Halfway to Halloween Hotline, Cursed Films and The Last Drive-In returning to Shudder

Shudder has announced their Halfway to Halloween Hotline will return this April, along with new seasons of original series Cursed Films and The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs.

Also coming in April are even more new Shudder Original Films. 1428 Elm will be announcing the entire schedule of April additions later, but for now, let’s dig into the hotline, the series renewals and the new originals.

From 3:00 pm ET – 4:00 pm ET each Friday in April, Shudder subscribers are invited to call Shudder’s VP of Programming for personalized horror movie recommendations, via the Halfway to Halloween Hotline. Samuel Zimmerman has been manning the Hotline for a few years now, and is more than happy to select great films for you from Shudder’s collection. A new hotline phone number will be announced on Shudder’s social media platforms each Friday, so keep your eyes open.

A note from Shudder: “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.”

Cursed Films will return for its second season on Thursday, April 7, with new episodes airing each Thursday. The first season of this Shudder Original series brought us the intriguing, frightening and often sad stories behind such “cursed” movies as Poltergeist, The Crow and The Exorcist. For its second season, Cursed Films will feature Cannibal Holocaust, The Wizard of Oz, Stalker, Rosemary’s Baby and The Serpent and the Rainbow.

Back for a fourth season is The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs, which debuts Friday, April 29. New episodes will go live each Friday, and will be available to stream on demand the following Sunday. Join Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mail Girl as they present oddball double features, punctuated with witty banter, trivia and interesting behind the scenes stories of each film. This season’s first episode will celebrate The Last Drive-In’s 100th movie presented since the original 2018 marathon, and will feature surprise special guests.

Here are the new Shudder Original films premiering in April:

March 31:

Night’s End – An anxiety-ridden shut-in moves into an apartment, hoping for peace and quiet. Unfortunately, it seems that the new digs are haunted, and he brings in a stranger to exorcise the place. This being a horror film, things don’t go as planned. Jennifer Reeder (V/H/S/94) directed Night’s End.

April 7:

See For Me – Sophie is a blind teenager, housesitting a pretty posh abode. A home invasion puts her in grave danger, with an app called See For Me her only defense. See For Me made its debut at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.

April 15:

The Cellar – This Irish horror film stars Elisha Cuthbert as Keira, a woman whose daughter disappears in the cellar of their new house in the Irish countryside. The house is weird anyway, there are odd symbols carved on the inside, and now Keira must figure out what the evil entity in their house is all about.

April 21:

Virus 32 – In this Uruguayan film, a fast-moving virus changes humans into zombies, all the more terrifying because they are very fast, smart and have excellent hunting skills. After each attack, it takes the zombies 32 seconds to recover their violent strength, giving potential victims precious time to regroup and escape. When the zombies invade Iris’s workplace, she must protect herself and her daughter.

Keep your eyes on 1428 Elm for the full April schedule for Shudder, there are more great announcements to come!

Have you called Shudder’s Halfway to Halloween Hotline before? Tell us about your experience in the comments section.