Dragula, Trick ‘r Treat and everything coming to Shudder in April

Shudder is really coming through for fans in April, which is the halfway to Halloween point, and we wrote a little about that the other day.

The high points we covered were the Halfway to Halloween Hotline, the return of Cursed Films (April 7) and The Last Drive-In (April 29) for all new seasons, and the handful of Shudder Original films that will be debuting in April. Those films are:

• Night’s End – March 31
• See For Me – April 7
• The Cellar – April 15
• Virus 32 – April 21

You can read about Cursed Films, The Last Drive-In and the new originals here. What we didn’t discuss were the awesome additions to the Shudder library. So, let’s jump into it with both feet!

April 1:

Candyman – The 1992 film that started it all will hit on the first day of April. Helen (Virginia Madsen) investigates a horrifying legend, that of a hook-handed killer (Tony Todd) who magically appears when a victim says his name five times.

The Evil Dead – Bruce Campbell and friends hit Shudder with the very first Evil Dead film. College friends staying in a cabin in the woods find a strange book, and unknowingly release evil spirits who try to kill them all.

Evil Dead II – The sequel to The Evil Dead is more or less a reboot, telling the same basic story. Sam Raimi was given a much bigger budget this time around.

The Fog – One of my personal favorites, this one stars Jamie Leigh Curtis, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook as potential victims of the ghosts of vengeful, shipwrecked sailors. The ghosts invade Antonio Bay, accompanied by an eerie fog.

Shudder brings back a hard to find favorite

Near Dark – Another great Shudder selection, and my own favorite vampire flick, Near Dark introduces us to a makeshift family of bloodsuckers, played by Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Jenny Wright, Jenette Goldstein and Joshua John Miller. Trivia alert: Miller co-wrote the funny, scary and sweet love letter to 80s horror, The Final Girls.

The Serpent and the Rainbow – In this Wes Craven directed film, an anthropologist (Bill Pullman) travels to Haiti in search of a mystical powder that is said to bring people back from the dead. He ends up getting very up close and personal with said power.

Session 9 – Oh, Shudder, you get me, you REALLY get me. Yet another favorite of mine, Session 9 is a creepy slow burn of a film, about a crew of men hired to remove asbestos from the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital. When audio tapes are found and played, each member of the work crew start to suffer individual (and very bad) effects.

The Funhouse – Tobe Hooper directed this 1981 teen slasher , about a group of teens who make the ill-fated decision to spend the night inside a carnival funhouse. Unfortunately, a murderous monster is also inside.

The Devils – Vanessa Redgrave stars as an evil nun who lusts after Oliver Reed’s priest. When her crush marries another, Sister Jeanne goes all vengeful on him, accusing him of witchcraft.

Trick ‘r Treat – Boom! Shudder drops another of my top film picks! An anthology-style film, Trick ‘r Treat tells four intertwining stories involving one Halloween night in Warren Valley. This beautifully filmed movie is a visual homage to the holiday, and is both scary and delightful.

April 4:

Ritual – I haven’t seen this one yet, but Indonesian horror never fails to enthrall me. A man comes to buried in a shallow grave in the woods, and must evade a killer while searching for his family.

Summer of ’84 – One of the first films I watched on Shudder, Summer of ’84 has both horror and heart in spades. 15-year-old Davey becomes convinced that his neighbor is the Cape May Slayer, and ropes his pals into helping him investigate. This film gets extremely dark in the final third, be prepared.

April 11:

Rocktober Blood – Billy was a rock star who was executed after killing two friends. Two years later, his girlfriend Lynn is stalked by him. Is Billy really dead?

Puppet Master – In this cult favorite, a group of psychics are hunted by killer puppets.

Puppet Master II – The homicidal puppets return to bring their dead puppeteer back to life.

Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge – In this prequel to Puppet Master, we get the backstory of Toulon and his killer puppets.

April 12:

Subspecies – Three students studying Romanian culture and find themselves caught up in a power struggle between two brothers who happen to be vampires.

The Pit and the Pendulum – The 1991 version of Poe’s tale was directed by Stuart Gordon. Maria must conquer the Spanish Inquisition in order to rescue her husband from a horrible fate.

Intruder – Scott Spiegel, the co-writer of Evil Dead 2 brought viewers this fun slasher flick in 1989. A supermarket overnight crew are stalked and murdered while just doing their jobs.

April 18:

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula Seasons 1-3 – This is the news fans have been waiting for! With the fourth blockbuster season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula behind them, Shudder is making the first three seasons available, along with 2020’s Resurrection. If you haven’t checked Dragula out yet, this is your chance to catch up on the best horror drag competition in existence.

April 25:

Etheria Season 5 – Season 5 includes 11 episodes of eclectic horror, all directed by women. Tune in for campfire tails, ghosts, serial killers and witchcraft (among other themes).

Jamie Marks is Dead – When teenager Jamie Marks is found dead by the river, Gracie and Adam see his ghost. Soon, Adam discovers why Jamie haunts him.

What a great lineup to get us through the next month! If this is the halfway to Halloween schedule, we can’t wait to see what Shudder has in store for October!

We think Shudder has a great April planned out, are you looking forward to it? Give us your thoughts in the comments section.