Shudder: Everything you need to know about the horror streaming service

We live in an age of ever-expanding choices for streaming movies and TV shows that make it easy to view content on our smartphones, tablets, PCs, and big-screen televisions. While bigger services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video might get a lot of attention, there are plenty of niche streaming services too. A perfect example of such a service is Shudder.

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For fans of the horror genre, Shudder is one of the best streaming services. It has many classic, obscure, indie, and more recent horror films and TV shows. It also has a small but growing list of exclusive movies and TV series as well. That includes the acclaimed original series Creepshow, which is based loosely on the 1982 anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero.

So, what is Shudder? Here’s everything you need to know about the service. You can sign up at the link below:

What is Shudder?

As we explained before, this premium streaming service is made for horror fans. There are thousands of movies and TV episodes to check out, from horror, thriller, sci-fi, and other related genres. The service also has many movies curated into special collections by well-known horror movie and TV show creators and fans. Shudder was first launched in 2015 by AMC Networks. It’s the same media company in charge of the cable TV networks AMC, IFC, SundanceTV, and WeTV. In September 2020, AMC Networks announced Shudder had exceeded one million paid subscribers.

How does Shudder work?

Shudder works like most other streaming services. Once you sign up and log in, you’re greeted with a friendly interface that lists popular movies and TV shows to watch. There are also breakdowns by category, including curated lists from famous horror movie directors, actors, and fans.

All video files are stored on a remote server, and selecting a movie or show will start the stream. It may take a few moments for the stream to start, but as long as your connection is stable, Shudder should buffer, or pre-load, the new few seconds or minutes to avoid any stutters.

In addition to on-demand Shudder movies and TV shows, the service also has three “channels” that stream a selection of films and content 24/7. The main Shudder TV channel is the way to watch premiere episodes of one of the service’s exclusive shows, The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. They are first streamed on Fridays starting at 9pm Eastern time and are later made available on-demand on Saturday.

Who is Shudder for?

Shudder is the only horror streaming service built from the ground up with horror fans in mind.

The service has a wide range of titles, from the extreme and gory to the tame and PG, from the obscure to the mainstream, and from the high-brow and arthouse to the grimy indie. While non-horror fans won’t get much out of it, the range of people who will is actually pretty wide.

Is Shudder worth it?

If you are a fan of horror movies, the answer to that question is, without a doubt, yes. Not only does Shudder have tons of classic and more recent horror movies to watch, but it’s also the home to more and more exclusive films and TV shows. If you want to keep up with the best in the horror movie genre, this service is a must. It has new independent films every month from the US and international filmmakers as well.

Even for more casual horror movie fans, Shudder might be worth it. There is lots to watch and discover, and there are also several documentaries that go deeper into the creation and themes of great horror movies.

Where is the service available?

At the moment, Shudder is available in the US, the UK, Ireland, and Canada.

Shudder price: How much does it cost to subscribe to Shudder?

It costs $5.99 a month in the US, or you can sign up for an annual subscription for $56.99 (that’s $4.75 a month paid upfront.) In Canada, it’s available for $4.99 a month. You can sign up directly on the official Shudder site. or you can sign up on your Amazon Prime Video, Roku, Apple TV, or Google Play account.

You can also access all of Shudder’s content on the recently launched AMC Plus service. It bundles Shudder’s movie and TV show library with the films and series from other AMC cable and streaming networks, including Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited, BBC America, and more. It’s available for $8.99 a month.

Can you get Shudder for free?

Normally, new customers can try out the service free for seven days before their credit or debit card is charged. You can cancel Shudder before the trial period ends and pay nothing.

What platforms and devices are supported?

You can watch content from the service on the official Shudder website if you are on a desktop or notebook PC. There are also Shudder apps available for Android and iOS mobile devices. Apps are also available on Amazon Fire TV sticks, set-top boxes, and Fire OS TVs, along with Roku sticks and TVs.  In addition, the service is available on the Apple TV set-top box, along with Chromecast dongles and TVs.

You can sign up for the service on YouTube TV and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Finally, it’s available as a channel on the Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Roku Channel platforms.

Does Shudder support 4K or 1080p streaming?

Unfortunately, Shudder does not currently support 4K streaming of movies and TV shows. In fact, it doesn’t even support 1080p. The official Shudder support site claims that most movies are streamed at 720p resolution, with some at 480p.

What download speeds are recommended for the service?

Shudder recommends your internet connection have download speeds of at least 6Mbps for a smooth video streaming experience.

Does Shudder support downloads of TV shows and movies for offline viewing?

Unfortunately, there is no support for downloading movies or TV episodes from the service at this time.

How many devices can the service support for streaming on one account?

Technically, just one stream on one device is supported for Shudder customers on one account. However, you can get around this limitation if you sign up for the Shudder channel add-on on YouTubeTV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, or the Roku channel.

What’s on Shudder?

