A new is knocking on our doors, 2022 is only a few weeks away, Shudder has revealed their January line up. A month they promise to be vicious and bewitching to all who watch. Folk horror, and documentary to the man behind the monster…
NEW SHUDDER ORIGINAL & EXCLUSIVE FILMS
For the Sake of Vicious – Shudder Exclusive 6th January
Romina, an overworked nurse and single mother, returns home from her late shift on Halloween night to find a maniac hiding out with a bruised and beaten hostage. When an unexpected wave of violent intruders descends upon her home, the trio realise that the only way out of the situation is to work together and fight for their survival. Starring Colin Paradine, Lora Burke, Nick Smyth.
Directed by Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen. | Read review
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror – Shudder Exclusive 10th January
From writer/director/co-producer Kier-La Janisse comes “a seductive mega-text” (Indiewire) through the history of folk horror, featuring clips from over 200 films and interviews with more than 50 filmmakers, authors and scholars that explore the rural roots, occult creeds and cultural lore that continue to shape international cinema. An “astounding achievement” (Screen Anarchy) that Rue Morgue calls “an unprecedented journey into where folk horror has been, where it’s going and ultimately what it says about humanity.” Audience Award Winner SXSW 2021 and Fantasia International Film Festival 2021, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched has been hailed as “brilliant” (AV Club) and “mind-blowingly epic” (Film Threat) and stands as perhaps the definitive genre documentary of our time.
Written, directed and co-produced by: Kier-La Janisse | Read review
The Last Thing Mary Saw – Shudder Original 20th January
Southold, New York, 1843: Young Mary (Stefanie Scott, Insidious Chapter 3), blood trickling from behind the blindfold tied around her eyes, is interrogated about the events surrounding her grandmother’s death. As the story jumps back in time, we witness Mary, raised in a repressively religious household, finding fleeting happiness in the arms of Eleanor (Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan), the home’s maid. Her family, who believe they are seeing, speaking and acting on God’s behalf, view the girls’ relationship as an abomination to be dealt with as severely as possible. The couple attempts to carry on in secret, but someone is always watching, or listening, and the wages of perceived sin threaten to become death, with the tension only heightened by the arrival of an enigmatic stranger (Rory Culkin, Lords of Chaos) and the revelation of greater forces at work.
Directed by Edoardo Vitaletti.
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster – Shudder Exclusive 27th January
Beginning just before his debut as Frankenstein’s creation, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster compellingly explores the life and legacy of a cinema legend, presenting a perceptive history of the genre he personified. His films were long derided as hokum and attacked by censors. But his phenomenal popularity and pervasive influence endures, inspiring some of our greatest actors and directors into the 21st Century – among them Guillermo Del Toro, Ron Perlman, Roger Corman & John Landis all of whom and many more contribute their personal insights and anecdotes.
Directed by Thomas Hamilton.
NEW SHUDDER SERIES
Etheria: Season 3 17th January
Etheria Season 3 takes viewers to strange new worlds with episodes directed by women about medieval warlords and magicians, musical androids, apocalyptic western gunslingers, inescapable time loops, dead body buddy comedies, middle-aged female mercenary assassins, homicidal hairstylists, demented surreal slashers, and spare body parts.
THE FOLK HORROR COLLECTION
Paired with the streaming premiere of Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched, the definitive documentary on folk horror, Shudder is proud to present a collection of essential films in the genre, including new additions Alison’s Birthday, Edge of the Knife and Eyes of Fire on 10th January, along with Blood on Satan’s Claw, Witchfinder General, Impetigore, La Llorona, Messiah of Evil, The Noonday Witch, Noroi: The Curse, Pyewacket, Prevenge, Wake Wood, and The White Reindeer, already available as part of Shudder’s movie library.
NEW ADDITIONS TO SHUDDER’S LIBRARY
3rd January
The Source of Shadows
A series of stories woven together by one of our most primal fears, the fear of the unknown.
4th January
Dark August
A man accidentally runs down a young girl and has a curse placed on him by the girl’s father, an occultist. He goes to a spiritualist for help in fighting the curse.
Dream No Evil
A young orphan girl obsessed with finding her father gets adopted by a traveling church. She grows up and gets engaged, but her obsession with locating her father is about to turn deadly.
Malatesta’s Carnival of Blood
A family infiltrates a sinister carnival where their son mysteriously disappeared.
The Child
A newly hired housekeeper arrives to her employer’s house in the countryside. She slowly discovers that the only child in the house, an eleven-year-old girl, hides a deadly secret.
The Premonition
A foster mother begins experiencing psychic visions after the psychotic biological mother of her foster daughter begins stalking them.
The Witch Who Came From the Sea
Molly experiences violent fantasies in which she ties up muscular men up before bloodily dispatching them with a razor. But when a news report announces the shocking double-murder of two footballers which strongly echoes one of Molly’s most recent depraved flights of fancy, the fantasy starts to bleed into reality–literally
10th January
Eyes of Fire
A preacher is accused of adultery, and he and his followers are chased out of town. They become stranded in an isolated forest, which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans.
Alison’s Birthday
Getting its first official release since the VHS era, this Australian paranormal cult is unearthed! During a Ouija board session with her teenaged friends, 16-year-old Alison gets a message from beyond the grave not to go home for her 19th birthday. Fast forward three years later to the week of her 19th: she gets a call from her mother that they’re having a party to celebrate, and they want her there alone.
Edge of the Knife
Edge of the Knife is a feature length Haida language film about pride, tragedy, and penance. Adiits’ii, the lead character in the film, is mentally and physically pushed to the brink of survival and becomes Gaagiixiid/Gaagiid — the Haida Wildman. The Gaagiixiid is one of Haida’s most popular stories, sustained over the years though song and performance.
Tag
Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) is the sole survivor of a bizarre paranormal incident that kills all of her classmates. Running for her life, Mitsuko seemingly slips into an alternate reality, but death and chaos seems to follow her everywhere. As Mitsuko finds herself in increasingly surreal and violent situations, the true horror behind her nightmare is revealed.
VFW
A group of old war veterans (including Stephen Lang and William Sadler) put their lives on the line to defend a young woman taking shelter in their local VFW post, who’s running from a deranged drug dealer and his relentless army of drug addled punks.
17th January
The ABCs of Death
A 26-chapter anthology that showcases death in all its vicious wonder and brutal beauty, from a lineup of 27 acclaimed directors including Nacho Vigolando (Colosssal), Banjong Pisanthanakun (The Medium), Timo Tjahjanto (May the Devil Take You), Ti West (The House of the Devil), Ben Wheatley (Kill List) and Adam Wingard (You’re Next)
Breeder
A ruthless businesswoman is abducting young women as part of a gruesome bio-hacking experiment to reverse the aging process. When Mia goes to investigate, she finds herself trapped, branded and tortured in an underground medical facility. Read review
Greener Grass
Suburban soccer moms find themselves constantly competing against each other in their personal lives as their kids settle their differences on the field.
24th January
Hall
When a hotel hallway is ravaged by a mysterious virus, pregnant tourist Naomi is tragically thrust into the fight of her life. Forced to crawl her way through other helpless and scattered victims, Naomi crosses paths with Val. Separated from her daughter Kelly, Val must navigate her way through the long and narrow stretch of isolated carnage, all while keeping out of sight of the remaining sufferers.
Viy
A young priest is ordered to preside over the wake of a witch in a small old wooden church of a remote village. This means spending three nights alone with the corpse with only his faith to protect him.
27th January
Come True
A teenage runaway takes part in a sleep study that becomes a nightmarish descent into the depths of her mind and a frightening examination of the power of dreams. read review
