her friends. Julia’s best friend disappears, and another friend dies under circumstances that may be suspicious. When Julia receives mysterious Snapchat photos of both of the girls, we realize we are in a slasher flick.

July 8:

Stake Land – This is one of my favorite vampire movies ever! It has an adequate amount of blood and gore, but also has a rather emotional storyline, which I love. Teenager Martin has lost his family during the vampire apocalypse, and now travels with Mister, a self-proclaimed vampire hunter. During their travels to Canada, Mister and Martin meet a nun (Kelly McGillis) and a pregnant young woman (Danielle Harris), who join them on their trek. Stake Land was originally intended to be a web series, and there are seven prequel webisodes that tell the back stories of the characters.

Shudder – Stake Land – Courtesy Glass Eye Pix

Stake Land II a.k.a. The Stakelander – I haven’t seen the sequel yet, but it was released as a SyFy Original. Martin is now on his own, using only the remembered guidance of Mister to stay alive and seek vengeance. Connor Paolo and Nick Damici return as Martin and Mister. Count me in!

July 15:

More from Shudder

• Unwrapping the Unhappy Holidays collection on Shudder
• Shudder gifts subscribers with a great holiday horror selection in December
• When Evil Lurks: A New Twist on the Possession Story
• The five best segments of Shudder’s Creepshow series season four
• Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor puts new spin on the Abaddon legend

All the Colors of the Dark – This 1972 giallo film stars Edwige Fenech as a young woman who recently lost her unborn baby in an accident. When she begins to have nightmares about a man with a knife, her family members think it’s the result of the trauma she experienced.

July 18:

Deadtectives (Shudder Original) — A team of celebrity ghost hunters film an episode of their show in a haunted mansion in Mexico. When they begin to experience genuine paranormal events for the first time, they must decide whether they should run, or stay (and hopefully get good ratings). I read a few reviews for Deadtectives, and the consensus seems to be that it is both very funny and creepy. One reviewer even likened it to Beetlejuice. I will be checking it out!

July 22:

The Transfiguration – 14-year-old social outcast Milo is obsessed with vampires (and may, in fact, actually BE a vampire). When he meets Sophia, who sometimes cuts herself “just to feel”, he connects with someone for the first time. Gizmodo described The Transfiguration as “disturbing”, and I am personally intrigued by it.

I think Shudder has some great additions for July, tell us what you think by leaving your remarks in the comments section.