With dozens of new movies and TV shows being released weekly, it's easy to fall behind or miss out on the latest horror movies, especially because so many bypass theaters and head straight to digital or streaming. Shudder alone usually releases at least one or two exclusives per month, and that's not counting when theatrical releases do finally arrive on demand or streaming!
During this final week of January, you'll get the chance to check out three brand new movies, one of which is the highly-anticipated Companion, a horror movie with a sci-fi twist hitting theaters this Friday. There's also a wrestling horror film coming to Shudder, and Lionsgate has a vampire anthology coming to VOD.
Companion
- Director/Writer: Drew Hancock
- Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, & Rupert Friend
- Rating: R for strong violence, sexual content, and language
- Release date & platform: Jan. 31 in Theaters
Companion is already being praised by some critics as 2025's first great film, which has set expectations for this sci-fi flick sky-high. The story centers on a weekend getaway spiraling out of control. While the initial teaser keeps the details vague, the full-length trailer revealed that Companion heavily features robots and rogue AI.
Specifically, one of the main characters, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), is a "companion" robot, and the trailer alludes to her "boyfriend" (Jack Quaid) owner (?) trying to exert too much control over her, leading to robotic retaliation. The trailer revealing Iris' status as an android felt like a massive spoiler, but writer/director Drew Hancock has assured people that there are plenty more surprises in store, and several reviews have specifically pointed to the movie's originality as working in its favor.
Did you watch Shudder's gory new body horror yet?
Dark Match
- Director/Writer: Lowell Dean
- Cast: Chris Jericho, Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Michael Eklund, & Jonathan Cherry
- Release date & platform: Jan. 31 on Shudder
The dramatics of the wrestling world go hand-in-hand with the horror genre, so it's surprising that we haven't gotten more slasher movie/WWE mashups. Shudder aims to rectify that this week with Dark Match, a film about a group of small-time wrestlers who get invited to a secretive event at a remote compound that turns out to be a series of death matches, all in the name of making Satanic sacrifices for a depraved cult.
Real-life WWE star Chris Jericho stars as the cult's leader. I admit I'm not a wrestling fan, so my only knowledge and experience of the sport is what I've seen in other movies and shows like Heels, but the matches in this film are pretty compelling, especially when mixed with the brutal kill scenes as our leading protagonists are forced to fight for their lives.
The Night Time World
- Directors: Gene Blalock, Sean Brien, Brandon Lescure, Adam Michaels, & Timothy Paul Taylor
- Writers: Timothy Paul Taylor & Jhan Harp
- Cast: Nina Donnelly, Doug Henderson, & Andrew Adams
- Release date & platform: Rent or buy from digital retailers on Jan. 28
The latest straight-to-digital horror movie release from Lionsgate is devised as an anthology with four stories that all revolve around vampires. As seen in the above trailer, the film focuses on a late-night podcast host with a unique obsession with these creatures of the night. He receives a phone call from a woman claiming to be a vampire. As an anthology, the film weaves together four dark tales, each from a different director.