Buckle up for Shudder's super-sized Season of Screams (and it starts NOW)!

Shudder has announced their schedule for October, and that’s just a small part of what they are calling their Seasons of Screams event. The supersized promo kicks off today (which is Friday the 13th, of course), and carries on through December 13…yes, you read that right. Put on your reading glasses, because there is a lot to talk about!

Before we dive into the new films that will be added to Shudder, let’s look at what else is included in the Season of Screams. The Ghoul Log (similar to the holiday Yule Log videos, but with a spooky jack-o-lantern twist) will be back in October to provide the perfect back drop for your Halloween parties and pumpkin carving events, and Shudder’s Head of Programming Samuel Zimmerman is returning for his annual Halloween Hotline. During a specified period of time, subscribers can call the Halloween Hotline to get personalized horror recommendations from Sam himself.

Season of Screams begins today with the addition of In a Violent Nature. Additional films that will be added to Shudder this month include Horror’s Greatest (September 24) and Oddity (September 27). Today also marks the beginning of live watch parties on Shudder TV. Here’s the schedule for the watch party features:

·         September 13: Neo-Slasher - In a Violent Nature and Lake Bodom

·         September 20: Zombie Weekend – The Sadness and Undead

·         September 27: Modern Master – Damian McCarthy’s Oddity and Caveat

·         October 4: Found Footage – V/H/S/Beyond and Hell House LLC

·         October 11: Horrifying Households – Daddy’s Head and Metamorphosis

·         October 18: Shocking Scourges – MadS and Virus:32

·         October 25: TBA

·         October 30: Late Night with the Devil on Devil’s Night

·         October 31: Halloween on Halloween

·         November 1: Day of the Dead on Day of the Dead – Day of the Dead Collection

 Let’s take a look at October’s programming highlights on Shudder!

October 1:

The Boulet Brothers Dragula (Shudder Original Series) – The Boulets are back for their 6th season (but they have dubbed it “Season 666”), with a new cast, upgraded challenges, celebrity judges galore and new floorshow themes.

Hush – If you haven’t seen this one yet, you are in for a treat! This Mike Flanagan film was on Netflix for years before the “cancelled” it this year. Kate Siegel stars as a deaf/mute writer who lives alone in a house in the woods. When a masked killer shows up, she must fight for her life.

WNUF Halloween Special – Step back into the 1980s, when a television station is celebrating Halloween by visiting a local haunted house. This is a highly entertaining film that was filmed on video cameras to make it look authentic to the time period it is set in.

Exorcist III – George C. Scott is a police lieutenant investigating murders that appear to have been committed by the notorious Gemini killer. Only problem is, Gemini is dead, so the investigation begins to center on the patients at a psychiatric hospital. This one features one of the very best jump scares of all time.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist – Father Merrin, who you may remember from his time spent helping young Regan, first ran into the demon called Pazuzu years earlier in Kenya.

Nightbreed – Aaron is a young man being haunted by horrific nightmares. When he sees psychiatrist Dr. Decker, he has no idea the doctor is actually a killer, and ends up being framed for the murders. Some of the monsters he has seen in his dreams help him stop the killer.

Friday the 13th (1980) – Teen camp counselors make the tragic decision to help re-open Camp Crystal Lake, where murders occurred in the past. It doesn’t end well for the counselors.

Friday the 13th Part II - Five years later, attempts are made to open a new summer camp right next to the Camp Crystal Lake location…still no happy ending.

Friday the 13th Part III - Jason Voorhees is back to kill more attractive young people in the Crystal Lake area.

Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter – We know it wasn’t really the final chapter, but this one sees the “dead” Jason return to life to commence his stalking behavior.

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning – Tommy Jarvis (who killed Jason when he was a child) is sent to a halfway house. When a young man in the area is brutally murdered, it all starts again.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - Tommy is a sucker for punishment. He  exhumes Jason, intending to cremate him, somehow manages to bring the killer back to life. Guess what Jason does?