Horror fans will find many great horror and horror-related movies and TV shows to stream on Shudder. They include classics like Heathers, Hellraiser, and Phantasm. You can also check out more obscure older films like Dead Heat, Chopping Mall, and Sleepaway Camp. Finally, there are some great recent horror moves on the service that you might want to check out, like Satanic Panic, Found Footage 3D, Pod, and Train to Busan. You will also find a few documentaries about great horror films and filmmakers on the service.

Does Shudder have better horror movies than Netflix?

Different viewers’ mileage may vary, but the short answer is yes.

Netflix tends to focus on pretty mainstream titles, and while it does have some horror exclusives (don’t miss Cam, The Perfection, Gerald’s Game, and The Haunting of Hill House), it mostly features titles you can find elsewhere. Shudder, on the other hand, curates a diverse range of films, including some of the mainstream stuff you’ll find on Netflix.

But Shudder also gets exclusive streaming rights to horror gems from different festivals, and hosts classics, new releases, cult indies, and everything else. Because it focuses on horror, it can beat even bigger streamers on that front.

What original movies are on the service?

Shudder is slowly but surely growing its library of original and/or exclusive horror-themed movies. Here are just a few examples:

• Scare Me – A horror comedy with two strangers each telling scary stories to each other. However, those stories seem to be coming to life.
• Host – A coronavirus-inspired movie where people connect via a Zoom-like online conferencing app. Things go bad when they decide to have a medium conduct an online seance.
• Color Out of Space – Nicolas Cage stars in this film adapted from an H.P. Lovecraft story. He and his family have some issues after a meteorite lands near their remote house.
• Porno – A horror comedy about a group of teenagers who watch a haunted pornographic movie in an empty theater. Later, the monsters from that movie come out of the film to attack the teens.
• Lucky – A woman keeps encountering a man who is trying to kill her every night. The problem? Even when she kills him, he comes back the next night to try again.
• Superhost – A couple who reviews vacation rentals on their YouTube channel encounters a very odd rental host in a remote house.

What original series are on Shudder?

Shudder is much more invested in original films than series, though t has a growing collection of original series.

Creepshow is perhaps the biggest exclusive original series on Shudder to date. This is based (sort of) on the 1982 anthology movie of the same name that was written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero. The new series is produced by Greg Nicotero, who visited the set of the first Creepshow movie when he was a teenager. Today Nicotero is best known for his makeup, producing, and directing work on the hit zombie TV show The Walking Dead.

Nicotero keeps the spirit of the original Creepshow movie alive with this series. Each of the 12 short films are shown in six episodes. They are supposed to scare you with some over-the-top horror tales that would not be out of place in the old 1950’s EC horror comics that inspired both the movies and the show. Some of the shorts themselves are based on stories from horror masters like Stephen King himself, along with his son Joe Hil, Joe R. Lansdale, and more.

Cast members for the Creepshow episodes include horror veterans like Adrienne Barbeau, Tobin Bell, Bruce Davison, David Arquette, and Tricia Helfer. The two seasons are available to stream now, along with an animated Creepshow Halloween special and a Creepshow Holiday special. The third season debuts on September 23, 2021.

Joe Bob Briggs, best known for hosting Monstervision on TNT in the 1990s and early 2000s, is back hosting classic and new horror films on Shudder in The LAst Drive-In, which is one of Shudder’s longer running series. The show is a huge hit online with horror fans, and it trends on Twitter every time a new episode goes live. You can watch previous seasons of the show on-demand now on Shudder. The latest season will premiere on April 16.

Shudder’s documentary series offer some terrific background on the history of horror. Examples include Cursed Films, Behind the Monsters, The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time, and the brand new Queer for Fear.

In addition to these shows, Shudder has a handful of other TV series to stream. They include past seasons of AMC horror shows like The Walking Dead: World Beyond, NOS4A2, Eli Roth’s History of Horror, Slasher, and more. 

Shudder vs the competition

Shudder is certainly a niche streaming service (you won’t find much in family-friendly content here), but the larger streaming services certainly have horror-themed content to check out.

Amazon Prime Video

Prime Video is perhaps the best alternative to Shudder. That’s because you can sign up for the service and then also sign up for Shudder as well as one of Prime Video’s channels.  The main service has several original shows and movies that will be of interest to Shudder’s audience. That includes The Boys, a very adult superhero series with lots of horror elements. In April, the service launched a new horror-themed series, Them.

Hulu

Hulu might also be a good way to team up with Shudder. It only costs $5.99 a month, with ads. With that price, you get access to lots of current and classic movies and TV shows. That includes originals like In The Dark, a series of horror-themed films from BLUmhouse, along with two seasons of Castle Rock, the Steven King universe TV series.

Netflix

Netflix is the big 800-pound gorilla in the streaming world. It has a ton of original horror-themed movies and TV shows to watch. That includes shows like Stranger Things and The Haunting of Hill House, and films like In The Tall Grass, Gerald’s Game, the Ritual, Cam, The Perfection, and much more. However, the price of Netflix, even at its lowest, is much higher than Shudder’s price.

Other FAQ

That’s everything you need to know about Shudder.