Celebrate halfway to Halloween point with Shudder in April
By Carla Davis
Horror streaming service Shudder is celebrating “Halfway to Halloween Month” in April, and bringing back two popular series: Creepshow and The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.
Fans know that Shudder offers a Halloween Hotline during October, but now we are getting the Halfway to Halloween Hotline in April, with Shudder Director of Programming Samuel Zimmerman giving us personalized movie recommendations.
There’s a lot to cover for Shudder in April, so let’s jump right into it!
April 1:
Creepshow Season 2 (Also available on Shudder CA, UKI and ANZ) – The second season of Shudder’s original series, based on the beloved Stephen King/George Romero film, is something fans have been looking forward to for quite some time. The series would have aired sooner were it not for COVID-19, but now we can look forward to appearances by the likes of Kevin Dillon, Josh McDermitt, Keith David, Justin Long, Barbara Crampton and Molly Ringwald. The first episode airs on April 1, with new episodes airing each Thursday thereafter.
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (Shudder Exclusive, also available on Shudder CA) – If you haven’t seen the South Korean zombie film Train to Busan, you will now have the chance to redeem yourself, while also seeing the two additional films in the trilogy. As of April 1, all three films (including the animated second film, Seoul Station) will be available to stream. Peninsula introduces us to Jung-seok, a soldier who comes upon survivors of the zombie apocalypse. If this third installment is anything like the first, be prepared for emotional devastation.
Night of the Lepus – A 1972 cult classic, Night of the Lepus is…well, it’s about mutated killer rabbits, there’s no other way to state it. Night of the Lepus features Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, Deforest Kelley and Stuart Whitman, and it seems its main claim to fame is the laughable special effects. This sounds like a perfect film for the new season of The Last Drive-in, right?
The Haunting of Julia – Julia Lofting (Mia Farrow) splits from her husband and moves to London after her daughter’s death. She finds a great, fully-furnished house that just happens to have a room full of children’s items, and soon discovers that her new home is haunted by the ghost of a little girl.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (Also available on Shudder CA) – A look at the poster for this sequel lets you know right away that this is a parody film (it’s a horror-centric homage to the poster for The Breakfast Club). Leatherface and his family return, hoping to dine on a sexy disc jockey. TCM2 features several genre favorites, such as Caroline Williams, Bill Moseley, Dennis Hopper, and there’s even a cameo appearance by Joe Bob Briggs.
April 2:
The Val Lewton Collection – This collection includes films from legendary writer and producer Val Lewton: Cat People, Curse of the Cat People, The Leopard Man, I Walked With a Zombie, The Seventh Victim, Isle of the Dead and The Body Snatcher.
Halfway to Halloween Hotline – Beginning April 2, and continuing each Friday during the month from 3:00 p, – 4:00 pm ET, Shudder subscribers are invited to call Shudder’s director of programming, Samuel Zimmerman. After a conversation about horror, Sam will give customized recommendations for which films to watch. A new phone number will be announced each week on Shudder’s social media platforms. Shudder adds this note: **While recommendations are provided for free, please note that normal phone and long-distance charges may apply. Call volume is expected to be high, so please keep trying if a busy signal is received. There are no guarantees that every call will be answered, but Sam will get through as many as he can within the hour.**
April 5:
Don’t Panic (Also available in CA) – Michael gets an awesome gift from his best friend on his seventeenth birthday: a Ouija board! Nothing says “you’re my best friend and I want to give you a gift that will summon the demons of hell” like a Ouija board, right? It’s the gift that keeps on giving, as Michael soon finds out.
Zombie for Sale (Also available in CA and UKI) – A Korean pharmaceutical company is performing human experiments that go horribly wrong, as a test subject escapes. The undead subject ends up at a gas station, and the family that owns the station must come up with a plan.
April 8:
The Power (Shudder Exclusive, also available in CA, UKI and ANZ) – A training nurse reports for her first day at the East London Royal Infirmary, where nearly all patients and staff have been evacuated. Val not only has to work the overnight shift in the nearly empty hospital, she also must fight off the evil forces she encounters.
April 12:
The McPherson Tape (Also available on Shudder CA, UKI and ANZ) – This 1989 found footage piece is set in 1983, as a man videotapes a child’s birthday party. This being found footage, the tape keeps rolling, even after a UFO is found, and one of the space ship inhabitants gets into the house.
Alex de la Iglesia Double Feature (Also available in CA) – This addition features two films from the Spanish master of horror, who you may know as the co-writer of HBO Max’s 30 Coins. In The Day of the Beast, a priest, a Death Metal record store clerk and a tv psychic must work together to defeat Satan and stop the coming Apocalypse. In Dance with the Devil, Rosie Perez and Javier Barden are a couple who deal in human sacrifice and kidnapping.