January 2022 on Shudder: New year, new horror to explore

Shudder is starting off 2022 with a fresh batch of original and exclusive offerings, along with plenty of great classics.

After the excitement of Halloween and the chilling holiday horror the streaming platform gave us over the past few months, Shudder is staying strong with its January schedule. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up.

Throughout the month of January, The Folk Horror Collection will unfold, with viewers being treated to the following films:

Blood on Satan’s Claw, Witchfinder General, The Wicker Man, Eve’s Bayou, Alison’s Birthday, Clearcut, Edge of the Knife, Eyes of Fire, Il Demonio, Lake of the Dead, Leptirica, Lokis, Tilbury and Wilzcyzca.

January 1:

Blood on Satan’s Claw – Set in England in the 17th century, this film is about children who become part of a devil-worshiping coven after finding a strange claw in a field.

Witchfinder General – Vincent Price is an evil witch hunter, hunted by a young man whose fiancée has been terrorized by him.

The Wicker Man (original version) – Sargeant Howie is sent to an island off the coast of Scotland in order to investigate a young girl’s disappearance. Upon arriving, he finds a strange community that might be part of a cult.

Sinister – One of my favorite horror films, this one is legit scary. A true-crime writer moves his family into a home where a family was murdered. After finding some home movies in the attic, he begins to suspect the killer may not be human.

Lake Mungo – One of those found footage movies that everyone discusses, Lake Mungo delves into a grieving family’s experiences with the supernatural.

Eve’s Bayou – Samuel L. Jackson plays Louis Batiste, a wealthy womanizer who resides with his family in an affluent Creole-American community in Louisiana. When little Eve witnesses her father’s infidelity, it affects her relationship with him, and she seeks refuge with her Aunt Mozelle, a practitioner of Hoodoo.

January 3:

Blood for Dracula – Originally titled Andy Warhol’s Dracula, this 1974 film stars Udo Kier as Dracula. In search of virgin blood, the vampire travels to Italy, where he befriends a man with four daughters.

Flesh for Frankenstein – Kier returns to the screen, this time as Baron von Frankenstein.

January 4:

Dark August – When artist Sal is involved in an accident that kills a young girl, the girl’s grandfather begins to follow him, and may have cursed him.

Dream No Evil – Orphaned Grace is taken in by a traveling church in California. As a young woman, Grace tries to find her biological father and ends up entangled in murder.

Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood – Frank, his wife and their daughter are hired at a dilapidated carnival while trying to locate their missing son.

The Child –Alicianne has just been hired to work at the Nordon estate as a nanny, but the 11-year-old girl she cares for has a deadly secret.

The Premonition – A woman seeks the help of a parapsychologist when her foster daughter is stalked by her birth mother.

The Witch Who Came From the Sea – In this “video nasty” from the 70s, Molly is an emotionally disturbed woman who turns murderous after taking a job at a bar.

January 5:

Beyond Dream’s Door – Ben is a college student living a lonely life. He has never had dreams until he is suddenly beset by terrifying nightmares.

Winterbeast – In this creature feature, something is killing people near a mountain lodge, and legend has it the mountain is cursed by a Native American demon.

Fatal Exam – In this low-budget slasher, college students studying the occult are invited to investigate a haunted house.

January 6:

For the Sake of Vicious (Shudder Original/Exclusive, also available in UKI and ANZ ) – Romina is a hard-working single mom and a nurse, and all she wants to do after getting home from the late shift on Halloween night is crash. Instead, she ends up dealing with a group of intruders, and things get pretty violent.

January 8:

A Discovery of Witches season three (Shudder Original Series, also available in UKI, CA and ANZ) – In the final season, Matthew and Diana return from 1590 only to find tragedy. As enemies scheme against them, they try to find the Book of Life before there is no hope.

January 10:

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (Shudder Original/Exclusive, also available on Shudder CA, UKI and ANZ) – This documentary explores folk horror, beginning with three films from the 60s and 70s – Witchfinder General, The Wicker Man and The Blood on Satan’s Claw. It originally ran at SXSW and Fantasia in 2021, and it’s chockful of interviews and film clips.

Eyes of Fire – When a preacher is accused of adultery and polygamy, he and his followers are forced to leave town. As they become lost in a forest, they encounter the spirits of Native Americans.

Il Demonio – The peasant woman Purif becomes desperate when her lover Antonio is promised to another woman. When Antonio continues to reject her, Purif is accused of cursing him.

Alison’s Birthday –In this 1981 Australian film, a 16-year-old girl named Alison participates in a séance with her friends. She is given a message telling her not to go home for her 19th birthday.

Leptirica – This vampire story preceded Bram Stoker’s iconic vamp by two decades. A group of villagers is attacked by Sava Savanoci, who is hiding in the local flour mill.

Clearcut – A white lawyer defends Indigenous activists who are trying to keep a logging company from taking their land, and becomes embroiled in a plot to kidnap the head of the logging company.

Wilzcyzca –  It’s winter in a remote area of Poland and a liberation fighter is returning home.  His wife Mary has cheated on him, and with her dying breath, curses her husband. This werewolf film was apparently a huge hit in Poland when it was released in 1983.

Lake of the Dead – This Norwegian classic tells the story of a group of people who go to a remote cabin to look for their missing friend. Those remote cabins are always dangerous.

Tilbury – Tilbury is a creature in Icelandic lore, who is summoned by women suffering hard times. But if Tilbury helps you, there is a price to pay.

Lokis –In 19th century Lithuania, a pastor is invited to stay at the home of nobleman Count Michal Szemiot. Szemiot’s mother was driven mad after she was attacked by a bear, and resides at the estate. But the locals think Michal is actually the son of the bear.

Edge of the Knife – The first feature film spoken entirely in the Haida language, Edge of the Knife introduces us to Adiits’ii, who was pushed to his mental limits and becomes a “Wildman.”

The Last Matinee – An engineering student named Ana takes over for her father, a projectionist at a failing movie theatre. Though she doesn’t know it, a killer is murdering audience members.

Dachra – This Tunisian horror film follows three journalism students visiting a mental hospital to interview the mutilated survivor of an attack that took place 20 years earlier.

January 17:

Etheria: Season 3 (Also available in CA, ANZ and UKI) The third season of Etheria includes more stories of the strange and unusual, all directed by women.

January 20:

The Last Thing Mary Saw (Shudder Original/Exclusive, also available in UKI, CA and ANZ) – Set in 1843, this dark slow burn introduces us to a young woman named Mary as she is blindfolded, with blood trickling from her eyes. The film showcases how this happened.

January 27:

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster (Shudder Original/Exclusive, also available in CA, UKI and ANZ) – Another fascinating documentary, this one dives into the life of the legendary Boris Karloff. Included are interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Roger Corman, John Landis and Ron Perlman, all of whom were inspired by the actor.

What do you think of Shudder’s additions for January? Are you interested in folk horror? Let us know what you think in the comments section.