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood – Oops! A telekinetic teenager accidently brings Jason back to life, and now has to figure out how to stop him from his killing ways.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan – You just can’t keep old Jason down! He comes back AGAIN, and starts killing off a boat full of high schoolers on their way to Manhattan.

The Houses October Built – In one of my favorite Halloween-themed horror movies, a group of friends travel across the US to visit Halloween haunted house. But the scares don’t end at the haunts, and the group finds they are being followed.

3 From Hell – The Firefly family is back! Baby, Otis and Foxy escape prison, and set off for Mexico. Madness, hijinks and murder accompany them on their road trip.

Rob Zombie’s 31 – “Five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage in an abandoned, hellish compound where they are forced to participate in a violent game, the goal of which is to survive twelve hours against a gang of sadistic clowns.”

The Devil’s Rejects – The Firefly family are on the run from Sheriff Wydell, who is nearly as crazy as they are.

Lords of Salem -  Salem radio DJ Heidi is given the gift of a strange record, marked as “a gift from the Lords.” Playing the album causes her to envision a group of vengeful witches.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween – In this reimagining of John Carpenter’s classic, we learn more about Michael Myers’s back story before he stalks Laurie Strode in Haddonfield.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II – After the events of Halloween, Laurie Strode deals with trauma, and Loomis prepares to write a book, and Michael wants to see his sister again.

It Follows – Maika Monroe (Longlegs) stars in this unique slow burn as a young woman named Jay. After a sexual encounter, she finds herself being stalked by something supernatural.

October 4:

V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder Original Film) – In the latest sequel to V/H/S, we are treated to six new and terrifying stories/tapes.

Chucky Season 3 – Chucky is in the White House! The homicidal doll now belongs to the President of the United States’ son, and turns the White House red with blood.

October 7:

Demons – “A group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.”

Demons II – In this sequel, people are trapped in a high-rise apartment building and beleaguered by demons who are intent on hunting them down.

Tenebrae – Dario Argento’s 1982 giallo deals with American novelist Peter, who is in Rome to promote his book.  When an obsessed fan begins to harass Peter, murders that echo those in Peter’s books begin to occur.

Phenomena – In another Argento film, Jennifer is a school girl who possesses the ability to communicate with insects. When she transfers to a boarding school in Switzerland,  is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, it is hoped that her odd ability may help track down a murderer.

October 11:

Daddy’s Head (Shudder Original Film) – When his father does suddenly, a boy stays with his stepmother in her country home. As he and his stepmother grapple with their grief, the boy begins to hear frightening noises, and sees something that looks like his father.

October 15:

Audition – An unsettling Japanese horror movie with a scene widely recognized as one of the most squirm-inducing of all, Audition is about a widower in search of a new wife. He finds a woman that he becomes enamored of…but she is not what she seems.

Noroi: The Curse – “A paranormal expert vanishes while filming a documentary about an ancient demon.”

October 18:

MadS (Shudder Original Film) – Romain has graduated, and decides to celebrate by trying a new drug. While driving to a party, Romain sees a woman injured at the side of the road, and stops to help, but once in his car, the woman begins to bash her head against the dashboard, and ends up dying. And that’s just the start of his night.

October 25:

Azrael (Shudder Original Film) – Samara Weaving stars as Azrael, imprisoned in a future in which nobody talks. When she escapes, a mysterious group hunts her down in order to sacrifice her. But Azrael puts up a fight.

October 28:

Satan’s Little Helper – It’s Halloween, and young Douglas just wants to go trick-or-treating. He runs off solo, and makes friends with a man in a devil costume, helping him decorate his yard with “fake” bodies.  

October 30:

The Exorcism (Shudder Exclusive Film) – Russell Crowe is Anthony Miller, an actor working on a horror movie. As his sanity starts to teeter, his daughter Lee doesn’t know if he going back to his old addictive ways, or if there is something else going on.