It’s time to celebrate, horror fans! April marks the Halfway to Halloween point, and Shudder is there for us with an all-new schedule of exclusives, originals and familiar favorites. The fun starts on April 1, when Shudder will add 13 new films to their streaming app.
Note that Shudder Originals/Exclusives are in bold typeface, and marked with an asterisk.
April 1:
April Fool’s Day – In this iconic 80s horror film, a group of college students spend spring break at a friend’s island mansion. When their hostess starts playing pranks, they start out harmless, but soon escalate into murder (maybe).
Rawhead Rex – Based on Clive Barker’s short story of the same title, Rawhead Rex takes us to the Irish countryside, where an ancient evil re-awakens and sets out on a killing spree.
Halloween H20 – Part of Halloween’s complicated series of sequels, this one ignores parts 4 through 6, and heads in a different direction. It picks up 20 years after Laurie Strode was terrorized by Michale Myers, as she is trying to move on as dean of a private school. When her son’s life is in danger, Laurie kicks into bad*ss mode. Honestly, this is one of my favorite Halloween sequels.
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers – Michael is on a rampage again, this time in search of his niece Jamie Lloyd and her newborn son.
Halloween: Resurrection – Set after the events of H20, this sequel finds Laurie in an institution, guilt ridden after Michael tricked her into killing someone disguised as himself. Of course, Michael finds her, which sets off another string of murders.
13 Ghosts – In the original 1960 version, “A family inherits a house with 12 ghosts who want a 13th.”
Fright Night – Another 80s classic, Fright Night features William Ragsdale as Charlie Brewster, who becomes convinced his new neighbor Jerry is a vampire. Helped by his girlfriend Amy, their friend “Evil” Ed and horror host Peter Vincent, Charlie sets out to slay Jerry.
Repulsion – Roman Polanski directed and co-wrote this 1965 film, about an increasingly paranoid young woman who is teetering on the edge of insanity.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation – Renee Zelweger and Matthew McConaughey star in this 1995 sequel in which four teens happen across Leatherface and his family after a prom night car crash in backwoods Texas.
Crimson Peak – In my opinion, this Guillermo del Toro gothic ghost story is tragically underappreciated. Young heiress Edith thinks she has found her true love in Thomas Sharpe, and marries him shortly after her father is brutally murdered. When he takes her to his dilapidated home (known as Crimson Peak), she starts to see ghosts and have nightmares.
Night of the Living Dead – The 1990 remake of George A. Romero’s classic zombie film was directed by horror makeup legend Tom Savini, and stars Tony Todd as Ben.
Land of the Dead – This fourth film in Romero’s Living Dead series is set in Pittsburgh, where a sanctuary is run by a feudal-type system of government.
Unfriended – Social media turns terrifying when a group of high schoolers discover a dead friend has joined their chat.
April 4:
*825 Forest Road – Chuck, his wife Maria and sister Elizabeth move to Ashland Falls after a tragedy affects their family. There, they discover that a ghost in the town has spent decades haunting the residents. To stop the terrorizing, they must find the house where Helen committed suicide, but the address doesn’t match any location in Ashland Falls. This one comes to us from Stephen Cognetti, who created the Hell House LLC films.
April 5:
The Intruder – Scott and Annie just bought a dream home in California, but the dream turns to a nightmare when the seller won’t let go of the property, and starks stalking Annie.
April 7:
A Cat in the Brain – “A horror film director is stalked by a mad psychiatrist/serial killer bent on killing people to model the killings after the director’s gory death scenes from his movies.”
City of the Living Dead – In this 1980 Lucio Fulci film, the suicide of a priest opens the doors to hell, which causes the undead to rise. A psychic and a reporter race to close the doors before it is too late.
Manhattan Baby – Another Fulci film, Manhattan Baby opens in Egypt, when an archaeologist opens a tomb, causing an evil entity to escape. Back home in New York, his daughter is possessed by the evil force, which sets off violent murders.
The Beyond – The Fulci love fest continues with this 1981 film, about a young woman who inherits a hotel in rural Louisiana. When a series of supernatural events turn deadly, she discovers the hotel may contain the entrance to hell.
The Black Cat – “A professor with the psychic ability to communicate with the dead uses his powers on his pet cat in order to take vengeance upon his enemies.”
The New York Ripper – Wow, Fulci was busy in the early 1980s! A college psychoanalyst and a police detective team up in New York to identify a killer slashing women in the city.
April 11:
*Shadow of God – Vatican exorcist Father Mason Harper revisits his childhood home after multiple other exorcists are killed at the same time. As he waits for guidance from the Church, Mason discovers secrets about his own past and about an organization his father Angus once ran. Though Mason believes Angus is dead, the man shows up.
April 14:
Chain Reaction – “A group of convicts and a doctor seek refuge from the authorities in a lodge deep in the wood, but their weird inhabitants are not friendly.”
April 18:
*Dead Mail – A bound man drags himself to a mail box, and puts a blood-stained note in the slot. Said note ends up on the desk of dead letter investigator Jasper, who begins to investigate. He soon finds that the origins of the letter will lead him to a kidnapped man.
April 21:
Psychomania – Tom is a young psychopathic leader of a biker gang, and he has started to dabble in black magic. Spurred on by his mother, he takes his own life on his 18th birthday, and is brought back to life by her.
April 25:
*Frewaka – This is the first Irish language horror film, and comes to us from Aislinn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway). Home healthcare worker Shoo travels to a remote village to care for an old woman who is agoraphobic. Not only is the woman afraid of contact with people, she is REALLY afraid of the Na Sidhe, who are evil entities she thinks were responsible for abducting her long ago.